Risk first
Every project has tasks you tick off quickly, and tasks where nobody knows yet whether they will work. We start with the second kind.
The easy part pulls
At the start of a project there is a long list of to-dos on the table. Part of it is clear: get the print quote, enter the dates, adjust the layout. Another part is open. Will the structure hold when ten people pull on it? Does the sensor still see a hand in backlight? Will the screen arrive in time?
The clear tasks are done quickly and feel like progress. The open ones slide to the back. That is exactly where the stress before an event comes from. If something turns out not to work two weeks before, there is no time left for plan B.
Thinking like product development
Before made, Beda Binder developed products in medical technology and optics. You learn early there: first comes whatever can bring down the whole project. A device whose core function does not work goes nowhere, however good the housing looks.
An activation is no different. No graphic saves a game that crashes at the event. So our rule is: the uncertain comes before the easy.
What that looks like in a project
Every kickoff starts with the same question: what could bring this project down? As a rule of thumb, each of the biggest uncertainties is settled within the first third of the project time. Only then do we plan the rest.
Typical uncertainties, and how we settle them early:
- New technology, software or sensors: a prototype running on the real hardware
- Build, materials and dimensions: a sample or a 1:1 mock-up from cheap chipboard
- The site, meaning power, internet and access: a site visit or written confirmation from the organiser
- Unclear expectations: show a sketch or a sample early instead of only the finished solution
Tested, not discussed
For us a risk is only closed once it has been tested. Having talked about it is not enough. With digital installations we therefore test not only normal operation but failure too: what happens when the internet drops, the power cuts out for a moment or the computer restarts?
In the weekly check the first question is whether the biggest risk has become smaller. If not, it takes priority over everything else in the coming week.
What you gain from it
At the start you get a lot of questions from us, and you see a sample or a prototype early. That is deliberate. If something does not work as planned, you hear about it while there are still alternatives, not shortly before the set-up.
More on how we build games and digital installations under Gamification.
