Digital Smiles
We’ve all had our share of first rodeos — perhaps it’s your first-ever marketing project or your debut project at a new organisation. An important thing to keep in mind is that learning is a continuous process that helps us grow, and there’s no shame in that. There are tactics we can employ to make first rodeos more productive. For instance, one easy tactic is compiling a list of questions in advance for future projects — most likely unknown at this point.
The prospective one should ask themselves: “If I could go back to the start of this project, what questions would I ask with what I know now?” How we address challenges in one project can help provide perspective for challenges in other projects.
A very common martech scenario is determining if data needs to flow between systems in real time or not. This can have implications for architecture, data services and integrations. Compiling questions for the future can help us address critical information earlier on in future projects, which should help ease frustration.
Compiling a list of questions should not be a challenge. Resist any desire to overcomplicate this practice. To maintain a list, use tools already available to you, like Google Docs or Word, Microsoft OneNote, a wiki like Confluence, or similar systems. Your list compilation process needs to remain easy to increase the chances you’ll continue the practice.
Another advantage of most of these commonly used programs is that it is easy to share access with others through them. That way, enlisting colleagues to help develop such lists is easy, as they will undoubtedly have helpful insights.
While marketing projects are unique, some general questions should apply to all situations. Here are some questions that should apply across broad circumstances that can help you start your own lists:
You have plenty of opportunities to compile questions. For instance, when it’s your first time to undertake a project. This could take a couple of different forms. You may be starting the first project you have ever done to build or redesign a website. This applies particularly when you’re either early in your career or making a lateral career change. Further, this could apply to a team. Maybe the team is new, and everyone is just getting to know each other. Perhaps teams have been combined, and people are still adjusting to the changes. Don’t forget about bringing a new vendor or vendor team to a project. Regardless of a new person, team or vendor, these all are great times to proactively compile questions.
Imagine you’ve recently started working at a new company. Even if you’ve done website redesign projects before, working on one at this specific company might be a new experience. While there are usual steps to follow, dealing with new colleagues and company dynamics can add complexity. So, when you’re new at a company, gathering questions as you kick off new projects is a good idea. First times aren’t the only great times to compile questions to hopefully help future projects. Any project, when viewed correctly is a great time to step back and assess situations. It’s never too late to start.
Just as with other martech documentation, a little effort now can definitely ease things in the future. Do your future self a favour by noting current lessons that you can apply in the future.
Technology-savvy business professionals can benefit from compiling a list of questions in advance for their marketing
Originally reported by Martech: https://martech.org/marketing-projects-why-you-should-compile-questions-in-advance/
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