Cammy Horn

OGL:320 Foundations Project Management

D. Burnett

March 7, 2021

The Creative Side Of Project Development

After watching designer Yves Behar in the TED talk video “Create Objects That Tell Stories”, there were several things I thought people could learn from Behar about project management. First, how values influence the way projects are designed. Second, how Behar’s values influence his team and clients. Next, how the “design driven” approach to project management could be prone to scope creep. And lastly, how my own values affect my past and future projects.

First, in Yves Behar’s TED talk, he says that the value that one puts into a project affects the actual value of the project itself. Behar is focused on working on the entire human experience of technology. He values not just the artistic design of his projects, but the functionality of the projects as well. You can see this is true by the way that he talks about Jawbone. Jawbone is a bluetooth device that is worn in the ear, and on the cheek. He describes the project as “humanistic” and “beautiful”. His valuing the beauty as well as the function of this device affected the outcome of this project in a positive way. The Jawbone is skin sensitive, able to separate the users speech sounds from environmental sounds, as well as stylish and beautiful.

Second, Behar’s values impact the way he works with his team, and his clients. His values affect the way he works with others in a positive way. Using the same example, Jawbone, he shows this as well. He shows photographs of the team that worked on Jawbone. In these pictures you could clearly see two groups of people, both working together to design one product. The programmers were working on the main board for the bluetooth. At the same time the designers were working alongside the programmers to modify the layout of the technology to compliment the artistic vision of the project. He stated while showing these images, “It’s not about slapping skins, anymore, on a technology. It’s really about designing from the inside out.” (Behar, 2008). Yves Behar’s unique views on project management help his team work collaborate on projects together, versus handing off finished technology and coloring over the top of the finished project. His values and views also affect his customers. He honestly wants to produce beautiful but functional pieces of technology, and his clients appreciate his sincere efforts on their behalf.

Next, Beher’s “design driven” approach does have a few drawbacks. One con to this approach is the possibility for scope creep. Scope creep occurs after a scope is built and accepted by the relevant stakeholders. When there are changes that are made after this point that have a negative impact on the schedule or budget, this is called scope creep. According to the module three information provided, scope creep is among the top reasons that projects can fail. Running a project with the mindset that it is design driven has the possibility of major changes being made mid project. As long as “design driven” projects are kept on a timeline, and all changes are approved by the appropriate people, then there is no reason why these projects should not succeed.

As I study Yves Behar’s TED talk, I think about my own values, and how they correspond and affect the projects I participate in. Two values that I feel are very important in any project are; sincerity, and K.I.S.S. or, keep it simple stupid. First, I believe every project should be handled with honesty and sincerity. There have been many projects that I have been apart of that I did not necessarily agree with, but I supported as honestly as I could. In our class groups, we have a rule, stating that even if you do not agree with the majority vote, you will support and contribute to the assignment. I think this rule can be applied to projects, and to life. Being an adult, I have been in many situations where I do not fully agree with the situation, but I communicate honestly, and still contribute my part. I believe that this value shows team members and co-workers that they can count on you to be sincere in everything you are a part of. The second value that I feel is important, is K.I.S.S. This saying was noted by the United States Navy in the 60’s. It stands for “keep it simple stupid.” Coming from a heavy background in sports, high school and college, I have a high respect for “the basics”. The basics are any set of basic skills one is taught when first introduced to a sport. I have taken many lessons from sports and applied them to life, but none more than this.

One major project I have used this in took place last basketball season. I was asked to be the Freshmen basketball coach for Thatcher High School, and assist in the varsity by coaching point guards one on one. Participating in this project, I found myself putting both values talked about into play. With my own team, held practices and games in a way that made the game fun for the girls, while still educational. I knew that they were not at the skill level to be training them in advanced skills, so I focused our practices on training their basic skill, ball control, shooting, and court awareness. From watching the girls at try-outs, to our last game, I could see great improvement in their skills and confidence.

While this strategy worked great for my freshmen girls, the Varsity coach had other opinions. He liked to use the phrase, “I want my team to play like boys.”. While I understood what the varsity coach was trying to say, I did not agree with it wholeheartedly. Trying to be honest with the coach, like he had asked me to be, I explained to the coach that while it is good for girls to play physical and scrappy like boys often do, it is impractical to expect these girls to play like a boys varsity team. While I support the femminest ideas of “women are equal to men”, I understand that physically, men and women are on different levels. Still wanting to participate in the coaching activities, I tried to be as honest as I could, while still supporting the girls under my instruction in a way that the head coach approved of. In the end, we had a successful season, and I learned many things about participating in a project where multiple points of views are at play.

In conclusion, Yves Behar showed that “design driven” projects can be immensely successful. He showed that having certain values and incorporating them in your work can be beneficial to companies and team environments. I have learned alot from his TED talk, and reflected on my past projects with his key points in mind. I think that appropriately using your individual values in your projects gives your team an edge over other projects that are simply using the cookie cutter molds layed out for them.

References

TEDTalks: Yves BEHAR--CREATING objects that tell stories; TED, 2008.