I understand that there are urgent requests that come in from clients but that does not give the traditional person the right to go ahead and plan on your behalf.
For one, they do not know the amount of bandwidth you have available in your digital design and development schedule. Setting a delivery date can come back and bite both traditional and digital in the ass.
Two, they (traditionalists) dont know how to estimate out digital costs so if you end up going over estimate you(digital) are just going to have to eat that time.
Thirdly, it undermines your position on the interactive side.
So what should you do if you are a victim? Confront this person and place a little slap on the wrist. I know a lot of you dont want to make waves but you have to stand-up for your department or else you will simply become a tool to your agency rather than a strategic partner.
I am really getting tired of non-digital folks 'dabbling' in interactive just so they can put something on their resumes stating that they have interactive experience or because they think its no big deal...Especially at the expense of my team and our departments bottom line.
Be sure to call out what that person did and how those actions can dramatically effect your design and development calendars along with producing a sub par product and service. And that any future digital planning should be done with involvement from someone in your department.
As with any urgent request, they want it done yesterday and that can lead to disaster.
Dont get me wrong. I am all for cross-training and working together but as with any relationship this takes the effort of both parties.
So dont hesitate to stand-up and speak your part. You will save yourself a lot of frustration and misery in the future. And so what if certain folks end up disliking you. You are not there to make friends. You are there to make a difference.
Stewart Severino
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sseverino@gmail.com
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