A Better Workflow

Solving Hard Creative Operations Problems

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The Problem With Task Management for Creatives

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Within the last year Comedy Central augmented its digital workspace with two new third-party systems, one for task management system and a sister system for project management. This filled a real need; our workflow tool already let users leave notes and comments about the media, and it retained the chain of conversation around a project or asset. But it just wasn’t enough.

So here we go again — creating two more silos of information and communication. Clearly, this went against my conviction that an integration solution should be our first resort. But, a void was filled… however poorly.

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Creative Ops: The Sweet Spot for a Digital Hub

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When it comes to workflow solutions, my presentations at Henry Stewart have espoused a decidedly contrarian point of view, based on my experience and a sound business case at Comedy Central. 

Our creative review and approval system is built in house using Ruby on Rails, hosted by Amazon Web Services. We chose not to outsource the creativity that is so vital to our process.

Comedy Central’s content marketing arm currently produces 3,000 to 4,000 graphics a month, across all media types. A 30-second spot could easily go through 20 revisions before it’s fit to release. The same holds true for everything else. And there’s a lot of conversation that surrounds this work. We needed a way to manage all this stuff that enhanced and supported our existing team structures and processes.

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Creative Ops: Digital Workspaces Can Get the Last 20%

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It’s a big confusing world out there, with solutions offered for every possible workflow challenge. That’s why conferences like Henry Stewart that I recently attended are so important.

Operations professionals go to find answers and to learn from case studies like mine from Comedy Central to see how other enterprises are dealing with workflow issues. (Read my other blog post about how I helped Comedy Central find its Sweet Spot.)

Attendees are trying to understand the problem space, trying to find the right answers, and hoping to meet very smart and dedicated solution providers and vendors. 

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Conference Talks: DAM LA 2015

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My next public speaking opportunity is just around the corner, and I can’t wait to share my thoughts about building digital workspaces for creative teams.

I’ll be at the Henry Stewart DAM Conference, in Los Angeles, Nov. 12-13, 2015. 

This will be my third appearance at this conference series. Previously, I’ve spoken at the east coast event, held every May in New York.

Much of my new thinking has emerged from the Product Management intensive course I recently completed at General Assembly. This curriculum covered the entire scope of product development from concept, user surveys, wireframing, testing ideas, MVP’s, business canvases, working with developers, competitive landscape, scrum and a host of other great concepts. As a Product Manager, the entire arc of development through implementation is on your shoulders.

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