The Role of A Game Producer Part 2
Hello! This is part two of my post on the role of a producer. You can find part one here.
Removing Roadblocks
Producers spend the majority of the time talking to the team. Sometimes, the team will get stuck on their tasks. These are known as roadblocks. It is the producer's job to help remove those roadblocks. A producer can simply remove a roadblock by getting the right parties to talk. A good producer removes roadblocks for the team. For example, an artist may be waiting on something to start doing an animation task. That task may sit in an undone status for weeks. They may be waiting for an engineer to create a hook up for them to do their work. Although the artist can talk to the engineer themselves, people get busy. A producer can organize a huddle to get the artist and engineer to talk. A great producer anticipates roadblocks before they occur.In the previous example, A producer might organize training that would empower that artist to learn to create hook ups for themselves. This would remove any future roadblocks, and allow future animation tasks to be completed faster.
Planning
Planning is a major task of a producer. Producers help the team determine which tasks need to get done in a given time. In agile, planning is done in small chunks known as sprints. It is a good idea to gather tasks ahead of the sprint. A good producer will get estimates from the team. This will allow the sprint planning meeting to go smoothly. A good sprint planning session end with the team knowing what work they are committed to finishing in a sprint.
Sprint planning is great, but a truly effective producer will help the team develop long-term planning. Roadmaps are tools used in product management to create a long-term plan of a product. Roadmaps allow producers to get an idea of the total scope of the project. A producer should work with the team to get an idea of the work needed to complete the game. A good roadmap will allow the producer to have scoping conversations with the team. It is easier to get budget estimates with a complete roadmap. The team can make scoping decisions with data instead of a ‘gut’ feel,
Running Meetings
Producers usually are in charge of running team meetings. Meetings can range from planning sessions to small huddles on a specific topic. It is a good idea to have an agenda for meetings. Agendas let attendees know what will be discussed. Having an agenda helps keep the meeting on the topic. There is nothing wrong with going off tangent, but doing so too often will lead to ineffective meetings. At the end of the meeting, it is a good idea to check to make sure that the meeting accomplished its goals.
Taking notes is key to ensuring all parties are informed. Each producer has their own style of note-taking. I try to capture these key pieces of information:
Attendees
It’s important to list who was in the meeting. This will help the producer remember who needs to be followed up with.
Open Questions
Write down questions that come up during the meeting. Also, write down who is in charge of the follow-up.
Tasks
Capture any tasks that need to be entered later. This will make sure these tasks don’t get forgotten.
Next Steps
A list of next steps should include all of the follow up actions. This list will be a collection of the bullet points above.
The notes should be distributed to all parties in the meeting, and any other people that need to be included. If possible, record the meeting. A meeting recording will give context from the notes from that meeting. Notes should be stored in a place that can be referenced later.
These are the core skills that are universal to the production role. By building relationships with the team, a producer can become even more effective in their role. Ultimately, the effective producer does whatever the team needs. Producers will adapt their role as the needs of the game and team change over the course of production. Are there other skills that you feel are key to being an effective producer?