Don’t Just Manage Your Team, Manage Your Client

If you manage a digital product or service team with skill and aplomb, chances are good you’ll succeed. At least that’s what they say. But every excellent digital project manager knows there’s more to it than that. You’ve got a client to manage. They could be an external project leader or an internal VP. Regardless, if you fail to control them, it hardly matters how amazing your team is. You’ll be in trouble.

The best digital project managers understand the art and science of managing their client’s expectations, fears, time, and budget. In this talk, you’ll learn practical client management kung fu, including how to get your client to:

-> Say yes to your vision for the project.
-> Provide more budget without undue fuss.
-> Accept responsibility for scope creep.
-> Show you how to grow the account.
-> Use your collaborative tools.
-> Readily accept your expert leadership.

So, let’s stop complaining that clients ruin our projects. Let’s do something about it, starting with better management. 

About Dean

Founder and partner of truematter, a user experience strategy firm, Dean has been advocating for user-centered digital products his entire career. He oversees truematter’s UX practice, leading strategic engagements for innovative regional organizations as well as the Fortune 100.

Dean’s work has always included researching, prototyping, and testing digital products with real users. He regularly speaks, writes, and teaches on experience design, user experience strategy, usability, user research, content strategy, and building UX-focused teams.

It’s not all UX all the time (even though it’s close). Dean is also an avid ultra-marathoner, reader, and traveler.