SPLIT PERSONALITYHOW TO DESIGN NEW PRODUCTS IN A SMALL

NEWS ORGANIZATION

Emma Carew Grovum / @emmacarew

ABOUT ME:Now: magazine

- Journalism DiversityProjectThen: Chronicle of Philanthropy, Cooking Club magazine,Star Tribune

Foreign PolicyDiversify.JournalismWith.Me

I AM NOT ACTUALLY...A designer

A developer

An editor

A reporter

But, I've worked in all corners of the newsroom, and am nowcomfortable working with all of the above.

HOW DID I BECOME THIS PERSON?I was hired at FP to run social media and the homepage.

THEN I...

Worked on a glitchy newsletter >> ended up overseeing allnewsletters and launching a new oneWanted better homepage tools >> ended up projectmanaging the edit side of CMS rebuild

In small newsrooms, there often is not enough bandwidth todistinguish between product manager and project manager.

NOW, ON ANY GIVEN DAY, I AM...Headline writing for homepage storiesChoosing, recropping, swapping photos across the siteTroubleshooting general tech issues with reportersMaking quick hit graphics for storiesFiling bug requests with tech teamQAing updates from developers and sending feedback

These are 10 best practices I've learned while bouncingbetween tech and editorial the past year

PREVIOUSLY ON...Work and communicate like you've got a new team of aliens

showing up to collaborate every day. Start at step 0 andassume that not everyone is up to speed at all times.

Start meeting recaps and project updates like TV shows dobefore new episodes, with a short "the story so far..." intro.

(especially if you are working with a new team or even just one person new to the process)

KILL SCOPE CREEP EARLY ANDOFTEN

Define "mission critical" and "minimally viable" upfront.

When someone says "ASAP", what does that actuallymean??

How many top priority requests can exist at once?

GET ORGANIZEDLIKE, REALLY FREAKING ORGANIZED.

Ticketing system (JIRA/Redmine. 1 task = 1 ticket)Standing check-in meetings, daily email update, onlinechatChoose a preferred screenshot and screencapture tool --and teach people how to use itPick a non-Github place for documentation and files tolive (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc) and keep it organized

YOU, CALL 911One thing they teach lifeguards is to always designate a

specific person to call 911 in an emergency, never saying,"someone call 911" and pointing vaguely into the crowd.

Be specific, especially in email communications. Assigntasks to people, not crowds.

BEING VAGUE WASTES TIMEDON'T WASTE TIME.

Don't send emails to report "the thing is broken" or thatyou "don't like this"Be specific when you can: "this link goes to the wrongplace" or "can we change the color on xyz-thing?"Show don't tell: use annotated screenshots to report bugsthat are hard to describe over emailUse screencapture gifs to show interactions that aren'tworking the way they should or that you expect.

WIREFRAMES WILL ONLY GET YOUSO FAR

If you're working with folks who aren't intimately involvedwith the nitty-gritty of how something is built, don't askthem to rely on sketches, mockups and wireframes only.

"Use your imagination" or "just pretend it doesn't look likethis" isn't helpful for building bridges between teams.

ALL THE "LITTLE THINGS" ADD UPTiny CSS bugs that feel like finishing touches for developerscan add up quickly for the other side, making it hard to see

progress.

If you can knock through a handful of small requests perweek, it can buy you some goodwill on the stuff that will

take much longer to solve.

DON'T DO THINGS THAT DON'TWORK

WHAT DIDN'T WORK FOR US:Unclear hierchy of stakeholders causes confusion

Revisiting decisions wastes time

Try to avoid a 23rd hour push

Hold people accountable for deliverables

EVERYONE CAN HELP WITH USERTESTING!

If your staff can't use your website/app/product, youraudience probably won't be able to use it.

But, QA-ing a project isn't something journalists do everyday. Take the time to explain exactly what feedback you are

looking for, and how to best report it.

MANNERSIt sounds dumb, but "please" and "thank you" go a long way-- especially on deadline, especially late at night, especially

over email, especially you're so sick of looking at each other,your screens, and your project.

Giving your teammates the benefit of the doubt andassuming best intentions can help protect everyone's sanity.

Tips for staying sane through it all

Be realistic and manage expectations.(to be honest, this is about 50% of the job)

Sometimes you have to be the bad cop. And it kind of sucks.

You still have to do your actual job.

Try changing venues often.

Do the things that only you can do.

Don't do the things that someone else could just as easilydo.

Questions?

THANKS!Slides are available at:

http://ecarewgrovum.github.io/SNDDC-slides/#/

Downloadable PDF