Digital success insights from Head of Project Delivery Christian Scott

The next in our series of meet the team articles, we speak to Christian Scott, Head of Project Delivery at Granite 5, to explore his insights from an extensive career at the forefront of digital.

TL; DR – accessibility, great UX, measures twice and cuts once, loves rugby.

Since Christian entered the marketing world back in 1997 in a junior marcomms role, he has worked in all areas of marketing and has specialised in digital for nearly 10 years. He now leads the delivery team at Granite 5.

Christian has a wealth of knowledge from his extensive agency experience. This has enabled him to work with organisations of all shapes and sizes, and in varying sectors including Education, Science and Technology, FMCG, and many Membership Organisations.

At the heart of every role, has been Christian’s unwavering desire to deliver innovative and cutting-edge solutions that challenge the status quo. In his current role at Granite 5, this focus has enabled him to develop the delivery processes to be more orientated towards customer experience, business objectives, and success measurement.

With such varied and in-depth experience, Christian shares key insights on what makes a successful project, how the industry has changed, and much more.

 

Granite 5 > What have been the most significant changes in the industry during your career?

Christian > Where to start? In my first agency role (1997) the whole 30+ team shared a single email address, and we browsed the web using Netscape Navigator. So I’ve seen plenty of change.

I find it fascinating following trends, watching the pace at which the average font size increases year on year, embracing new tools and standards to deliver high-performance sites, and constantly responding to change like new social networks, GDPR, responsive design, and most recently Googles Core Web Vitals algorithm change.

I get most excited about tech like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), wearables, and the opportunities they bring to engage users into brands.

Granite 5 > What is the project you are most proud of delivering?

Christian > Creatively, The Moller Institute and Association for Nutrition (AfN) for the way the websites deliver an on-brand experience. And Rise Above for its simplicity and uniqueness.

Vital Tech was also a great project to lead, and an excellent opportunity to further my accessibility knowledge. This included using voice search and Amazon Poly text, to speech services, as part of delivering a highly inclusive and accessible website.

Granite 5 > What insights can you share from working with an array of successful clients? What makes them successful?

Christian > There are so many tools, processes, methodologies, and strategies which help deliver great projects.

Using impact mapping to prioritise requirements, features, and wish lists really helps to focus on the needs of the user and the organisation or project objectives. It sounds complicated but it’s a really simple process to keep projects on track and maximise effectiveness.

We harness the power of a range of agency tools to significantly help the delivery of projects. These range from collaboration and communication tools, to smarter design and planning tools that push creativity and productivity. Figma, Sketch, Miro, 365 to name a few.

Data also plays a huge part. Being armed with solid data, insight, and research drives strategic decisions, prioritisation, and more.

Granite 5 > What do you think makes Granite 5 unique?

Christian > We’re very pragmatic and carefully consider all of the influencing factors before making decisions.

We openly discuss and plan with our clients to ensure we are delivering a solution that meets their needs. However, we aren’t afraid to challenge if a better solution could be found.

We are often weighing up different options, for example, performance and security when planning a new feature, or compliance and conversion. We lead our clients through every step of the process and treat each project as a real partnership.

Granite 5 > Finally, in such a fast-paced industry, how do you stay up to date? Can you recommend any books, blogs, social accounts to support readers?

Christian > My top sources are: Econsultancy, Siteinspire, LinkedIn, and regular attendance at events like The UX Conference (London) and Deliver Conference (Manchester) to meet and learn from industry influencers and peers at the top of their games.