Producer Boot Camp

 10:00 AM – Welcome & “Your Role as Producer”  Rod Fergusson, Executive Producer, Epic Games  10:40 AM – “The Future of Game Production”  Caryl Shaw  11:40 AM – “You ARE the Support, Son”  Chris Mielke, Producer, Epic Games  12:30 - 2:00 PM – Lunch break  2:00 PM – “There Will Be Jets: Project Managers and Producers"  Senta Jakobsen  3:00 PM – “How to Wield the Big Picture”  Siobhan Reddy  3:50 - 4:10 PM – Coffee break  4:10 PM – “How to Navigate Around the Traps in Agile Development”  Richard Vogel  5:10 PM – “Tracking Production in the Wild: Best Practices”  Seb Canniff, Bernd Diemer, Deanna Hearns, Patrick O'Kelley, Jeff Poebst  6:10 PM – Closing Remarks Agenda

Producer  Ah, the irony…  Trip Hawkins established the title when he founded Electronic Arts in 1982  Look at us now  Executive Producer, Producer, Senior Producer, Lead Producer, Associate Producer, Assistant Producer, Program Manager, Group Program Manager, Project Manager, International Project Manager, Development Director, Outsourcing Manager, External Producer, etc.

Challenges  Increased Capabilities  Increased Expectations  Increased Complexity  Increased Team Sizes  Increased Risk

A Variety of Solutions  There is no silver bullet  Bungie Producers  Naughty Dog - 0 Producers  Every project, team and organization is unique  Key is to have the base skills required to adapt  Your job is to do whatever it takes to ship!

Be a Leader  Lead from the front and by example  Never ask anyone to do something that you’re unwilling to do  Responsibility vs Authority  Build respect and trust by adding value  Moral support counts

Manage Expectations  Set clear expectations  Constant two-way communication  Empowers the team to make decisions  Choose milestone “spirit” over “letter”  Don’t exaggerate, stick to the facts  Don’t overreact, always look for the compromise

Facilitate Communication  “… a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” - Martin Luther King Jr  Get a base knowledge of the other disciplines  Listen more than you talk  Represent what you know and what you don’t  Can be as simple as walking from one desk to another  Adapt communication style accordingly  Straw man FTW

Maintain Your Perspective  One of your unique strengths is your ability to see the big picture  Stay objective so you can moderate  Use data to support decisions  Project & Excel are your friends  As you gain experience, trust your gut

A Must Read and Watch “Dynamics of Software Development” By Jim McCarthy ISBN:

Production Track Talks  “More Pirates on a Burning Ship and Other Leadership Challenges”  Laura Fryer, VP and General Manager, WB Games Seattle  Wednesday 4:30- 5:30 Room 303, South Hall  “Green Light! Persuasion Skills to Put and Keep Your Project in the Fast Lane”  Dick Butterfield, Strategic Communications Coach, Butterfield Speaks  Thursday 10:30- 11:30 Room 3020, West Hall 3rd Fl.  “Scoping Success”  Me!  Thursday 3:00- 4:00 Room 3006, West Hall 3rd Floor