Project Plan

Vision is the bottleneck of talent. Most talent is wasted because people do not clearly know what they want. It’s not a lack of effort but a lack of direction. There are many capable people in the world, but relatively few that focus on what matters. ~James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits

Create More Than You Consume Illustration by Jolby from Get To Work Book

The first step—perhaps the most enormous step—is to find what you are genuinely interested in. If you are genuinely interested, you will discover endless opportunities for improvement. But if you are disinterested, even obvious improvements will feel like a chore. And, if you can maintain your genuine interest and curiosity as the years accumulate, you will become hard to compete with because you will have skill to go with your passion. If you're interested, you're dangerous. ~James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits

Your project plan will be located on this shared board for the entire class on Miro.

Constantly iterate your project plan over the course of the semester. It may grow and/or shrink over the course of the semester. Don't worry about "getting it right." The creative process is messy.

Please remember that you and a classmate can work as a team. Only one project plan should be worked on per team. If this is the case, I'll rename your Miro frame to reflect the team's name.

Keep your Miro board up to date. Please revise the Miro board to reflect any significant changes to your project!

Project Plan Outline

Projects: Why + What + How

Index or Table of Contents

• Project Statement / Goal—The What

• Motivation / Intentions—The Why

• Influences

• Target Audience

• Competitive Analysis / Related Projects

• Resources

• Project Milestones / Plans—The How

• Research

• Design

• Development

• Risks and Challenges

Project Statement / Goal—The What

• What is your project about?

• What are your project's theme(s) or conceptual underpinnings? (Think 1 to 3 hashtags.)

• What is your project's "elevator pitch"? Think phrase or 1 sentence maximum.

• What is your short, project description? Write a 200-300 word paragraph that addresses four of the five essential questions:

  • why (see motivation/intentions and influences below)

  • what (see related projects, research, design, and development below)

  • who (see target audience below) and

  • how (see resources, project milestones/plans, and risks & challenges below) about your project.

Motivation / Intentions—The Why

An intention is a commitment to a process.

• Why are you doing this project?

• What are you exploring or discovering here? What questions are you asking? Do you love your idea? Does it feel right on instinct? Are you willing to commit to this project? Are you willing to live, sleep, and eat with this project?

• Show and discuss prior work as evidence of your ability to engage in this project.

Influences

• List other artists, designers, creative technologists, and/or entrepreneurs & their work that influences your work.

• Do you remember the course, ideation & prototyping? What are your **inputs**? (i.e. books, articles, videos, exhibitions, podcasts, etc.)

Target Audience

• Who is this project for? Please note that everyone is not a valid answer. Target is the keyword here.

• Who cares? Who will care? Who is your target audience?

• What do you want your target audience to experience when they interact with your project?

Competitive Analysis / Related Projects

• Compare and contrast at least 3 similar projects by other artists, designers, or creative technologists to yours.

• Who or what are your competitors? How will it be positioned (branding) and differentiated (market and competitors or like works)?

Resources

Including, but not limited to:

• List of Collaborators, Participants, Advisors, and "Outside" critics (People and their roles).

  • Be Specific. First & Last Names and URLs if available

• Materials & Vendors List

  • Include URLs or physical addresses if necessary

• Technical requirements

  • Software and hardware

• Budget

  • Include materials costs, software/hardware costs, work for hire costs, shipping costs

You should decide what kinds of resources are most appropriate for your project. (What assets do you require?)

Project Milestones / Plans—The How

A plan is the definition of a process. How are you achieving this?

• Break down your milestones into actionable tasks using a system of your choice. I highly recommend Personal Kanban. Another system that is popular with students is the Bullet Journal. However, neither is required if you have another system with prioritization as a focus. If you do have another system, please share it with the instructor.
• All actionable tasks should start with a verb (i.e. write, call, email, build, code, collect, etc.), and can be completed in a day.

• Also, be specific with your tasks. (For example, "take 20 photographs" is more explicit than "take photographs". "Take 5 photos of tigers, 5 photos of bears, 5 photos of lizards, and 5 photos of cats" is more explicit than "take 20 photographs".)

• For creating and tracking your milestones and actionable tasks, you don't need a fancy system or tool. Google Docs works just fine. The main thing is whatever you use needs to be editable. However, other tools, besides google docs, that you can use to track your milestones progress are:

  • Asana

    • Monday is an Asana alternative.
  • Milanote
  • Notion
  • Trello

    • Kanbanery.com is a Trello aternative.
  • Moleskine's Actions

Research

Including, but not limited to, brainstorming (free writing, word lists, and mind maps, card sorting technique, SCAMPER technique, storytelling exercise, word lists, etc.), readings, screenings / viewings, exhibitions, talks, tech research, material research, visual research, collection, interviews, observation, etc.

• You should decide what kinds of research / reference / influences are most appropriate for your project.

Design

Including, but not limited to, design sketches, process maps, drawings, wireframes / schematics, storyboards, comps, mood boards, concept boards, screenshots, videos, diagrams, images

• You should decide the most appropriate medium of delivery and which processes are most appropriate for your project.

Development

Prototype(s) – including, but not limited to, exercises, tests, models, maquettes, animatics

• You should know what the concept of a prototype is but, if you do not know, a prototype “is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.”

• As a result, a prototype can take on many forms. Essentially, it is your project or aspects of your project in an unfinished form.

• You should decide what kinds of prototype(s) are most appropriate for your project.

Project Versions

The specific parameters and expectations of each version for every student will be individually determined in consultation with the professor.

Risks & Challenges

• What are your risks of failure? (lack of tech, time, knowledge, money, etc.) and how will you overcome them?

• What are the holes or gaps in your project?