Project Description

After working to rebuild the details of each product, leadership wanted to rebrand the names of each product and plan level (10 names). This also incorporated sunsetting a blog plan level and collecting contact info for those respective clients.

Teams

Company wide initiative – Product, Success Team (Support), Publishing (Marketing), Sales, Senior Leadership

Scope

  • Project Timeline span – 4 weeks
  • Deliverables – Updates to each of the following:
    • Product Pages on main Website
    • Support Center Articles
    • Resource Center Articles
    • Email Macros
    • Support Ticket Fields
    • Sales Sheets / Slide Decks
    • Drip Campaigns / Email RSS Campaigns
    • Contact Forms
    • Invoices
    • Contracts
    • Platform wide backend Dashboard – 1000+ websites
  • Identified Risks
    • Potential for decommissioned plan clients to cancel
    • Existing clients reevaluate current plan offering and lower plan
    • Internal communication confusion that may result in providing incorrect info to clients

Project Narrative

This was the first time I submitted a project proposal with a gantt chart. Previously, the company did not operate on a deadline basis. Past work was completed by individual prioritization. That past workflow would not work with an initiative that had every client touch point to consider.

Figma Gantt Chart used

 

What Went Right

Quick turn-around – Once we got the ball rolling, it took nearly 1 week to have everything updated. There was only a couple straggling tasks that spilled over into week 3. We were also able to make a list of everywhere our product names were listed. This was important in the case we add a new product offering.

No Ghosts – Repeated check-ins were accepted without issue. No one became defensive or failed to reply.

Zero client backlash – We didn’t receive negative feedback from clients. For the discontinued plan level, we only received one reply in acknowledgment. We did anticipate this as we grandfathered them into the plan. This meant they were the only ones that could buy more websites of that plan.

What Went Wrong

Initial Delays – The first phase was the hardest to get down. There was some confusion about the specifics with multiple leadership needing to be consulted. The deadline for the project was moved back nearly 2 extra weeks as a result.

Vacation – Due to the several delays, the project ended up landing in the middle of multiple people’s vacation time. This included myself. Upon returning, senior leadership had made several key decisions regarding the scope of the project expanding into a full rebrand. While it did not affect the overall outcome, it did affect the timeline by adding 2 weeks which was acceptable.

Failure to utilize Project Board – A gantt chart was created using Asana software. While several participants used the board to its full effectiveness, there were several who failed to use it at all. This resulted in them relying on constant check-ins and a failure to prioritize their portion of the work. This was more of a missed opportunity to make up for lost time.

Conclusion

I learned that a rocky beginning can result in people not taking the rest of a project seriously enough. Multiple delays set lower expectations for quality project management.

I also learned that a RACI chart does very little use for straightforward tasks that don’t require feedback. This turned out to be a positive as it meant participants could focus on making updates without the need to consult or inform a multitude of others.

Finally, I learned that my team is incredibly understanding. I laid out when I was going to check-in and when everything was due. I did not get any complaints, defensiveness, or ridicule from anyone in the company. I believe that my constant offer to help also added to the trust and understanding. They knew I was doing my job and that I was also a resource.

Overall, the project went very well considering some of the major time sinks.