I have been working and thinking a lot lately about creative projects and managing them successfully. Creative projects are projects that are both delivering something relatively hard to define throughout substantial portions of the project, and also involve creative types of people delivering the work. These two facets make them a unique challenge to manage.
There is definitely a spectrum of creativity in projects, and most projects are to some degree, creative. At one end of the spectrum you might have something like a house build – a simple single storey house with 3 bedrooms that can easily be defined in the plans. There isn’t a lot of creativity inherent in this project as most of the can be easily designed and documented at the beginning, and the people building houses don’t generally fall into the category of creative worker. You have a fairly clear idea of cost, time and resources needed for the project (but you know there will probably be some minor changes). But, being creative with issues that appear can help solve them.
At the other end of the spectrum you have the truly and fully creative projects like a new music album, brand new software for a completely new programme or app, an art installation, or even something like a large organisational change projects. The only thing that is known at the beginning is a description of the outcome (not the output), and the people doing the work are definitely creative by nature. You don’t know how long it will take, how much it will cost, or how many resources you need to complete the work. These are the true creative projects delivered by creative people.
Being a project manager for these types of projects means having an appreciation of what’s being delivered, and also the type of person delivering it. Don’t get into managing creative projects if this doesn’t appeal to you – you will hate it (stick to those known construction projects 🙂 ). So, how do you manage creative projects then? Well, the best thing to do is to focus on principles and people first, with tools and techniques second.
I was busy developing some training courses for Creative Project Management around these concepts, and I realised that the principles were already written down. I also deliver training for Agile project management and it dawned on me that the Manifesto for Agile Software Development (the Agile Manifesto) is not just a software manifesto at all. It is a manifesto for all creative work under uncertainty, where outcomes cannot be fully specified in advance and learning happens through doing. Software just happened to be the first large-scale creative industry that was forced to admit this publicly.
Music, theatre, design, architecture, film, events, marketing, and yes, modern software development all live in the same messy reality: ideas evolve, people matter more than plans, and value emerges through iteration, not prediction. That is the core insight the Agile Manifesto has been quietly carrying for over two decades.
So, what if we rewrote the Manifesto for Agile Software Development but for a broader range of creative projects i.e. not just software (can someone let me know how to properly acknowledge the use of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development from www.agilemanifesto.org but in the meantime I want to acknowledge the work of all 17 authors listed on the page – Kent Beck, Mike Beedle, Arie van Bennekum, Alistair Cockburn, Ward Cunningham, Martin Fowler, James Grenning, Jim Highsmith, Andrew Hunt, Ron Jeffries, Jon Kern, Brian Marick, Robert C. Martin, Steve Mellor, Ken Schwaber, Jeff Sutherland, Dave Thomas).
Here is my attempt to rewrite it but for all Creative Projects:
The Creative Project Management Manifesto
We are uncovering better ways of creating valuable work by doing the work and helping others do the same.
Through this work, we have come to value:
1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Creative outcomes depend first on people, their judgment, and how they collaborate. Processes and tools can support creativity, but they cannot substitute for human insight, trust, and dialogue.
2. Meaningful outcomes over comprehensive documentation
The primary measure of progress is the creation of something that works, resonates, or delivers value. Documentation and plans have a place, but they exist to serve the work, not to replace it.
3. Collaboration with stakeholders over contract negotiation
Creative work improves when creators and stakeholders engage continuously, adapt together, and make decisions based on emerging understanding rather than fixed agreements set too early. Contracts are important but shouldn’t dictate the working relationship.
4. Responding to change over following a fixed plan
Creative work unfolds through discovery. Plans are useful starting points, but the ability to adapt to new insights, constraints, and opportunities is more valuable than strict adherence to an initial plan.
The Twelve Principles for Creative Work
1. Early and continuous delivery of value
Our highest priority is to satisfy stakeholders through early and continuous delivery of valuable creative output, whether that is a prototype, performance, draft, or working increment.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in the work
Creative work benefits from change. New ideas, constraints, or audience insights are not disruptions but sources of competitive and artistic advantage.
3. Deliver work in small, usable increments
Frequent delivery of tangible outputs enables learning, feedback, and course correction, whether the work is artistic, experiential, or technical.
4. Creators and stakeholders work together throughout
Those doing the creative work and those commissioning, funding, or using it must collaborate regularly, not just at the beginning or end.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals
Give creative people the environment, support, and trust they need, and allow them autonomy in how they do their work.
6. Prefer direct, human communication
Face-to-face conversation, or its closest equivalent, is the most effective way to convey ideas, nuance, and intent in creative work.
7. Working outcomes are the primary measure of progress
Progress is assessed by what exists and can be experienced, tested, or used, not by how much planning or documentation has been completed.
8. Maintain a sustainable pace
Creative excellence emerges from sustained effort, not burnout. Teams should be able to maintain their pace indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to craft and quality
Technical excellence and artistic integrity enhance agility by reducing rework and enabling confident adaptation.
10. Simplicity is essential
Maximise the amount of work not done. Focus on what truly adds value and avoid unnecessary complexity, features, or ornamentation.
11. The best solutions emerge from self-organising teams
Creative teams that organise themselves around the work produce better ideas and outcomes than those directed by rigid hierarchies.
12. Regular reflection and adaptation
At regular intervals, teams reflect on how to work more effectively, then adjust their behaviour, processes, and tools accordingly.
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This is the second in a series of articles about Creative Project Management. You can find the others on my LinkedIn profile. The next one will cover specific tools and techniques that can be useful to managing creative projects.
