DeeDee Leading Creative Project Management with PMO
- Jun 2
- 5 min read
As businesses increasingly focus on specialization and operational efficiency, the Project Management Office (PMO) model has become a common approach to managing projects across many organizations. DeeDee Animation Studio adopted this model three years ago. While PMO is still relatively uncommon among independent animation studios, it has become one of the factors that sets DeeDee apart, helping the studio build a more professional production process and strengthen its ability to handle large-scale projects.
Overview
DeeDee Animation Studio is an independent animation studio in Vietnam founded in 2017 by four founders who share a passion for animation. Since then, the studio has continued to grow and expand its team. In 2023, as both headcount and project volume increased, DeeDee established a dedicated Project Management Office (PMO) department to oversee project operations.
A PMO is a dedicated department responsible for establishing standardized processes and supporting project management to ensure projects are delivered efficiently, on schedule, and within budget. While this model is common in large organizations, it remains relatively uncommon in the animation industry, where production often requires a high degree of creative flexibility. Nevertheless, DeeDee took the initiative to adopt the PMO model and has achieved positive results through a more structured production pipeline.
The PMO Department at DeeDee
DeeDee's PMO department currently consists of a Production Manager and a team of Producers, who oversee project coordination and support production teams across all ongoing projects.
The department is led by COO Le Thi Quynh Nhu, an experienced project management professional who holds the PMP® (Project Management Professional) certification, one of the world's most recognized credentials in the field of project management.
The studio operates under the Scrum framework and follows Agile principles. As a result, all PMO members receive formal project management training and are required to obtain the Professional Scrum Master certification during their probation period. Strong English proficiency is also essential, enabling the team to communicate effectively with international clients and accurately handle technical animation terminology.
The Role of PMO in Animation Production
At a high level, the PMO is responsible for supporting and managing projects in an efficient and consistent manner.
Resource Allocation and Optimization: PMO coordinates and allocates both human and production resources across projects to ensure they are used effectively.
Project Planning and Execution: PMO develops and maintains project management processes, standards, and guidelines, helping ensure consistency and efficiency throughout production.
Monitoring and Reporting: PMO tracks project progress, budgets, and quality, providing reports to leadership and stakeholders to support informed decision-making.
Knowledge Management: PMO collects and organizes knowledge, experience, and insights from both completed and ongoing projects, creating valuable resources for future productions.
Consulting and Training: PMO provides guidance for project teams, particularly on complex productions, while also organizing training programs to strengthen both professional and project management capabilities across the studio.
What makes DeeDee's PMO distinctive is that, in addition to applying standard project management methodologies, it must also be adapted to the specific nature of an animation studio. This requires continuous flexibility to accommodate the evolving creative demands of each production.
For example, at the start of a project, the Project Manager works closely with the Animation Director, Animation Supervisor, and Lead Background Artist to review incoming materials. Together, they assess the scope of work and estimate the production workload in order to allocate tasks effectively based on appropriate assignment principles.
Each workstream within a project is assigned to a dedicated Scrum team, with PMO acting as the Scrum Master—overseeing workflows, tracking progress, and ensuring effective collaboration throughout the production process. Within each team, alongside a core group of pre-assigned members, PMO also conducts internal open calls to recruit additional artists based on project requirements. Selection is guided by criteria such as quality capability, delivery speed, and individual interest in the project. This approach not only helps maintain production quality but also allows artists to join projects that best match their strengths and creative styles.
Another key responsibility of PMO is acting as the primary liaison between the client and the production team. This role becomes especially critical when working with international clients, where challenges extend beyond language barriers to include time zone differences and varying working cultures. With strong English proficiency and the ability to arrange flexible meeting schedules, the PMO team ensures smooth communication, minimizes misunderstandings, and translates client feedback clearly and accurately to the production team.
During project execution, if any issues arise, PMO quickly identifies the root cause and proposes appropriate solutions, maintaining close coordination with the production team and working in a spirit of active listening and collaboration.
DeeDee After Implementing PMO
Since the establishment of the PMO, DeeDee's production workflow has become significantly smoother and more efficient. The production team no longer needs to divide their focus across scheduling or coordination tasks, as these responsibilities are handled and structured by PMO in advance. This allows artists to concentrate fully on their craft and deliver high-quality creative work.
This transformation has also played a key role in improving overall production quality, strengthening both internal and client communication, and enabling DeeDee to confidently take on larger and more complex projects.
This is clearly reflected in numerous successful projects, especially long-term productions where PMO plays a core role in keeping the entire workflow aligned, stable, and on schedule:
Cyberslav - a high-quality animation project with an extensive workload, including 40 minutes of fully hand-drawn animation and over 500 photorealistic backgrounds. The project spanned nearly two years and involved close to 50 DeeDee team members, along with collaboration from two external outsourcing partners.
How to Become a Mob Boss and How to Become a Cult Leader - projects produced in collaboration with Netflix, marking the team’s first exposure to a new production technique while handling a large volume of incoming assets and data.
Most recently, Sunny Side Down - a project with high demands in animation quality and a clearly defined artistic direction, requiring continuous and seamless communication between both parties despite geographical distance.
The importance of PMO is not only clearly recognized by DeeDee's internal team through the noticeable difference before and after its implementation, but also affirmed by positive feedback from clients - who directly experience a more seamless, transparent, and efficient collaboration process with DeeDee thanks to the PMO structure.
The establishment and application of the PMO in production reflects DeeDee's commitment to its clients—ensuring that every project handled by the studio is executed through a structured, professional workflow that guarantees the highest possible output quality.
For DeeDee, PMO is not merely an operational department, but a key pillar in the journey toward building a professional independent animation studio, ready to take on larger and more complex projects in the future.
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