Generally agree w/distinctions made. In an interactive agency PM's also have more involvement in developing the delivery aspects of SOW's (vs background, objectives & strategy. At the more senior levels presenting these topics in pitches and project kickoffs (e.g. time, money, activities & deliverables, roles/responsibilities, assumptions/dependencies, risks & change mgmt). PM's also get quite involved in the agency nightmare of resource mgmt. I view both roles on a continuum that would include Traffic at the lower end and Program Management at the top. Both groups have the pleasure of being blamed for all team mistakes ; ) Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: "L A Bradley, Jr." <labjlabj@xxxxxxxxx> Date: Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:25:13 To: <webproducers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [webproducers] Re: What's in a name... Producer - Project Manager I agree with Chris Galvin 100%. I am a Project Manager and have managed PMOs - a best friend of mine is a Producer. Although from company to company, of course, it may vary, in my experience of interviewing myself for jobs and interviewing 100's of prospective hires - Chris' fits with the way most companies define the roles. Producers = hands on all the time or at least when needed. And they are involved with both projects (with start and end) and on going maintenance. Project Managers = manage the deliverables, communication and timetables of any number of groups involved with a project that has start and end - designers, content, info architects, programmers, QA, IT, the end-client and all stakeholders. And in my several roles, my PMO teams and I are hands-off - would never (be allowed to (o; ) touch code or even upload content thru CMS. Many times the size of the shop/company/department drives this. (I would throw in that Technical Project Managers more specifically manage programmers and need a much stronger techical backgroud to be able to drive decisions about quality and direction of code - although this is definitely a job title where companies' definition is much more blurred between my definitions above of PM vs TPM) My $0.02 (where did the CENT key go?!?) On Sat, Sep 12, 2009 at 1:30 AM, Dave Kaye <moatgoat@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > All, > > Here's my $0.02: I came up in the days when there were exactly two job > descriptions: "Programmer" or "Designer." They both reported to a "Manager" > of some kind. This was not that long ago. > > These days, it's all "Interaction Designer," "Information Designer," > "Information Architect," "Program Manager," "Project Manager," "Interaction > Programmer," "Designing Architect," "Designing Woman," and "Interactive > Managing Information Project Producer of Programming." I've seen people say > with a straight face, "We need an Experience Manager!" Um...what? > > (Oh, and I blame this squarely on the educational programs like the one I > formerly taught in that flooded the industry with more people than there > were jobs, but I'll leave that for another post.) > > So whilst any of us might be "right" about the proper conception of the > name "project manager/producer" (IMHO there is no such thing as a "producer" > in interactive media unless some kind of video is involved), the final > authority is the person that assigns that name in whatever organization s/he > works for. I know this is not the point of asking the question, but I posit > that this is reality. And so, you must ask questions. > > Hence: If you are talking about, say, RGA, Razorfish, or AKQA, they should > certainly know better. If you are taking about "fistBUMP Interactive," you > takes your chances. > > Dave. > > > Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:50:31 -0700 > > From: jeffrey_herz@xxxxxxxxx > > Subject: [webproducers] Re: What's in a name... Producer - Project > Manager > > To: webproducers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > > > In my opinion, the role and title is determined by the function that the > person is performing within the organization. Are they more creative > oriented or technology focused? > > Historically in advertising (and in television), a producer is the person > that is responsible for getting all the work done across the board. At an > advertising agency the production group is usually within the auspices of > the creative department and the producer is tasked with ensuring that that > work is completed and/or delivered when and where it needs to be. A > producer could work for the studio or production. In the web world, > producers would work more closely with the creative director, IA, flash > developers and Front end folks. They are the bridge between the client and > the creative department. The producer should be able to oversee the entire > creative process and know what outputs are required and when they need to be > delivered. They should also know how to lead & motivate the most artistic > team members into delivering the best work > > > > Traditionally a Project Manager derives from the engineering discipline > (construction, architecture, electrical, software, etc.) and tends to be > more technical in nature. Since there is a much more of scientific approach > with technical endeavors, project managers need to be more focused on the > details and the schedule. Knowing and understanding the Software > Development Life Cycle, (SDLC) and all the deliverables that are associated > with technology is vital to the success of a project manager. This role is > often the liason between the client and the technical team. Project > Managers tend to have a better understanding of the entire project, > including understanding the business drivers, ensuring that the > functionality meets those business drivers and making sure that the solution > ultimately delivers against the business drivers. The project manager is > also responsible for tracking the overall progress of the project, providing > status