The discipline of project management—and more specifically, software project management—has been around for years, but its adoption by publishers has been slow. There are a few good reasons for this, not the least of which is that it's just plain difficult. It is also quite different from editorial and production processes. For example, if composition schedules are running behind, adding more people typically speeds things up. On a software project, adding people, especially at the last minute, can often slow things down and result in much lower quality. Another example is that printed books must be perfect when they go to press. There will be no other opportunity to correct them. Electronic content products and software (including Web sites) can be improved endlessly. In fact, it is often wiser to keep things simple at first and add content and functionality over time in response to feedback, but this is often a difficult lesson learned by many otherwise savvy developmental and managing editors.
- Companies:
- Really Strategies Inc.
- People:
- Barry Bealer