Game Project Management

Week 3: Risk Management; Task Tracking; Leadership, Time Management

Concerning your Graded Course Project, it is at this point where each Team Member must go their several ways, producing key elements as listed in their Job Description that they'll be graded on individually. It is your Producer's task to ride herd over your project now, schedule-in-hand.

The lecture this week concerns how risks are assessed, prioritized, and managed on a project. You'll also learn how management keeps track of task performance. There's a special lesson on Leadership and Management, since you're in leadership positions on your project and are destined to be project leads in the industry, this is a course unit that I hope you really take to heart. Finally, we'll consider the key to success in the game industry: Time Management.

This week also features the first exam. It is worth 20 points and covers the material from weeks 1 and 2, including chapter 11 in the course textbook (development phases) and the required reading sections on this web site.

The link below is the homework assignment due at the beginning of the next class session.

Required Reading:

These links feature the supplemental material that you are responsible for knowing before the first exam (that takes place at the end of this week's class session). Be sure to click on every link in this section!

Article: Risk Management with Development Schedules by Tim Ryan

Everyone on the Development Schedule should be aware of the risks involved with the project. Usually it falls to the Technical Director to deal with key Risk Assessment issues (and this will be an important part of the Technical Director's Final Project [C] grade).

Article: Put Me In, Coach: Creating a Cooperative Work Environment [in the Game Industry] by Marc Mencher

Management techniques for more "traditional" industries often just don't hold up in the game development arena. So, how do you manage a diverse team of programmers, artists, and designers and deliver a great game? By being a coach, not a boss. Career specialist and game industry veteran Marc Mencher weighs in on some tactics.

Video: Concrete Practices To Be a Better Leader by Brian Sharp

This hour-long video of a GCG conference meeting will be the best hour of your life spent on the subject of Leadership in the Game Industry. "His thoughts and experiences provide a great perspective on leadership, and details the struggles of being a great leader. Thought I would share it with you, hope that you enjoy!" - form Mr. Emrich student, Kat Perry

Article: Time Management: The Pickle Jar Theory by Jeremy Wright

This programmer has time management figured out in a way that gamers can understand.

Optional Reading:

These supplemental links are worth pursuing only if you are seriously interested in working in the game business and want to know about it in the broadest possible sense. This material will not be directly included in the exams, but if you're serious about delving deeply into the subject of game production, here's some more lessons from others who have also "been there."

Compendium: Business & Management Articles by various authors

This page is a gold mine of useful material on specific subjects that will help you confront the problems of management and leadership. Highly recommended! Other multi-source web sites worth checking out are here and here.

Article: They Mythical Team Leader by Russ Finney

This is a brilliant piece on how to be a Team Leader for a project or department. If you aspire to be the Art Lead on a project or the Art Director at a game company, read this!

Article: What Went Wrong? Learning from Past Postmortems by Brandon Sheffield

Game Developer magazine decided to round up every "what went wrong" entry from the last three years of game postmortems, and compiled the most frequently made mistakes (usually over five times each) into this cautionary feature. (The root problem? Poor Project Management!)

Article: Transforming Groups into Teams by Ron Jungalwalla

This is a short, hard-hitting piece that just might help you pull your team together. If you're worried about your team, or you just want to learn how to keep the boat from leaking in the future, these impactful words will greatly assist you.

Article: Creativity in Teams: A Model for Teamwork by Dick McCann

This social science approach gives you the tools to examine what everyone on the Team brings to the table and how to make the most effective use of everyone's abilities. Very insightful.

Article: Creating a Great Game Design Document by Tzvi Freeman

Lead Writer / Designers take note! Once upon a time, when coding a game involved one programmer (and maybe an artist) with a take-it-as-you-go budget and a loose deadline, documentation didn't need to be taken so seriously. You knew what you wanted to make and you made it. If there were a few major changes along the way, the only one to complain was you. Nowadays, a thorough and readable document can mean the difference between a swift descent to budgetless Hell and a smooth ride to shrinked-wrapped Nirvana.

Article: More Tips About Writing Designs by Tom Sloper

Lead Writer / Designers take note! This lesson is primarily aimed at aspiring game designers, but many of the concepts also apply to those who aspire to other jobs in the game industry. I have not only written a lot of designs, I've also read a lot of them. I know what to do when writing one, but I've learned a lot of "do's & don'ts" by reading designs written by others. Here, I present them...

Article: 10 Game Design Process Pitfalls by Ian Fisch

Lead Writer / Designers take note! If you want to lead a life in Game Design, here are ten of the most frequently exploded landmines along the path to success. You can learn a great deal from these most common problems!

Sample Art Design Specifications Documents: Driving Force and Soul Forge for your inspection.

Art Directors take note!

Article: Game Artists Survival Guide by Josh White

Art Directors take note! If you're an animator or modeler in this industry for at least a few years, chance are that you've been through your share of hellish projects. Here are some secrets to pre-project planning, which will make your next project go much smoother, and make sure the art requirements are respected by the rest of the team.

Article: Art Management for Artists by Doug Oglesby

Art Directors take note! Leading a bunch of artists on a project is like herding cats. As you start down the road for the Course Project, the wisdom in this Doug Oglesby article will become apparent.

Article: Collaborating in Game Design by Noah Falstein and David Fox

Producers and Lead Writer / Designers take note! Collaboration among game designers is not rocket science...it's harder! Here are some tips on how to avoid common pitfalls and spread peace and joy amongst cube-ville.

Article: Pendersen's Principles on Game Design and Production by Roger Pedersen

Producers and Lead Writer / Designers take note! As he closes in on two decades in the game development industry, Roger Pedersen has seen his share of ups and downs as a producer and designer. In this article he distills his experience into ten simple principles of game development.

Article: Manager in a Strange Land: Reining in Enthusiasm by Jamie Fristrom

Producers take note! Why on Earth would you ever want to curb the enthusiasm of your team? It turns out that there are times when it can hurt a project. Here are some ways to apply the reins without turning the team into a bunch of listless zombies.