Case Study: Summer Walker’s Website Build

Hi everyone.

I have been continuing on my journey to find balance between the day-to-day grind and finding time to appreciate just being alive. Lately, that has looked like traveling through Argentina, going home to Worcester for Thanksgiving with friends and family, all the while working behind the scenes to prepare for the launch of Fredo’s House.

After a few weeks of not getting a letter out to you all, I knew I had to whip up something special to make it up to you. This week, we are going to dive into a case study that encompasses the last three lessons focused on scope, budget, and timelines.

The project I will be referencing for this case study is the development of a website for Summer Walker’s CLEAR 2: SELF LOVE EP, which by the way was just nominated for Best R&B Album at the Grammy’s. I think this means I’m a Grammy-Nominated project manager? Price just went up 🏆

This project came to me in the context of my operations role at Integral Studio, a creative and digital studio at the intersection of where culture meets the future.

Summer’s team presented us with their vision for the site. The aim was to give her fans a complete online experience, offering them access to her music, tour details, and merchandise. The website would highlight her latest EP, selling both physical and digital copies. Additionally, it would serve as a hub for connecting with her fans, integrating e-commerce tools for efficient sales and order processing.

Leading this project on the management side was Amber Grimes, LVRN’s Executive Vice President, and a leader in the music industry. We worked together to align on a tight schedule for the scope of designing, developing, and releasing the site.

As a general note, products ideally should not be rushed to market due to the potential impact on quality in addition to a condensed timeline’s effect on key project constraints like budget and scope. As is often the case in the music industry though, the timelines are fast and furious and this project was no different.

That said, with the scope of work, timeline, and budget signed off on after a few rounds of conversations, it was time to get to work.

I began working directly with Integral Studio’s designer and developer Mitchell Dehn. We met for a project kickoff with the goal of aligning the internal project plan with the external timeline that had been provided to us by Summer’s team. Using their planned release schedule, we were able to plan out the design and development sprint cycles that would guide the project team throughout the project.

💻 Website Development Breakdown 💻

With the project plan in place, we got to work. For those that are not familiar with the process of developing a website, I will break it down for you real quick.

1. Discovery 🔭

In this phase, you are working to understand the client’s web needs, visual tone, theme, purpose, goals, and calls to action. In addition, you are gathering design assets. Summer’s team presented us with a clear vision for their site which expedited this phase of the project.

2. Web Design 🎨

In this phase, there were three separate presentations focused on website design that started with the sitemap, then wireframes, and finally responsive mockups. All of these needed to be approved before heading into development phase.

3. Web Development 💻

In this phase, the team works to implement designs and make them functional, sharing staging links for approval ahead of the release.

This development process requires special attention to the timeline as we need to ensure there’s time to share what is being worked on, request feedback, and then integrate the feedback into design iterations. Here it is key that both the project team and the client are held accountable to their commitments and goals for the end product.

🫡 Case Study Wrap Up 🫡

As you can see from the beautiful final product you see above, the project was a success. But the success of a project such as this is not simply derived from a technical knowledge of project management concepts such as scope, budget, and timeline. While these concepts play a critical role, even more critical is quality communication between the project team and project stakeholders.

In this case, the stakeholders were Summer Walker’s team, LVRN, and Interscope Records, among others. Integral Studio’s team, the project team, ensured that communication was clear, processes were understood, and that room was always left for feedback. Here, trust was built between all of these parties through a commitment to delivering on time in addition to consistent communication throughout the project to ensure all parties had an accurate and up to date picture of how the project was progressing.

An example of communication in this context is if there were to be a setback in the development process that may impact the timeline. It would be crucial that this is communicated as quickly and transparently as possible. In addition, incorporating feedback received into future rounds of revisions is important in demonstrating that your are attuned to stakeholder’s needs which also helps to build that trust.

While these letters I drop in your mailboxes are supplying you with the core conceptual components of being a project manager, always remember that quality project management is only possible when that technical knowledge is paired with quality relationships and trust. That is the true underlying common denominator in any project you are tasked with managing.