Hello, this is Kojima from the Coding Factory.
In my previous article, I wrote about how I worked as a checker while attending a web school and then changed my career to become a coder. This time, I would like to write about how I changed my position and wanted to increase the things I could do, which led to my change from coder to director.
At Coding Factory (hereafter referred to as CF), coders basically work directly with customers to negotiate schedules and specifications. Since CF's style is to give direction while coding, it was easy to imagine what a director would be like. When you look up the word "director," you find words like conductor, supervisor, and manager, which means someone who actually directs projects. If I could take on such an important role, the scope of my work would expand, and I would be able to use my experience in customer service and sales to communicate with customers, which is essential for a director. That's what I began to think.
Why did you want to become a director?
Personally, if I want to do something, I'm not satisfied until I've done it, so sometimes I plan out a path before I act, but other times I wake up without a plan and suddenly decide, "I'm going to go here today!" If I were to compare this personality to the actions of a director, the former would be planned, while the latter would be the case where if there is anything ambiguous in the documents or the other party's statement, I would immediately check again. In that sense, I might be suited to being a director. Just kidding (laughs).
In fact, as the production skills required became more advanced, I gradually found myself unable to keep up with JS technology, and as I realized I was no longer good at it, I began to feel a discrepancy between my feelings about my job and the difficulties I felt as a coder. I remember repeatedly saying in interviews with my boss every three months that I might be better suited to directing. As a result, I was assigned to the director's team within CF starting this year.
To be honest, I had been a little naive, thinking that a director could only focus on direction, because a coder at CF works in a position similar to a coding director. I had heard about what kind of work directors in other departments do, so I had a vague idea of what I would be doing. However, even though I started to move forward as a director, there were many things that were difficult for me, and I had two major obstacles.
First hurdle: Meeting and subsequent steps
The first challenge I faced when I was in charge of a project as a director was the "meetings" and how to proceed afterwards. I'd like to introduce about six of the specific challenges I faced and how I overcame them.
1. Preparation before the first meeting is important
The first meeting will be an opportunity to review the project outline.
Since the document data will be provided to you at the time of project consultation, it is necessary to prepare in advance any details you would like to confirm regarding the contents of the documents, along with the project outline, before the meeting date.
in particular
- Materials provided by customers
- Production work details
- system
- schedule
You will need to check the following:
When I first got involved in a project, I assumed that I could ask about the above points again at the first meeting. However, it was actually essential to fully understand the above points in advance, and it was very important and difficult to finalize those points at the first meeting. Moreover, I felt that it was important not only to list the things to be confirmed in advance, but also to fully understand the project outline and materials in order to dig deeper by applying the 5W1H (when, where, who, what, why, how).
2. Check the environment
When checking specifications, there are various things to confirm, such as the functions to be implemented and the materials required for production.
When I was checking the specifications for a project I was in charge of in the past, I was particularly concerned about the production environment. That was gulp, which is used as a task runner, and the template engine ejs. This was my first time using the template engine ejs, and since it was meant to make production more efficient, I had to study how to put it together.
In addition, the meetings focused on how to create an environment for managing data, so using data management tools to communicate with customers and resolve their issues was extremely important and difficult.
3. Have a clear image of the overall flow, division of roles, and the structure leading up to production and checking
At the meeting stage, we need to confirm the upcoming arrangements and carefully examine what materials are necessary for production. Therefore, I think that if you imagine what you will be confirming before the meeting and narrow down the main points you want to confirm, the accuracy of the content and process of the entire meeting will improve.
4. Define clear rules for how to use each tool
To avoid confusion among project members, it is also important to clearly define rules to eliminate ambiguity when using each tool, such as communication and data management tools like Backlog. I feel that by clearly defining rules, both the client and the production side can work safely together when moving forward with a project.
5. The importance of documents that anyone can understand
Prepare the relevant materials and data in a detailed and easy-to-understand manner. If the materials are not easy for anyone to understand, the task of "communicating" will take up a lot of man-hours, so I try to be more careful than usual when preparing materials to share with the production team.
For example, in documents such as procedure manuals that are expected to be updated during mass production, if the updated contents are not properly reflected, unnecessary man-hours will be wasted on revisions. For documents that will be important in this way and will affect the future situation, the rules decided in meetings, etc. are always reflected. (We pay special attention to this in order to prevent regrets later, such as "I wish I had communicated clearly...").
6. A WBS that doesn't become difficult
And the WBS is essential. The schedule will proceed according to the client's presentation even before production starts. The schedule after production starts will be created according to our situation and the deadlines required by the client, so I think it's also important for the director to think about flexible production and verification schedules when planned tasks change.
Here are some points that a director should keep in mind when starting a project:
- To what extent can future arrangements be finalized in the first meeting when the project starts?
- Check your environment
- Have a clear image in your mind of the overall flow, division of roles, and the structure leading up to production and checking.
- Each tool has clear rules for how to use it.
- The importance of documents that anyone can understand
- A WBS that doesn't get difficult
I realized that it is important to be able to predict and anticipate any situation.
The second hurdle: Gaining customer trust
I think that the importance of gaining trust is something that each person has different thoughts about. In my case, I believe that being able to give my clients a sense of security through projects leads to gaining their trust. To achieve this, I pay attention to two things: "communication" and "quality."
Tip #1: Communication
When I watched other directors at regular meetings, I realized that it was important to have the ability to respond on the spot. It is important to not just accept requests, but to have a deep understanding of the case so that you can make several proposals. And, even for content that you have not prepared, expand your image and confirm it. It is also important to prepare two or three reasons that will convince the customer of what led you to that conclusion. If you convey what you want to say logically and in an orderly manner, in a way that makes it easy for the other party to say yes, it will be easy for the customer to confirm and you will both be able to talk comfortably. I think this is exactly logical thinking. If you can communicate this properly, you will be able to convey that you are thinking carefully, and I think that a relationship of trust with the customer will be born. I will also be conscious of detailed communication through emails and tools.
Point 2: Quality
The quality of the delivered products will ultimately lead to gaining trust, making customers think, "I'm glad I asked this company to do the work, and I'd like to ask them again."
We aim to deliver high-quality work first, gain a sense of security and trust, and then continue to provide high-quality work. In addition to the pages delivered, we also check the delivery list and requested materials (e.g. evidence reports, checklists), etc., which can take a surprisingly large amount of time, so advance preparation is important.
However, when the delivery date is brought forward or when the client requests a certain number of pages for the next delivery, the schedule must be re-arranged. It is not enough to simply re-arrange the schedule; it is also important to think about how to create the schedule without compromising quality. As a result of considering the quality, the number of pages that can be produced earlier may change, so it is necessary to confirm with the client in various ways, and it is important to be careful.
In the future, I would like to improve my situational judgment.
Through what I have noticed, felt, and realized so far, I would like to hone my ability to make accurate judgments and take action as tasks change depending on the situation.
There are still areas where I need more experience, so I hope to make good use of this experience and apply it to my future work.
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