The flexible, scalable project delivery toolkit for agencies. Ensuring repeatable success, no matter who your client is, or what their needs are.
A hybrid methodology specifically created to enable consistent agency project success.
It acknowledges that project delivery at an agency has different challenges and pressures to product delivery. Fixed elements, regular new stakeholders, and shorter timelines for example.
Offering guidance for all types of scope, client and team. It accepts that fixed scope projects happen. It supports a waterfall delivery approach when suitable. It even nods to the core values of Agile (without an agile framework in sight).
It’s a foundational approach which is flexible enough to be implemented by any delivery team. While also encouraging them to personalise and evolve it for the specific needs of the agency.
It contains a powerful set of tools for every stage. It’s suitable for any project and plays well with any delivery model.
With new or existing clients, whether they perceive your agency as supplier, vendor, expert, partner or consultant. Whether they’re thinking has reached the How or the What, or even the Why.
Where scope is flexible or fixed, and requirements are simple, complicated, or complex.
Where your team is remote or co-located, and whether your teams’ members change often, or rarely.
It includes guidance for, and support with:
- Management style
- Client onboarding
- Project roles and responsibilities
- Team dynamics
- Contract creation
- Meetings and formats
- Productivity and quality
- Communication
If you’d like to discuss implementing this framework, or you have questions, send me an email.
Four Project Focuses
For each project, the framework defines four focuses.
Align
The first stage of any client relationship, and every project. It includes the sales process and any early discovery.
- Ensures client engagement
- Balances and mitigates risk
- Builds trust on both sides
- Supports internal buy-in
Continue reading about the Align focus.
Define
The planning stage. Bringing any existing scope, and including the outputs from the Align stage, we create a project plan that includes the work, the priorities, the risks, estimates and people.
- Creates a detailed plan to push against and aim for
- Allows for discovery and change
- Can be value-led, metric focused, or fixed
Continue reading about the Define focus.
Deliver
Where value is created and delivered. Using outputs from the Define stage, we make progress against our plan.
- Considered scope creep
- Encourages early and often delivery
- Emphases doing things early and ending well
Continue reading about the Deliver focus.
Adapt
(more content soon)
A regular review of our ways of working. Changing focuses at the team, approach, and project level to ensure holistic inspect and adapt both during and between projects.
- Classic inspect and adapt benefits
- Considers dynamic teaming challenges
- Focuses on the approach and team, not individuals
FAQ
How much of Agency Project Delivery Framework already exists?
A considerable amount. It’s published on this website, and documented across various different online tools, notepads and flip charts.
All elements have experienced real world use. Everything has had input from various agency teams.
The work now is to:
- Publish more of it
- Detail it further, so it can offer value to more agencies
- Iterate further, through wider use and feedback
Why not call it a ‘Project Management Framework’?
The first reason is that project management, and the management of projects, are not the same thing. Project management suggests a person (a project manager) in charge of management of everybody and everything. That’s simply not the case in high performing teams.
The second reason is that this framework goes beyond the scope of standard project management. Successful agency projects need more than simply managing into existance. This framework aims to acknowledge and support that approach.
Can small parts of the framework be implemented?
Yes. Although the framework includes guidance beyond the Four Project Focuses, the focuses themselves are self contained.
Many of the elements within each focus may also have individual merit for you. Tools, tips, techniques.
Is it suitable for an ad / marketing / software / design agency?
The framework focuses on client project delivery. It’s suitable anywhere that clients collaborate with a delivery team, and there is a clear start, middle and end to the work.
How much detail are you planning to share?
Breadth then depth. Initially the focus will be on explaining all areas of the framework. The level of detail will increase over time.
Starting with what it is and who it’s for. Then moving on to why it works. Finally some addition detail on how it all works.
Some aspects of delivery / workshops may not appear online any time soon, if ever, but I’ll have some availability to work with agencies on implementation.
Is specific software or certain tools required?
The framework includes guidance on defining and managing ‘the work’, but doesn’t mandate or even make recommendations for where any digital managing is done.
Can you help us implement it?
Yes! I support agencies with all sorts of project delivery challenges. The components of this framework are the core of that offer.
If you’d like to chat about how you can benefit from this framework send me an email.