Why Project Planning is Essential when Bringing Ideas to Reality

Brainstorming

Creative idea generation is essential to any marketing agency. However, the ability to bring these creative ideas to fruition is just as important. This is when we rely on project planning. Without forethought, projects can be forgotten, rushed, or mismanaged. 

How We Do Things

Once we receive a project, my job as Project Coordinator kicks in. I help Account Managers assess client needs, define their inbound strategy, and help break those down into actionable steps. Write, revise, design, create, proof, and publish, for example. I cross-reference each project timeline with individual’s schedules, ensuring everything coincides smoothly. Next, I gather as much information about the project as possible. I streamline communication and research to remove those little roadblocks and hurdles that prevent a project from moving forward. 

We heavily rely on a project planning software called Basecamp to coordinate schedules. With Basecamp, I'm able to create project timelines and assign tasks to our team, all while viewing and balancing individual workloads. One of the best parts of my job is that every day is a little different; I really enjoy touching every project, working with everyone on our team, and helping meet deadlines.

The LI Advantage

We are continually looking for opportunities to innovate and increase efficiency. I have been working on improving our project planning process with my Basecamp Dreams™ campaign. Since my job heavily involves Basecamp, I wanted to get feedback from my entire team about how scheduling practices could be improved. With this feedback, I hope to bring even more innovation to the table. I also reached out to Basecamp, asking for feedback and possible solutions to our problems. They responded, and I am now on a new path of researching and comparing add-ons. More on this, later.

On my own, I began by creating reusable project templates that I hope will make the project planning aspect of account management easier. I also began linking between Basecamp milestones, so others can reference work being done that relates to their tasks. I’ve found this helps coordinate different phases of a large project and allows for better communication between team members.

All-in-all, I think scheduling and coordination are a very important part of any company. These aspects often go unnoticed (unless there’s an issue) but are essential to the success of our projects and time management.

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