Planning a 6-week online exhibition launch for a digital art platform: goals, team responsibilities, cross-team communication, risks and a working roadmap.
Attract a new audienceNew sign-ups during the campaign+X% vs. baseline (to confirm with Marketing)
Activate current usersActive users during the exhibition, viewing depth+Y% engagement vs. a normal period
Product integrationExhibition reachable from the homepage, proper viewing experience100% functionality by launch date
Positioning in the art worldMentions, participation of artists and institutionsN artists, N partners, N mentions
02
Areas of responsibility
Product⚠ Missing from the brief
Responsibility. Defines how the online exhibition fits into the platform's current UX and product logic. Assesses technical constraints and feasible scope, ensures stability and baseline analytics.
Deliverables. UX flow of the exhibition inside the product. A technical scope with a clear view of what can be built in 6 weeks. A minimal set of analytics events to measure effectiveness.
💡 Product isn't listed in the brief, but it's critical to the exhibition. It must be involved from week one — otherwise we risk a marketing solution without depth.
Art
Responsibility. Shapes the curatorial idea and positioning, owns artistic integrity and relevance in the art world. Brings in artists, curators and institutions.
Deliverables. Curatorial concept (1–2 pages). Final list of artists, works and partners. The argument for why this exhibition matters right now.
💡 The core of meaning.
Editorial
Responsibility. Turns the curatorial idea into a clear, consistent narrative for a broad audience. Owns clarity, context and the educational layer.
Deliverables. Curatorial statement. Intro and descriptive texts inside the platform. Content adapted for external communications.
💡 Key to lowering the entry barrier for new users. Works closely with Art, but with the user in mind.
Marketing
Responsibility. Attracts new audiences and activates current users through the launch. Connects the product experience with external communications.
Deliverables. Launch plan. Key messages and wording. Selection and coordination of distribution channels.
💡 Doesn't create the exhibition's content — amplifies it. Effectiveness depends directly on how well the product integration is thought through.
Project Management
Responsibility. Keeps the project on schedule, teams in sync and decisions transparent. Manages risks, changes and priorities.
Deliverables. Project roadmap and timeline. Decision log. Regular status updates and a post-launch review.
💡 Owns flow, clarity and decision-making. Escalates risks before they become problems.
03
RACI matrix
R — ResponsibleA — AccountableC — ConsultedI — Informed
Activity
Product
Art
Editorial
Marketing
PM
Exhibition format & scope
R
C
C
C
A
Curatorial concept
C
R
C
I
A
Selection of works
I
R
C
I
A
Texts & narrative
I
C
R
I
A
Product integration
R
I
I
I
A
Launch plan
C
I
C
R
A
KPIs & metrics
R
I
I
C
A
Launch
R
R
R
R
A
04
Communication
🚦 Kick-off
Monday · 1 hour
🔄 Weekly core sync
Wednesday · 45 min. PM + leads of Art / Editorial / Marketing / Product. Purpose: decisions, blockers, priorities.
💬 Async daily updates
Ideally synced with the task tracker; at minimum Slack / Telegram. Format: done — next — blockers.
📒 Decision log (Notion)
So we never go back to decisions already made.
💡 I wouldn't add more recurring syncs at the start. With a clear roadmap, explicit owners and logged decisions, extra meetings don't speed up work — they create an illusion of control. In a distributed team, extra syncs mostly eat focus and shift responsibility from async execution to "let's discuss it at the meeting". One weekly core sync plus async updates covers most of this project's needs.
05
Risks & constraints
What I'd clarify first
Basics (on or before the first call)
Is there already a concept or theme, or is it part of the project scope? How many works and artists are planned? Is there a preliminary list? Which genres are a priority?
Product — critical
Product isn't listed among the participating teams, yet product integration is a key requirement. What's the real availability of dev resources? Do we need new development, or only existing components?
Resources & constraints
How loaded are the teams with parallel projects, and what % of time can they actually give? Is there a promo budget (paid, PR, collaborations)? Are there legal processes for clearing rights to the works?
Stakeholders
Who makes the final decision? Are there external partners or institutions the launch depends on?
Risk register
RiskLikelihoodImpactMitigation
Artists don't deliver materials on time
LikelihoodHigh
ImpactCritical
1-week buffer, backup list of works, hard deadlines
Technical difficulties integrating into the homepage
Likelihood?
