Streamlining Project Management
and Creative Processes
Organization:
OneChild
Role:
Brand and Communications Director and Creative Manager
Collaborators:
Leadership Team, Department Project Managers, Department Heads, Brand and Communications Team
Challenge
The organization was managing creative and marketing initiatives through five separate project management tools—Formstack, Basecamp, Excel, MS Project, and Teamwork—creating silos, inefficiencies, and inconsistent communication across departments.
Without a standardized design process, the creative team lacked clarity around discovery, project kickoffs, feedback loops, and analytics. Resources were often recreated instead of reused, event planning was fragmented, and project statuses were unclear—frequently resulting in rushed turnarounds and misaligned expectations.
Strategy
To unify creative operations and improve project clarity, I partnered with project managers across departments to identify cross-functional needs and select a single project management platform.
We outlined key criteria: a centralized request system, collaborative feedback routing, integration with HubSpot and Microsoft Office, and built-in resource management. We also prioritized workflows that could support scalability, visibility, and cross-team alignment.
Solution
We implemented Wrike as the organization’s centralized project management tool, streamlining processes and promoting transparency across teams.
I created the organization’s first standardized creative brief, developed collaboratively with designers and stakeholders to clearly outline project goals, timelines, and expectations. The brief was embedded into Wrike as part of the creative workflow and became a requirement for major campaigns, events, and initiatives.
The new creative workflow included:
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Structured request forms and templates for recurring tasks
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Defined stages: discovery, research, strategy, kick-off, design, production, and analytics
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Clear timelines, roles, and approval checkpoints
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Resource management to support capacity planning and reduce burnout
Ongoing Optimization
Over the past five years, I’ve worked closely with the creative team and stakeholders to refine and evolve our project workflows in Wrike. These improvements have reduced silos, improved communication, and ensured the creative team is engaged early and aligned throughout every organizational initiative.
Results
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Increased Efficiency: Streamlined communication and improved visibility across departments.
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Boosted Productivity: Increased creative workload by 33% without adding staff, even during budget constraints.
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Improved Project Clarity: Creative briefs built alignment and efficiency, minimizing miscommunication and reducing last-minute revisions.
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Reduced Silos: Unified project management fostered cross-departmental collaboration and communication.
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Enhanced Strategic Involvement: The creative team became a valued partner in key organizational initiatives, driving alignment and strategic outcomes.
Lessons Learned
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Consolidating tools fosters collaboration and reduces inefficiency,
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Introducing and standardizing tools like creative briefs improves communication and ensures alignment across teams.
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Continuous improvement is essential to meet evolving needs and maintain strong collaboration with stakeholders.