reports and also > > assessing risk and creating mitigation plans. Finally the project > manager should have some technical background as well, to be able to have a > technical discussion, review an architecture and push the techies to > determine if they are providing you with the absolute best solution. > > > > This is not to say to say that producers and project managers are > mutually exclusive, since there can often be a large union of skills and > backgrounds depending upon your specific project. However, in general if > you have a more creative project, I would look for a producer to lead the > initiative, if it is a more technical solution, then a project manager is > more appropriate. > > > > Just my $.02 > > > > > > Jeff Herz > > JMO Consulting > > 47 Cascade Court > > Stamford, CT 06903 > > (917) 913 5019 (cell) > > LinkedIN: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffherz > > weblog: http://jmoconsulting.blogspot.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: Chris Galvin <chrisg@xxxxxxxxxxx> > > To: webproducers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 6:37:45 PM > > Subject: [webproducers] Re: What's in a name... Producer - Project > Manager > > > > in both positions. Web Producer = plays a dual-role as a front-end > > coder and a project manager. Interactive Project Manager = manages > > Interactive Projects and doesn't code, but has a working knowledge of > > technologies used in building Interactive projects. Thoughts? Slams? > > Rants? Raves? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Sep 11, 2009, at 3:25 PM, Morry Galonoy wrote: > > > > > Ok so to get back on topic I thought it might be a good time to > > > address the differences between being a "producer" and a "project > > > manager". > > > > > > This has come up a few times recently on the lis and I thought it > > > might be a good chance to have an open discussion on the topic. While > > > some places have specific roles and responsibilities for those working > > > as a producer vs a project manager there doesn't seem to be any iron > > > clad definition or standard. When I started this group people were > > > using both terms and we even did a survey at one point and producer > > > was the most preferred title. > > > > > > Here's what we say on the website: "Web Producers Organization (WPO) > > > is a professional organization created to support producers and > > > project managers, of interactive and web-based media. Our titles are > > > varied and often ambiguous* but if you’re responsible for managing > > > interactive projects we’re you’re community. Our aim is to be your > > > connection to the industry and other professionals and help you get > > > your job done better, smarter, and more efficiently. (*producer, > > > interactive project manager, team lead, consultant, web manager)" > > > > > > So let's have an open discussion about this with the understanding > > > that there is no set definition and that the role varies. That said it > > > would be interesting to see how you define producer vs. project > > > manager. What are the similarities and differences in your > > > organization if any? > > > > > > > > > Morry--> Too much e-mail? Manage your subscription at at > http://webproducers.org/?page_id=9 > > > > > > Web Producers Job Board http://jobs.webproducers.org > > > > > > Join us on LinkedIn > http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid877&trk=hb_side_g > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Messages are archived in our publicly accessible web archive. Trim > > > your posts and delete personal information if you do not want them > > > in the public web archive. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --Too much e-mail? Manage your subscription at at > http://webproducers.org/?page_id=9 > > > > Web Producers Job Board http://jobs.webproducers.org > > > > Join us on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid877&trk=hb_side_g > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Messages are archived in our publicly accessible web archive. Trim your > posts and delete personal information if you do not want them in the public > web archive. > > > > > > > > --> Too much e-mail? Manage your subscription at at > http://webproducers.org/?page_id=9 > > > > Web Producers Job Board http://jobs.webproducers.org > > > > Join us on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid877&trk=hb_side_g > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Messages are archived in our publicly accessible web archive. Trim your > posts and delete personal information if you do not want them in the public > web archive. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. > http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222986/direct/01/ > --> Too much e-mail? Manage your subscription at at > http://webproducers.org/?page_id=9 > > Web Producers Job Board http://jobs.webproducers.org > > Join us on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid877&trk=hb_side_g > > > > > > > Messages are archived in our publicly accessible web archive. Trim your > posts and delete personal information if you do not want them in the public > web archive. > > > > > > > -- アントニー ~~~ a n t h o n y --= Too much e-mail? Manage your subscription at at http://webproducers.org/?page_id=9 Web Producers Job Board http://jobs.webproducers.org Join us on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3877&trk=hb_side_g Messages are archived in our publicly accessible web archive. Trim your posts and delete personal information if you do not want them in the public web archive. --= Too much e-mail? Manage your subscription at at http://webproducers.org/?page_id=9 Web Producers Job Board http://jobs.webproducers.org Join us on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3877&trk=hb_side_g Messages are archived in our publicly accessible web archive. Trim your posts and delete personal information if you do not want them in the public web archive.