Doing something "differently" doesn't always translate to "better." However, it's remarkable to see how differently project management is done at other companies and where the boundaries of that position lay from one place to another.
Project Management at ePrize is a pretty tough yolk to bear. Among other responsibilities, PMs interact with clients, modify wireframes, write copy, deal with production resources (also known as SEs, IDs, MMSs, QA, etc -- some of whom can act like bratty children), oh, and manage projects.
A byproduct of this is the boilerplate / cookie-cutter nature of wireframes and copy decks. This used to frustrate me to no end, reviewing a promotion that should be strongly branded only to find that same tired old "We're Sorry! You forgot to enter the following fields:" language. It was only when dealing with clients or third party vendors that employed writers on projects that would strip out or modify the boilerplate enough to make the text relavant to the item being promoted.
Meanwhile, some of our clients would actualy pay attention to the site map that came along with their wireframes. Pity those poor fools. Sitemaps were an afterthought at best and rarely reflected the actual flow of pages in a promotion. In other companies, these sitemaps and wireframes might have gotten a little bit of attention from an internet architect.
Again, that's not to say that other companies that use dedicated writers and internet architects are necessarily better but it's just interesting to see how many roles the poor PMs at ePrize play. Couple this with the fact that these PMs are often straight out of college and given a terrible wage -- usually promotion from Associate PM to full PM doesn't include an increase in pay, only in title -- and it really becomes something else.
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3 comments:
Go ahead and talk about them and how great things are now. Kind of tough to believe that things could turn around in just a few weeks.
Also, don't forget about Campbell Ewald. Exprizers are "bringing down" that company and a host of others, too.
By "bringing down" I imagine that you mean "working less, being paid more, and getting the respect they deserve as hard workers and human beings."
Of course, I'm sure all of these "improvements" of which you speak have brought an end to the 80-100 hour work weeks and tremendous pay increases, right?
Do these "improvements" mean the end to nepotism and walking papers given to employees whose only qualifications for working there come from their attendance at the same temple as other employees?
Please, enlighten us as to the fact that now everyone can go home and see their families and leave their laptops at work. Please share what could radically shift the ePrze sweatshop mentality so radically in such a short period of time! People really want to know!
Just some advice for you, eprizer:
You think you know a lot more about things than you really do.
And, if this blog upsets you, you don't have to read it.
What's that line about arguing on the internet? I think it's something like: "Arguing on the internet is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded." Keep running.
Hate blog? So far I've been posting the memories of myself and some of my old friends along with some constructive criticism. When I start posting a "hate blog", I'll let you know.
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