Top ten tips for managing your publications project without losing your mind
Top Ten - Writing
Top Ten - Design
Top Ten - Production
Top Ten - QC
Top Ten - Indexing
Top Ten - Project Management
Anyone coordinating a publication needs project
management skills, no matter what his or her title is. Jayne Sutton,
EEI's manager of project services, has guided many people in tracking
tasks and monitoring budgets and schedules. She suggests making
your trip through the publication process mild, not wild, by keeping
a few tips in mind:
Top Ten - Design
Top Ten - Production
Top Ten - QC
Top Ten - Indexing
Top Ten - Project Management
- When you can, get everyone - the people who want the project done and the people who will accomplish it - to sit down and talk at the beginning of the project, while they're still fresh.
- Never hesitate to ask questions when you're unclear about what someone wants to get done or intends to do.
- Ask lots of questions if someone advocates an expensive choice. Make sure everyone is aware of the treatments and services that will cost extra money and why.
- List all the necessary tasks in chronological order, and make a master schedule with a deadline for each task. Adjust this schedule as you go - something will change.
- Keep this information written down somewhere! No one can remember everything.
- Send or post updates to your project plan to keep people in the loop.
- Talk about who will review proofs or drafts at what stage and how you'll coordinate multiple comments on the same version.
- Find out which proofs and computer monitors can represent color accurately and which ones can't. Remind the other reviewers.
- Not everyone hears the clock tick in the same way. Structure your plan to account for people who appreciate extra lead time or can run late.
- Sometimes you need work from people who don't report to you or rank higher on the food chain. An extra helping of courtesy and flexibility can go a long way.
Now it's your turn to ask EEI's project management experts a question. For a bit of free advice, send a brief e-mail to info@eeicom.com.
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