When to Structure When to Flow: Interview with Loredana Buta — Digital Innovation Lead @Unilever

Background and responsibilities

I have 11+ years in defining, building & operating digital experiences. My specialities are developing digital business cases to bring value in the company, prototyping and MVPs implementation to validate potential opportunities and scale products & projects at global level. 

I have worked and consulted some of the world’s biggest CPG companies: Unilever, L’Oreal, McCormick and Kraft Foods.

Today my role is to harness the latest consumer technology and digital spaces to create compelling consumer experiences in order to create competitive advantage for brands in the ever-evolving digital landscape. My current focus areas are digital collectables and creative automation.

How has structure impacted the way you work? 

I always loved having structure in everything I do. Without it I couldn't successfully deliver my projects.

Do you use any project management methodologies in your work?

I use a combination of principals, frameworks and toolkits of Lean, Agile & Design Thinking elements adapted for my team's needs and type of projects I work on. 

What value do you see in them?

It improves clarity on the project, streamlines stakeholder management and helps me and my team to have an efficient decision-making process. 

What are you thinking of improving upon?

I want to create knowledge within the bigger organisation about the benefits of using Lean and Scrum methodologies. 

When to structure when to flow?

Before over investing, scaling or embedding a new technology I assess the innovation using an iterative process. This process starts from the business case and scales only if the MVP is successful. In this phase I follow a lean approach.  This process helps me to map the opportunity, build, validate and if successful scale it and embedding it in the business. Once the project goes into a scaling phase I use the scrum methodology and start building the structure to allow it to be embedded successfully within the business. 

Advice on time management?

Prioritise the work, know your blockers and start the day unlocking them; and keep your stakeholders informed. 

Advice on stakeholder management?

Challenge the status quo. Have clarity on the role of each stakeholder and make sure everyone has the same understanding.  Don’t bloat your project with stakeholders.