Planning the project

While planning the project is not quite a technical task, it is a very important part of the process. I'll share some of my project management techniques here, including my Project Planner Spreadsheet which I've created specifically for this kind of work.

The Project Planner spreadsheet

The spreadsheet is split into 4 sheets:

1. Reference table
2. Trait groups and trait names
3. Custom rules for trait matching
4. Smart contract

Let's break down each sheet.

Reference table

This is a simple table to help the client understand how many trait groups and traits-per-group need to be designed to create a collection of X images.

Trait groups and trait names

Here's where the client should list out all the trait groups, the traits and a rarity weighting for each trait in the collection.

This sheet is MEGA important. You'll need this when you're naming all the trait groups and traits: even though the Photoshop file that the artwork will be delivered on will have this information, it won't be perfect - there will be mistakes and it will be difficult to communicate them. Additionally, the only way to communicate the rarity weights (and then for the client to ask for tweaks) is if this spreadsheet is populated.

Custom rules for trait matching

This sheet is where the client should list out all the custom rules that need to be followed when generating the artwork.

Smart contract

Here's where we'll collect the feature requirements for the NFT Collection, as well as some other information (like the name of the collection, the minting price, etc) that you'll need during development.

Managing the project

My favourite way to keep projects on track is to ensure that there is high visibility on what is happening on the tech side of the fence, and to communicate updates and roadblocks frequently.

I've included my Project Management Document which has worked very well for me for many of my projects. It's a simple shared document with a task list (shared using a service like Google Drive). I share this with the client so that they can check it whenever they like, and I use it to keep track of all tasks that need to get done in order to launch the project.

Here's a sample of the document for easy reference:

Task list

Backlog of tasks, ordered with a sense of priority. Developers will pick these up one by one. As tasks are worked on, they might be broken down into subtasks and new tasks will be identified as part of the development process. Regularly prioritizing these tasks is crucial to ensure development time is spent where it is more impactful.

Legend

⚙️ = Work in progress | ✅ = Done

• ⚙️ Kickoff meeting
• Gather smart contract requirements
• Share Project Planner spreadsheet
• Share Photoshop tips and guidelines with the design team
• ⚙️ Populate initial task list
• Create GitHub repository to save smart contract code
• Create smart contract ERC721 boilerplate
• Add ability to mint token
• ...
• Execute launch plan

Getting started with the client

I plan the project using the spreadsheet, and start off by coordinating a kickoff meeting with the client.

Project Phases

Launching an NFT collection can be split into the following four phases

• Artwork, rarity and metadata generation
• Smart contract development
• Minting website development
• Deployment

Kickoff meeting agenda

This is a sample agenda of items to make sure to cover in the kickoff meeting

• Review the spreadsheet
• Explain the four phases of the project
• Discuss the artwork and metadata requirements
• Ask questions to fill out the smart contract requirements sheet
• Share the Project Planner with the client with clear instructions on what they need to populate (specifically the two sheets "Trait groups and trait names" and "Custom rules for trait matching")
• Share and discuss the project management document