What's the perfect project?

This has always been an interesting question to ask yourself, and indeed your staff. When you drill down into people's suggestions and break through the obvious - then it gets really interesting.

So think about it - what would be your ideal project. At a superficial level, I'd expect you've selected a sector/idea that you've always wanted to get involved in - maybe build a football site, or do a travel site or maybe a music site.

Whatever the subject the fact is the work is the same - different pictures, different word, and maybe (if you are creative and lucky) an innovative idea - but is that an perfect project.

Maybe it's a sign of my age, or new responsibilities or even length of time in the industry but I now look beyond the subject matter, as it is basically irrelevant.

Next in line is does the project give you scope to develop - in other words being given a blank canvas, some aims and then setting off. Again, this is exciting, worthwhile and definitely very satisfying (if successful), but is it perfect? At the end of the build - a build that becomes your baby, your labour of love, you have to give it up - give it up for someone else to take forward, with their ideas (which might be different to yours) and trust me, it's very difficult - very frustrating and actually not very rewarding in the end. So nope, that's not perfect, or ultimately professionally fulfilling - except for that moment for delivery. I'd go as far as to say it's similar to what Sir Alex Ferguson says about winning trophies - once it's won, its history and you need to forget it, and focus on the next trophy. So if you land the big one, do you revel in your glory and relax, or do you strive on to outdo it, thus driving yourself onwards and upwards.

Is an perfect job one that has the potential to change lives? As it is well known I've recently started work in a particularly relevant area for myself - that of Youth Violence. Relevant for me as I have young children who will need to grow into a dangerous world full of violence, gangs and knives - well that is if you believe the press. I'm lucky enough to work with many passionate people at the very highest level and my initial perspective is words are cheap, but change is expensive....and I mean that literally. Raising money to give yourself the chance is amazingly hard - without naming names if I go to the bank to ask for £5,000 to pay off a debt, I'm pretty sure I could get that easier than if I asked for £5,000 to build a module that would make a significant difference to a target audience. Taking away the issue of whether it would work or not - the facts are it is harder. So in answer to whether working on a project that has the potential to change lives is the perfect project I'd have to say no - too much begging, politics and if I'm honest too much noise.

Is an ideal job one that pays well, on time and runs smoothly - maybe, in fact in these times probably, but ideal digital production has to be more than that.

So it must come down to an elusive combination of factors, which I can begin by saying is down to

- the people you work with
- the ability to deliver and say goodbye
- scope to change behaviour
- fair pay for a fair job

Obviously that list is not a definitive one, and I'd be interested in what additions you can come up with. However, thinking back to the majority of mid-sized work I've done in my career, it would match up with these four points - so there it is, so after all that I'd say there is not one perfect job, there are lots of perfect jobs.

So now - I'd like to ask you - directly - what is the perfect project for you?