Make magazines, not war: the magazine lab

This is where the magic happens.

In project management terms, this kind of space is called a war room. The project war room is a space dedicated to discussing issues and completing work related to a specific project. For us, the magazine lab is the physical focal point of our project. It is a great space for all of our many groups to meet, compare work, and share ideas. It’s in a convenient location (in the Communication Centre) and is easily accessible. Every Monday (and sometimes Wednesdays) we have stand-up meetings in this room. A stand-up meeting is a meeting where everyone remains standing to make the meeting feel informal and brief. We discuss the schedule, our short-term goals, and any issues that we need to address. 

This space is set aside specifically for our magazine, so our class feels a sense of ownership over it. We store our files here, keep resources, and even have a coffee maker. A lot of us like to work in this room on our own time, so it's also a great space for team bonding.

There are many features of our war room, as labeled in the photo above. One of the most notable features is the corkboard on the right. Each week, we post the latest iteration of our features and other magazine pages on this board. So with every passing week, we see our magazine nearing closer and closer to completion before our eyes. There's also a large Gantt chart on the back wall. We've indicated our target schedule, and each week we fill in where we are actually at. This way, we will have a better idea of how long the tasks we are working on actually take. 

Here are a few photos of the magazine lab and some of the things that happen there.

Flipping through one of the hundreds of resources available to us.

Laura and Elizabeth going over guidelines at the print production station with Ben.

Our wall-mounted Gantt Chart, with target dates and actual progress indicated. The paper on the right lists everyone according to their group.

Natasha, sketching for the magazine's front cover.

Our corkboard looking a little empty during the early stages of our feature production.

Sara adding a new iteration of her feature to the corkboard.

We have just completed our third draft of our features and posted the colour versions up in the magazine lab. The page development groups will be posting their concepts very soon. Our production groups are in full swing. The marketing group will have their social media pages up soon, so keep an eye out for those and make sure to show your support!

Colour drafts of our features... our magazine is beginning to take shape.