ImpactHigh
Early Product involvement, fallback version
Inconsistent visual style
LikelihoodMedium
ImpactMedium
Single brand kit, creative review (week 2)
Scope creep
LikelihoodHigh
ImpactMedium
Scope freeze after week 1, change request process
One of the teams falls behind
LikelihoodMedium
ImpactHigh
Early escalation, parallel tracks, clear ownership
Rights to works not cleared (surprise)
LikelihoodMedium
ImpactCritical
Rights checklist, legal review before week 3
06
Roadmap — interactive
Project start = 2 March; six weeks later = 12 April. Honestly, in a vacuum I'm not fully sure the project fits into six weeks — too much depends on inputs the brief doesn't give. So I modelled what's realistically doable with strict prioritization. It's simplified and mostly sequential; in reality Editorial and Marketing should run in parallel at the very least.
Overall completion
0%
🔍Discovery & Alignment
Planning
Week 1 · 5 tasks
0%
🎨Content production / Start
Planning
Week 2 · 5 tasks
0%
🔧Content production & Integration
Planning
Week 3 · 5 tasks
0%
✅QA & Iteration
Planning
Week 4 · 5 tasks
0%
🚀Soft Launch & Pre-Promo
Planning
Week 5 · 5 tasks
0%
🎉Public Launch & Monitoring
Planning
Week 6 · 5 tasks
0%
Tip: click a status tag to move a task forward. Progress saves in your browser.
Aa Task nameStatusDuePriorityTeam
🚦Kick-off with all teams3 Mar
High
ArtEditorialMarketingProduct
🎨Finalize the concept (Art Lead)4 Mar
High
Art
📋Agree on the list of artists and works5 Mar
High
ArtEditorial
⚙️Product: assess technical requirements6 Mar
High
Product
🎯Milestone: concept approved, scope frozen6 Mar
High
—
🎨Art: collect materials from artists (files, bios, rights)9 Mar
High
Art
✍️Editorial: start work on texts10 Mar
High
Editorial
💡Marketing: develop the promo creative concept11 Mar
High
Marketing
💻Product: start development (if new components are needed)12 Mar
Medium
Product
🎯Milestone: 50% of materials received13 Mar
High
—
🎨Art: finalize all materials16 Mar
High
Art
✍️Editorial: texts ready, in review with Art17 Mar
High
Editorial
📋Marketing: creatives ready, media plan approved18 Mar
High
Marketing
💻Product: integrate content on staging19 Mar
High
Product
🎯Milestone: 100% content ready, first build on staging20 Mar
High
—
🧪Internal testing with the whole team23 Mar
High
ArtEditorialMarketingProduct
🔧Bug fixes, UX polish25 Mar
High
Product
👋Editorial: final proofread on the live product26 Mar
High
Editorial
📢Marketing: launch prep (warm-up, teasers)27 Mar
High
Marketing
🎯Milestone: Go / No-Go decision27 Mar
High
—
💉Soft launch for a limited audience (if applicable)30 Mar
High
Product
💬Collect feedback, critical fixes31 Mar
High
Product
📢Marketing: active warm-up phase2 Apr
High
Marketing
📰PR activation, media relations3 Apr
High
Marketing
🎯Milestone: ready for public launch3 Apr
High
—
📊Real-time metrics monitoring6 Apr
High
MarketingProduct
🚀Official launch6 Apr
High
Product
🔧Rapid response to issues8 Apr
High
Product
📣Marketing: peak promo activity9 Apr
High
Marketing
🎯Milestone: launch complete, move to support mode10 Apr
Medium
—
07
Q&A
▸How I handle changes
Change is normal. I run each change through a filter first: its impact on the goal, the timeline and other teams. If it's critical and improves the outcome, we lock a new scope and explicitly agree on the trade-off — what we cut or simplify in return. If it doesn't affect the key result or puts the deadline at risk, I either push it to the next cycle or decline it with reasoning.
▸How I record decisions
Every key decision goes into the task tracker right after it's made — ideally integrated with the platform we use for calls — with context, date and the decision owner. If it affects other teams or stages, it's reflected in their tasks and deadlines. If a decision isn't written down, it doesn't exist. We agree on it out loud in the meeting, then duplicate it in writing and check that everyone understood it the same way. If a decision changes, I add a new entry explaining why. Ideally, a notetaker in the tool stack keeps transcripts, so decisions are always captured at least that way.
▸If one of the teams falls behind
First I check whether it's a problem of priorities, resources or task definition. If clarifying or simplifying solves it, I do that immediately and remove the blocker. If the delay threatens the timeline, I make the consequences transparent, escalate and propose an alternative: reshaping the scope or changing the sequence.