PROJECT

PERIPHERY
A Supplemented Approach To The Multi-Domain Creative Process
POTENTIAL
Skill Sets And Abilities

Summary

The potential represents the overall ability of the specific departments. These Side Notes
numbers will reflect the capability of the entire company. Each specialized Here the diagram is focused only on
potential. It is an estimated ability to
department (Strategy, User Experience, Design, Technology) is set on a scale perform a task. It is separated from the
which ranges from 0-100. (0) Is the worst, total incompetence. (100) is being able ability to accomplish a task because
there are many other factors that will
to perform (not necessarily accomplish) any task at the industry standards. The affect how well each is implemented.
term “industry standards” would be drawn from many perspectives of what a
Each department could be dissected
complete solution is. Some of these perspectives would include the clients, the into more specific sections to get a
end users, leading competitors, and the companies own. more accurate reading on the overall
capabilities.

Strategy
User Experience
Design
Technology

Page 1
WHAT IT COULD BE
LIMITATIONS
Time, Budget, Resources

Strategy
User Experience
Design
Technology

Summary

After each department’s abilities are assessed it would be wise to calculate Side Notes
the limitations that are involved with a project. The usual three are time, After the realization and analysis of the
limitations, It is important to recalculate
budget, and resources. After a reevaluation of the abilities based upon the the potential to better suit the projects
limitation, the potential for performing at an “industry standard” will be needs

reduced. Some departments may be more affected than others, depending If the limiting factors are dispersed
on which limitations apply and the severity of each. evenly over the project phases then the
potential will scale uniformly.

The “familiar” approach often leaves tasks towards the end of a solution
suffering the greatest impact of these limitations. This is often a result of the
subsequent tasks having dependencies on the preceding ones. Achieving an
accurate analysis of the project is vital in allocating time to each department.
If deadlines aren’t set for each stage of the project the dependency issue will
be more apparent.

Page 2
WHAT IT COULD BE
OUTCOME-A
Derived From Limited Potential

Summary

The outcome of a project suffers from the weakest link concept. These Side Notes
“links” are often in the transitional phases. The analysis of these transitional By connecting the lowest points it is
possible to see what the outcome will
phases is often overlooked and adequate time is not supplied. These areas be as a result of the “weakest link”
can be highly neglected when the initial estimates of company potential concept.

are made. The neglect might be in the form of optimistic imagination, This “familiar” approach is a natural
where visions are made up of “the best” from each domain, without the one based upon how our education
system operates, where individuals
consideration of an integrated outcome. spend little time with integration.

The results of this are usually in the form of one departments creation or
idea not being compatible with the department it precedes. Another issue
might be that extra time is spent trying to incorporate an idea or creation
which requires more cycles than available. This extra integration work will
subtract time from the individual work that still has to be accomplished by
the department on the receiving end.

Strategy
User Experience
Design
Technology

Page 3
WHAT IT COULD BE
PERIPHERY
Alternative Focus

Strategy
User Experience
Design
Technology

Summary

If special consideration is given to the transitional areas, it is possible to raise Side Notes
the company potential for these phases. This approach is not only taking in to The black square represents a
multidisciplinary department that
consideration the transitional processes and planning for them, but looking at stimulates and optimizes the
those processes as if they were individual departments of their own. This would potential for each department.

introduce alternative task throughout the project focusing mainly on continuity In this diagram the transitional phases
of the tradition departments. This could be viewed as a process integration role, are addressed by the peaks of the black
square.
a directional filter regarding the implementation of elements that will cross
department boundaries.

Page 4
WHAT IT COULD BE
OUTCOME-B
Derived From Alternative Focus

Summary

If the points of integration are address specifically, then there should be Side Notes
an obvious increase in the potential for these areas of a project. Increasing The most important parts of this
diagram are the areas in black which
the potential in the transitional phases would lead to a greater capacity for expand beyond the color areas. These
innovation, due to the fact that skill sets are bonding together at a more affective areas not only indicate an increase
in potential but also create a better
level than previously. environment to breed innovation.

