The Meaning of a Project

Posted on 2011-10-05 16:57 by Per Wising 6 181

In his July 2009 TED talk, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Dan Pink talks about intrinsic motivation: "The three most vital components of a successful project: autonomy, mastery and meaning". Do go ahead and listen to the seventeen minute presentation, it's well worth it. Then, read on. [caption id="attachment_463" align="alignnone" width="383" caption="Dan Pink on intrinsic motivators"][/caption] I would argue that successful projects, just as successful companies, effectively combat pitfalls that stem from a lack of "autonomy, mastery and meaning" among employees and other project members. So let's start by addressing "meaning" in the typical project setting (if there ever was such a thing) and then touch on the subject of how a web-based service such as Projectplace could possibly help a project team understand and reflect on the meaning of a project. Understanding the purpose of a project, as well as project goals, is an intrinsic motivator for most of...

Imaginary Friends

Posted on 2011-08-24 15:24 by Per Wising 7 2

The purpose of product development is to deliver ever increasing perceived value of using a product. As a Software-as-a-Service provider, such as Projectplace, catering to thousands or millions of users, it is obviously not feasible to engage in a conversation with each and every one of these users about their exact needs and wishes and how those can be supported by improvements and additions to the service. It would surely have been nice but it simply wouldn't scale. So instead we rely on generalizations to determine what should go into the product we are developing and how those features and improvements should work. We have created a set of "Personas" that are referenced throughout the design and development processes to keep us focused on why we are doing what we do and —generally — what expectations we should meet or exceed. Look at them as stand-in users representing the target audience. Say...