Notion Custom Project Management System
Gage Minamoto
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Posted Apr 5, 2024
Custom project management database in Notion for the marketing team to develop improved workflows, improve project management, and enhance collaboration.
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Project Type
Project Management System Buildout
My Role
Notion ConsultantSystem AnalystDatabase ArchitectTeam
VP of Marketing — Project Lead
Creative Team Manager
Business Process Improvement Team
At-a-Glance
A few weeks into my internship at Servco, I was given the task of creating a report on inefficiencies within the Marketing Creative Team and improving collaborations with other marketing teams. After presenting my report to the VP of Marketing (who had previously worked at Notion), I was assigned to lead a team focused on enhancing business processes.
This involved reassessing existing processes and making them more efficient, while also reducing unnecessary cross-functional communication. As we were reevaluating the workflows, it was also a good opportunity to align them better with Notion's practices. Additionally, since the VP had come from Notion, we were able to showcase and improve our design based on insights from the people who create the product.
Problem
The creative team's project manager expressed a need for better supervision of their team regarding tasks, project timelines, and each team member's workload. The team unanimously identified the pain points in the productivity tools they used to collaborate. Specifically, Jira, the previous project manager, was designed around agile and scrum frameworks. These frameworks work well for many product and software development teams, but they are not ideal for marketing.
Pain Points
Inefficient Cross Functional CommunicationDelays in task coordination and project management
Back & forth w/ Stakeholders
Inefficiencies in task coordination and project management
Lack of process standardizationCreates confusion and inconsistency in task execution and management
Challenges in establishing clear expectations w/ stakeholders
Lack of a cohesive approach to project execution
Inadequate oversight on bandwidthDifficulty in monitoring team members' workloads
Inability to track project timelines
Difficulty in identifying potential bottlenecks or resource imbalances
Requesters unaware of project status
Solution
I collaborated with the VP of Marketing, the business process team, and key stakeholders to develop a customized workspace and project management system that meets the needs of Servco's Marketing department.
Notion will be the preferred tool for documentation, note-taking, project management, and creative requests, integrating with existing and new tools.
Requirements for Successful Launch
Reevaluate processes & software to meet team and stakeholder needs.
Consolidate marketing teams onto one project management software.
Obtain buy-in from marketing.
Goal
Find a solution that enhances collaborationand improves processes across marketing
🏠 Marketing Homepage
The marketing homepage is the central dashboard for the project management system. It offers quick access to important features and allows team members to navigate to different sections of the system. The homepage displays documentation, updates, and team pages.
Central dashboard for the project management system.
Quick access to important features.
Navigate sections of the system
Displays documentation, updates, and team pages.
🏗️ Marketing Projects
This database will contain all marketing projects, regardless of their size. Notion is easily configurable making it easy to iterate on workflows live. By centralizing all marketing projects in one database, management and executives can easily oversee the entire marketing department. Notion project management and database relations are used in this database to seamlessly integrate projects. It utilize custom templates workshopped by brand team and I.
At the macro level, marketing projects enable:
Create a Marketing Projects to manage everything related to the campaign.
Track and manage the different channel briefs to help your colleagues stay aligned.
Map dependencies to identify risks and keep your projects on schedule.
📋 Campaign Brief
Provides standardized templates for easy access to important information.
Homepage with important resources for better team understanding and document access.
Develop timeline with smaller tasks and subtasks for efficient project management.
Brief includes objectives, success metrics, target audience, and messaging.
Conduct kickoff calls and create filtered view for scoping the marketing campaign.
☑︎ Marketing Tasks
The Task database is used by the team to track individual items for larger launches. It allows tasks to be organized by project and provides visibility into progress across the team. Notifications through Slack keep the team informed about project progress, and comprehensive information about each task is easily accessible.
Tasks are categorized by project
Monitor progress across the entire department.
Notifications through Slack keep the team informed about project progress.
🖌️ Creative Request Page
Streamlines creative requests and management, enabling efficient collaboration between Marketing and Creative team.