If the transitional phases are

This advancement in knowledge between departments would have great adequately address the integration
potential to trickle back to specialized task or even points of transition with other process will cease to fall victim to the
“path of least resistance” approach and
departments. Additionally there would be a reduction in time wasted with the become a place where ground breaking
repetition of tasks as well as expedite the dependency issue (mentioned on the implementation happens.

“Limitations” page) by getting things done with no cycles, or a very little amount.

Strategy
User Experience
Design
Technology

Page 5
WHAT IT COULD BE
COMPARISON
Areas of Improvement

Strategy
User Experience
Design
Technology

Summary

In the comparison of the two outcomes the most notable factor should be Side Notes
the impact that an increase in the transitional areas has on each department’s In this diagram the benefits of focusing
on the transition phases are not only
individual tasks. Having the ability to do things well the first time will prevent shown by the black areas, but are also
compromise and incompatibility, both of which can be a hamper on time and the visible in the expanded color within
each department.
quality of any task.

When producing complex creations (concepts, layouts, applications, etc.) it is

nearly impossible to make all of the pieces compatible with other creations that
are not taken into consideration during construction. At the point where these
creations need to be put together compromises will have to be made in order
for them to be merged. Some compromises may be easily resolved where
others will have a high kick-back effect, where one compromise impacts other
areas of the creation. This can begin a snowball effect where compromises are
then made many levels deep into a creation because of dependencies within
that creation. The incompatibility issues that cause these compromises could
be prevented in many cases if the creation process understood what will be
required in a subsequent and dependant creation process.
Page 6
WHAT IT COULD BE
SPECIALIZED
Individual Performance

Summary

Within an individual department, tasks are generally performed well. With the Side Notes
liberty to apply specialized skills, productivity has a good chance of reaching a During these peak stages there is very
little if any communication with the
satisfactory level. During these phases the department will spend the majority subsequent departments.
of its time doing what it does best. Any extra cycles will be spent negotiating
compromises with the preceding department. These negotiations will be the
major inhibitor of performance.

The work done in this focused approach will often appear to be a complete
solution when analyzed for its portion of the project. Yet, as a result of
specialization there is little ability to prepare for subsequent work. This inability
will be discovered in the subsequent integration phase.

Strategy
User Experience
Design
Technology

Page 7
WHAT IT WILL BE
INTEGRATION
Transitive Performance

Strategy
User Experience
Design
Technology

Summary

When looking at the integration phases the performance is significantly lower Side Notes
than that of the tasks performed in a focused domain. Some of the major causes Each colored point represents an inte-
gration phase for the four considered
for the lower performance are miscommunication, incomplete solutions, haste, disciplines.
and tiring revisions. The sum of these hurdles will amount to incompatibility and
compromise, which were mentioned on the comparison page.

Page 8
WHAT IT WILL BE
AUGMENTATION
Adjusted and Enhanced Performance

Summary

The role of project management is generally the monitoring of tasks for the Side Notes
duration of the project. The result of this is that only project management Here the performance of the transition
areas would improve because deliber-
is presented the opportunity to develop an adequate and accurate view of ate attention was given to multidisci-
the project. With little or no knowledge of how the tasks are actually being plinary tasks.

accomplished or the best way to transition tasks between departments, project The evolving knowledge of each
management’s ability to increase performance is limited. department would create a positive
feedback loop where performance
would feed off of knowledge. Through
The individual departments are left with assumptions about what will be this process of growth there would
be great potential to form standard
received from preceding departments and the capabilities of a subsequent methodologies which would enhance
department. These assumptions lead to poor transitional phases where time and the quality of future projects.

effort are both wasted on revision cycles and miscommunication. If the project
management was supplemented by a role focused on the periphery then the
performance in the transitional phases would increase

Strategy
User Experience
Design
Technology

Page 9
WHAT IT WILL BE