There are no absolute guarantees that your project will be a huge
success, but there are a number of actions you can take at the
outset to ensure that you've done everything possible to make
it work and to justify that what you decide is an effective solution
to your brief.
These actions are often referred to as critical success factors
and will be included in the proposal created in response to the
brief. They are generally developed with the client or broadcaster
and are key to producing a winning project and keeping you on
track. They are effectively central to user/audience needs because
they determine what will be delivered to the users or consumers
and by which method.
Critical success factors are really tied
up in plotting the key things that are going to make
sure whatever work you do is successful. We tend to
try and do critical success factors with the client
because they're going to know what they think is good
or bad.
Dominique Lee
Critical success factors help establish
a working platform for both parties and to keep creative
people on track. At the end of the day the product or
service that you're working for has certain things that
it needs to achieve. They help establish the ability
for a client and a design company to recognise a common
language. Critical success factors can be central to
the needs of the customer and it offers a very even
platform, so think that's crucial. Grant Campbell
For a project to work it is essential to have clear aims
and objectives at the outset about what the client hopes to
achieve
If there are no set objectives it is possible the client
will keep altering the original brief without even realising
As projects progress and the client becomes more confident
of what they need it may be necessary to make amendments to
the initial brief in order to get a better result, but late
changes can lead to all sorts of difficulties for the production
team
Undertake lots of discussion with the client on their aims
and objectives and give them space to talk to people in their
company, show them ideas and get feedback as early as possible
to see what the initial response or reaction is to the proposal
Taking time to consider the options and carry out research
can ensure success far better than just rushing into decision
making without thorough research and testing
If an idea or concept goes through a refining process it
will be more focused and the end product will generate a more
effective response
Early testing on users or audience gives a chance to influence
the design and development of a project to ensure high quality
and effective results
If a project does not have definite goals or targets it is more
difficult to assess what content is needed or how to treat it.
This can lead to a project being pulled in many directions and
will waste a lot of time and resources. It is essential to spend
time on the project at the early stages in order to reap rewards
later on. A project should not progress any further until all
parties are in absolute agreement that a satisfactory strategy
has been reached.
Ideas
To ensure the success of a project, you need to have a number
of ideas and not just one that you think will work
To make sure that your idea is commissioned look further
than just the product itself
Think about developing interactive possibilities within the
project or surrounding the product
Explore marketing opportunities and worldwide potential
If the programme is reliant on people and their stories ensure
that research is carried out to find the right people to produce
exciting content
Audience ratings impact on what you produce and at Endemol
changes have been made to an ongoing reality TV show that wasn't
receiving the predicted number of viewers. This had the effect
of audience figures soaring.
The truth is that TV is only as successful
as the ratings it gets. However much you produce shows
that you know are great, if you can't deliver the audience
that the channel needs for that particular slot then
you've failed and won't get re-commissioned. So it's
really important that when we are working to a brief,
we know exactly who the target audience is and we can
aim accordingly. David Flynn
A number of elements can lead to a successful outcome
- bringing the project in on time and on budget - but all of these
decisions will have been determined early on by defining critical
success factors. If these are carefully discussed and constructed
the end project is far more likely to fulfil its aims and objectives
successfully.
