Originally I had a layout that included a Product Manager, a UI Designer, a Digital Marketer, a Graphic Designer, and only one Developer. However, after a more close analysis of the project and its scope, I realized how much more code intensive developing an application like this would be. It would be a lot more productive to have two developers who shared the large workload and have the others pick up a few extra tasks related to the design aspect. I feel that this would make for a more cohesive project development and completion, greatly shortening the timeline it would take to finish.

1: Product Manager

The Product Manager is responsible for showcasing the vision of the product and creating the plan that will lead the team to achieve the vision. They will be the one delegating the tasks to the different team members, checking in on the team members and their progress, and overall managing the entire project. For this project, tasks that the Project Manager would do include:

  • Fully ideate the final product (how it will function and how it will look, based on understanding what the actual problems are that you are trying to solve)
  • Ensure the project is broken down into the necessary steps, the tasks are delegated appropriately, deadlines are set, met, and adjusted if needed, and the overall execution is successful. This is usually a job for the Project Manager but in this case, it would fall on the Product Manager as well.
  • Conduct user testing with a group of pilot participants to find out if the app is easy to use and solves the problems you think it should solve. This is usually a job for a Quality Assurance Manager but fits nicely with the Project Manager due to the number of tasks that have to be delegated and the scope of the task.

2: UI Designer

The UI Designer is responsible for the interface of the project. They are in control of how the app will look and feel, how things will animate, and how the user interacts with the application. For this project, tasks that the UI Designer would do include:

  • Create low-fidelity and high-fidelity wireframes (which show what will be on each page in the app) and prototypes (interactive drafts of the app that people can try out)
  • Design the final prototypes to pass to the person who will code the app
  • Create branding for the product – including a logo and complete style guide. This is normally something that would be done by a Graphic Designer but with this smaller team, it makes sense that the person with the most design background creates the logo and branding assets for the project.
  • Working with the Digital Marketer to create consistent assets for marketing and branding that follows the style guide.
  • Designing UI elements such as buttons, icons, sliders and scrollbars.
  • Working with the Front-End Developer to make sure the project is responsive.

3: Digital Marketer

Digital Marketing is usually split up into multiple roles including a Content Writer, SEO Specialist, a PPC Manager, an Email Marketing Specialist, and a Social Media Manager. Due to how heavy the development of this project will be, having one person that is responsible for most of this makes sense, especially considering the size of the product.

This is the role I would most likely fall into as it’s closest to what I already do for my current job. I develop written content, I am in charge of content generation like taking photos and videos, I work on digital marketing for the multiple platforms I am in charge of, and more.

For this project, tasks that the Digital Marketer would do include:

  • Come up with a digital marketing plan that includes ads, social media marketing and more
  • Develop and implement an SEO strategy 
  • Create written content for all marketing 
  • Create assets for all marketing and branding
  • Working with the UI Designer to implement the style guide in the digital assets.
  • Working with the Front-End Developer to implement the SEO strategy

4: Front-End Developer

The Front-End Developer is responsible for showcasing the digital product that users see and interact with. For this project, tasks that the Front-End Developer would do include:

  • Code the front end of the app (what the user sees and interacts with within the browser)
  • Working with the UI Designer to create branding or assist with wireframes and prototypes
  • Implementing the style guide developed by the UI Designer
  • Ensuring the layout responds to various devices 
  • Ensuring the product looks and behaves the same on all browsers
  • Working with the Digital Marketer to implement the SEO strategy

5: Back-End Developer

The Back-End Developer is responsible for everything that is behind the face of the application, or behind everything that is done by the Front-End Developer. For this project, tasks that the Back-End Developer would do include:

  • Code the backend of the app (creates a database to pull content about different flight locations, utilizes APIs for weather and other information, etc)
  • Make sure the product is up to the proper accessibility standards
  • Database creation, integration, and management
  • Content management system development, deployment, and maintenance
  • API integration for weather and other information.
  • Security settings and hacking preventions
  • Reportingā€”generating analytics and statistics