Requesters provide request details such as the title, description, deadline, and relevant files.
Once submitted, the request is assigned for review and execution.
Requesters can track the progress and be notified of updates.
Process
Project Timeline
Review and assess current processes and software.
Identify key individuals involved in the project.
Conduct interviews to gather insights and feedback.
Present findings to the team and management.
Gain approval and support from the marketing team.
Perform a soft launch in parallel with old system.
Proceed with the full launch and make improvements based on feedback.
Stakeholder Interviews
During the project, I conducted interviews with the creative team to understand project management and production workflow issues. This analysis and collaboration helped me propose practical solutions for improved team efficiency.
Key Stakeholders
Each stakeholder has their unique workflows and areas of concern. Through 1:1 we were able to pin point them and work towards possible solutions.Stakeholder RolesDirector, Content and PartnershipsCreative Service ManagerCreative Team ProducerProduction CoordinatorContent CreatorSenior Content CreatorSenior Graphic Designer
Stakeholder Roles
Director of Content and Partnerships
Creative Service Manager
Creative Team Producer
Production Coordinator
Content Creator
Senior Content Creator
Senior Graphic Designer
Selecting New Project Manager
Based on stakeholder interviews, the pain points in the Marketing Creative Team's project management workflow include a lack of oversight on bandwidth, unclear processes, and excessive cross-functional communication. To address these issues, it is recommended to use project management software designed for marketing teams. This software should have task management, collaborative proofing and review, a production calendar, and templated request briefs.
Basecamp
Basecamp is a web-based project management software that streamlines workflows by offering tools for task management, file sharing, messaging, scheduling, and collaboration. It centralizes project information and facilitates effective communication and coordination among team members.
ClickUp
ClickUp is a flexible and customizable cloud-based tool that centralizes project information and tasks. It offers features for task management, time tracking, file sharing, collaboration, and integrations with other apps.
Pain Points
Based on stakeholder interviews, my team and I have learned that the current processes within the Marketing Creative Team are unclear and unstandardized.
Inefficient Communication
Delays in task coordination and project management
Back & forth w/ Stakeholders
Inefficiencies in task coordination and project management</aside>
Lack of process standardization
Creates confusion and inconsistency in task execution and management
Challenges in establishing clear expectations w/ stakeholders
Lack of a cohesive approach to project execution</aside>
Inadequate Oversight
Difficulty in monitoring team members' workloads
Inability to track project timelines
Difficulty in identifying potential bottlenecks or resource imbalances
Requesters unaware of project status</aside>
User Testing
Due to the limited options in Notion, usability testing was conducted after a substantial part of the framework was completed. Soft launching the product allowed for simultaneous development and testing of different components, considering the tight timeline for team onboarding.
For the initial database, limited data has been gathered on metrics for marketing tasks, projects, and creative requests to ensure a user-centric design.
Notion: The Chosen Solution
After evaluating and comparing different project management software options, Notion emerged as the preferred choice for several reasons:
Flexibility and Customizability: Notion is highly flexible and customizable, allowing users to adapt it to their preferred workflow and switch between different views like lists, boards, and calendars.
Collaboration and Communication: Notion provides robust collaboration and communication features, including comments, mentions, and real-time chat, facilitating effective teamwork and information sharing within projects.
Integration Capabilities: Notion integrates with popular tools like Box, Slack, and Outlook, ensuring seamless integration with existing workflows.
Documentation and Note-Taking: Notion excels as a comprehensive documentation and note-taking platform, storing and organizing briefs, research, meeting notes, and onboarding instructions.
VP of Marketing's Experience: The VP of Marketing has extensive experience using and managing marketing teams through Notion, providing valuable insights and guidance on utilizing the platform effectively.
Cost Considerations: Notion offers a cost-effective solution with reasonable pricing plans that fit the organization's budget.
Possible Obstacles & Concerns
Need for numerous SOPs for the new processes
No dedicated safeguard features for briefs
Assign a dedicated person to handle technical debt
Lengthy onboarding Process