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The Interactive Producer’s Approach to Thanksgiving Dinner

I have reason to suspect that many home cooks are natural born project managers. Consider the extensive detailed planning involved in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The end goal of pulling off a successful Turkey dinner is made possible only through the succession of individual tasks (the cooking and preparing of the Turkey and various appetizers, side dishes, and desserts; the setting of the table and preparing the house for guests; and the careful management of family drama), each requiring resources and careful time management. Poor planning leads to a chaotic fiasco in the kitchen, and the grumbling disappointment of your project stakeholders: the family and friends that arrive to partake in the grand feast.

In managing interactive projects, chaos is not a situation that a diligent Interactive Producer will tolerate. And like websites, widgets and apps, the food not only has to look good, but it has to function well and meet spec: i.e. the food should smell good and taste good, have the proper texture and form, and be consumed by the user/guest in the expected manner. Where an average person may tremble at the thought of choreographing such a delicate and important family tradition, the Interactive Producer (or the natural born project manager) goes forth boldly, meeting the challenge with structure and efficiency.

As a newlywed, I found it appropriate this year to volunteer to cook the family Thanksgiving dinner and contribute to a great family tradition. And as an Interactive Producer, I’m bursting with confidence and excited to take on this new project. As I posted on Facebook last week, I’ll use my “mad project management skillz to plan Thanksgiving dinner.” I even made a Gantt chart.

An unconventional approach to a traditional holiday? Perhaps. You would be hard pressed to find a Gantt chart in Norman Rockwell’s famous “Freedom from Want.” However, the skills I’ve learned as an Interactive Producer give me clear direction for something that I’ve never attempted, eliminating the fear and apprehension that I might otherwise experience taking on this task.

This is my methodology. First, before anything else, state the objective. “Coordinate and deliver a complete Thanksgiving Day meal to feed, satisfy, and impress 10+ family members by the deadline of 3:00 pm, Thursday, November 26^th 2009.” Nice.

Next, identify the project requirements. At the bare minimum is the turkey. However, a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by moi would include the whole enchilada: not just any turkey meat but a whole 20lbs oven roasted turkey, brined for at least 12 hours. Of course, homemade stuffing and turkey gravy to accompany the main attraction. Butter and herb mashed potatoes, candied yams, green bean casserole. Don’t forget the rolls, the cranberry sauce, and maybe another veggie dish- corn pudding perhaps? Other project requirements include hors d’oeuvres (to hold over those fasting family members counting down the hours and minutes to the turkey carving), a salad/soup course, and who could forget dessert? I’m thinking stuffed baked apples with vanilla ice-cream, and my homemade pumpkin pie. Yum.

Next, project scheduling. I have a standard kitchen oven, two portable roaster ovens, a stove and a crock pot to do the heavily lifting. There’s a range of dependencies and deadlines associated for each recipe, or task. And these culinary tasks require specific resources, the aforementioned ovens, stove and crockpot. Resources also include my suppliers (i.e. the grocery store), human resources (i.e. Mom), and informational sources (my favorites: FoodNetwork.com, RecipeZaar.com, and when all else fails, Google it!).

With my tasks, deadlines, resources and dependencies identified, a project schedule can be created easily using one of my favorite programs, Microsoft Project. With Project, I have been able to create a simple (it doesn’t look simple but I swear to you it is) Gantt chart. Interestingly, I had to change my tasks from the default “As soon as possible” constraint type to “As late as possible.”  Otherwise Project would suggest that I preheat my oven two days in advance of the next step! Food projects are unique in this way, digital assets do not go stale or cold the way that food does.

Using my Gantt chart, I can clearly see that certain dishes like the corn pudding and sweet potatoes can be started earlier in the timeline, to create efficient and reduce the number of tasks that must be completed in the last few hours before dinner. This is a time savings made obvious only when I had a roadmap for the project. Though I’m sure a seasoned Thanksgiving cook would have realized this much sooner and without so much work. This kind of sophisticated project planning comes natural to them.

And for those who may not be quite ready for a sophisticated project like Thanksgiving dinner, there’s always the alternative: outsourcing. I.e. Chinese takeout.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Five Feet of Dynamite’s Thanksgiving Dinner Gantt Chart (PDF)

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