The Importance of Process Over Outcome

Apr 4, 2024
Always be able to show your work ~Dr. Kavian Cooke

Sometimes, when solving problems, the final answer is just a small part of the overall picture. The most important aspect is the process you follow to reach that answer, not the answer itself. Getting the right result is often just confirmation that you followed the process correctly.

Imagine solving a math equation. If you make a mistake on step two, all the following calculations will be wrong. However, if you followed the correct steps to solve the equation, even with an incorrect final answer due to a minor error, you could still get most of the credit for that question.

We often believe that a single mistake invalidates the entire solution. But realistically, by assessing the entire situation, you can pinpoint areas you got right and isolate the mistakes. Often, your greatest insights will come from exploring your errors.

In a professional setting, a mentor or supervisor can guide you until you can identify and correct your own mistakes.

Scaling Up: From Individual to Team Guidance

This one-on-one approach becomes difficult for large teams. Here's a method to provide guidance to entire teams as well as individuals.

Think about the sports industry. Players' records are meticulously tracked and recorded throughout pre-season and games. We can devise a similar system to track various aspects of our own team's performance.

Imagine applying the rules of engagement from sports to production. We can define four phases per animation production cycle:

  1. Development
  2. Pre-Production
  3. Production
  4. Post-Production

Each phase represents a quarter of the entire game. By tracking, recording, and reviewing the performance of each phase, we can gather information on how the team performed in different areas.

The thought of tedious tasks can be daunting, leading to procrastination. If finding and accessing information is difficult, the process becomes tedious. The solution is to identify key metrics to gauge project performance.

Here are some basic areas teams typically track (for non-sports fans):

  • Points Made
  • Goals/Points Blocked
  • Speed
  • Possession
  • Passes

Here are some areas to track for animation:

  • Duration of Production
  • Quotas
  • Revisions
  • Quality of Work
  • Frames Created

Once you have defined your metrics and benchmarks, you can begin tracking and recording them. This allows you to track, analyze, and measure your performance. Using these metrics to review yourself and your team empowers you to self-assess and analyze strengths and weaknesses. You can see how you've improved over time and connect it to your efforts.

Tracking and Analyzing Production Metrics

Now that we've established the importance of tracking production metrics, let's explore how to do it:

  1. Review Team Engagement: Identify the success metrics and expected outcomes with the team.
  2. Implement Daily Records: While initially tedious, this practice builds the foundation for developing expertise.
  3. Periodic Reviews: Regularly review the team's and firm's performance against established goals. Ask questions like:
  • Did changes in a specific area decrease quality?
  • Did the pursuit of speed lead to more or fewer revisions?

You can't know for sure unless you review the data. This will reveal the results of your efforts and allow you to devise ways to improve team productivity.

The results of your findings become the foundation of your team's expertise. Expertise is built on evidence, which lies in your process and demonstrably successful results.

Developing Your Production Statistics

Here's how to develop your own production statistics:

  • Teamwork: If you have a team of storyboard artists who work at a specific pace (e.g., x boards per week), divide them into teams and keep a scorecard to track each team's performance.
  • Gamification: Place the scorecard where everyone can see it and leverage healthy competition. Offer incentives like prizes for the team with the best numbers. Don't underestimate the power of friendly competition!

Remember:

  • Initially, solving problems and developing a feel for the process is difficult.
  • With each iteration, the process becomes easier.
  • Develop or adapt benchmarks for your solutions. Benchmarks will help you identify areas needing attention.
  • As you iterate, you'll gain insights into how "wrong" or "right" your solutions are—gradually getting closer to the mark.

What to Do with This Information:

Once you define success metrics and identify strengths and weaknesses, you can start shaping your team. This includes strengthening areas, filling gaps, and potentially removing members who are not a good cultural fit.

Jonathan Roberts