When learning a new skill or kicking off a project with a new user in mind, I know the right questions to ask to get a deeper understanding and uncover the grey areas. To reinforce, I’ll then put these skills into practice or share my findings with team members.
- I am an active learner - I am focused and observant when learning, I think dynamically and ask questions throughout the session. Most importantly, I am not afraid to look silly if the question is obvious. I like to repeat the information or process in my own words, to confirm my understanding.
- I understand technical solutions - At Humaan, I am constantly seeking a more technical explanation of the solution. I like to know how things work and why they are built that way. This helps with client / stakeholder communication and problem solving with my team.
- I know my audience - I thoroughly review the scope and business objectives before initial meetings, arriving prepared with relevant questions to dispel any assumptions.To clarify information I use relevant language, for example, with an IT manager more technical terminology and acronyms would be applicable. However, an inexperienced small business owner would require more talk about their pain points and our simple solutions.
Having the ability to learn quickly increases the range of skills I have, making me a valuable team member who can confidently contribute to problem solving and strategy sessions.
Project Case Study
Project - The Curtain & Blind Co is a recently rebranded company that has been in business for 40 years and was looking for a fresh, sophisticated e-commerce platform to promote their brand and product sales.
Project Management Challenge - We had an enjoyable and smooth design phase; the new brand really came to life and the client was very trusting. However, the product customisation tool was based on a simple product example provided. Unfortunately, when provided with the full product list with all possible customizations, we discovered we’d need to accommodate complexities that fell outside the original project scope.
I understand technical solutions - The first thing I tackled was realigning the project scope with the project requirements. I worked with the developers to understand what was required to accomodate the complex product customizations.
This allowed me to articulate the value of product customization to the client, which led to their decision to expand the project’s scope as this was integral to achieving their sales goals. I was then able to assist the developers with an in-scope solution for the product customizations.
We decided on nested conditional rules because they would allow infinite conditional customizations for each product whilst being robust, flexible and easy for the client to use well into the future.
