Project Manager - Interactive Media
The role of Project Manager is to plan, schedule and co-ordinate interactive media development projects, ensuring they run smoothly, on time and within budget.
This role often overlaps with that of Producer1, but focuses on the mechanics of running the project rather than its creative requirements.
The two roles are often combined, however. The Project Manager usually works closely with the Producer and the Account Manager2.
Project Managers are usually employed in full-time permanent positions, but they are often also used on a freelance basis for individual projects.
What is the job?
The Project Manager is responsible for the successful planning and execution of a project. He or she decides what work needs to be done, who will do what, and when it must be finished.
The project is usually divided into a number of stages that are often dependent on each other; the Project Manager must work out a schedule and ensure that the right people are available when needed so that each stage is completed on time and does not hold up any of the others.
A large part of the job involves identifying risks and assumptions that might adversely affect the project, and working out ways to ensure they do not – for example, by making contingency plans and by being rigorous in ensuring specifications and deliverables are properly documented.
The Project Manager is usually not directly involved in carrying out the actual work that produces the deliverables, but is responsible for overseeing the team and ensuring that activities are carried out correctly and on-time.
He or she may need to brief and manage specialists, ensure open communication between team members and resolve interpersonal conflicts.
The Project Manager may also need to liaise with the client, provide progress reports to them throughout the project, and deal with any problems or issues that crop up.
Before a project starts, the Project Manager will usually be involved either in calculating the cost of achieving the deliverables, or in working out what can be delivered within a specified budget, often to feed into a proposal or pitch to a prospective client.
Typical career routes
There are no typical career routes, but interactive media Project Managers often come from a background in business or management and will usually have gained several years of project management experience in another industry.
However, it is essential to understand the interactive media production process, so some Project Managers will have previously worked in more hands-on roles within the interactive media industry, for example, as a Designer3, Developer4 or Information Architect5.
Those entering the industry from elsewhere may find they need training to adapt their skills. The role can start at junior levels and extend to very senior positions, which may have titles such as Programme Manager or Head of Project Management.
Essential knowledge and skills
Project Managers must possess a combination of skills creative and technical skills, as well as an ability to ask penetrating questions, detect unstated assumptions, and manage both people and processes.
They must be able to take responsibility and make decisions. Project planning involves balancing time, cost, quality and scope; so a high level of diligence is required.
A strong awareness of the interactive media production process, and especially of the kinds of technical issues that can crop up, is essential.
Project Managers need to be confident and able to give presentations and facilitate client-facing meetings. Diplomacy and negotiating skills are often valuable.
Key Skills include:
- good planning ability;
- good financial awareness, an ability to estimate accurately and manage budgets;
- good written, verbal and interpersonal communication;
- good presentation skills;
- good people and client management;
- attention to detail;
- ability to manage time, prioritise tasks and work under pressure;
- knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures.
Most Project Managers will have at least a Bachelor’s Degree, usually in a management or business area, although any subject that demonstrates analytical capability is often acceptable.
There are also professional project management qualifications available and some Master’s Degree courses in project management for interactive media are beginning to emerge (for example, London Metropolitan University’s MA Digital Media Management, University of Brighton’s MSc Digital TV Management and Production). Previous experience of project management is almost always essential, however.
Glossary
Deliverables: the final outputs of a project that will be delivered to the client – this usually means the finished product, but there may be interim deliverables along the way, such as design visuals or copy for approval.
Where to go for more information
Skillset is the Sector Skills Council for the audio visual industries. The first sources of information for all jobs in the industry are the National Occupational Standards. Browse Skillset’s website for links to our network of training partners, information about training and access to the comprehensive Skillset/BFI course database. Finally, Skillset Careers is the UK’s only specialist media careers advice service; for detailed media careers information and advice, visit www.skillset.org/careers.
Websites
British Interactive Multimedia Association: www.bima.co.uk/
New Media Knowledge: www.nmk.co.uk
Association for Project Management: www.apm.org.uk
Publications
New Media Age Magazine - New Media Age
Web Site Project Management: Delivering Successful Commercial Sites, Friedlein, Morgan Kaufmann, ISBN 1-55860-678-5
Download:
Project Manager - Interactive Media
1 The Producer role is about ensuring the overall business vision and creative direction for the product are identified and maintained. This role may also be called Project Director, Project Leader, Creative Director etc. and is often merged with Project Manager.
2 The Account Manager role is about maintaining relationships with existing customers, obtaining new business from them and ensuring they receive a high quality of service; by contrast the New Business Developer role is more concerned with generating business from new customers.
3 The Designer role is about designing the overall look and feel of the product – at it’s simplest this is a case of visually ‘skinning’ a wire-frame design produced by the Information Architect; in more senior roles, or in smaller teams, the Designer is more likely to be involved with devising interactivity and information flow, hence the roles often overlap or are merged.
4 The Developer role is about building the product, typically using authoring tools (e.g. Director, Flash etc.) and/or scripting or mark-up languages (e.g. JavaScript, ActionScript, Lingo, HTML, CSS etc.); by contrast, the Programmer role tends to be more concerned with higher-level coding.
5 The Information Architect role is about deciding the product’s features, functionality, organisation of content, and navigational structure. These may be documented through wire-frame diagrams, site maps, and/or detailed functional specifications that together serve as a design brief and technical blueprint.
If your computer has the relevant software, click the document icons or document titles to view the relevant document. Right-click (PC) or hold your mouse-button down (Mac) on the document icon/title, you'll be given the option to save the file to disk. If you don't have the necessary software to view the documents, take the above links to download free reader programs.
