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What Is Project First? /

What Is Project First?

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Published on July 18, 2019

Prioritizing what’s important

Project First is the operational model we use on every project to optimize the value of the overall deliverable. It challenges the traditional agency operating model by allowing the project to define what, who, and how we act. 

Projects are unique, but the need is constant—we help organizations achieve their business objectives in a manner that allows them to use the most effective tools available today while being both agile and efficient in response to market environment changes or new insights into their industry.

We see our approach as an investment in you because when you win through improved performance, market share, customer acquisition rates or revenue growth, so do we.

The model itself is simple.

  1. Document goals and performance metrics
  2. Convert goals into actionable objectives
  3. Decide on technology and approach that best achieves those objectives
  4. Build a Project First team consisting of highly-skilled experts in their respective fields working together across disciplines to meet business goals

The big difference between Alpha Alias’ Project First model and that of traditional website agencies? We know there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to every challenge businesses face in today’s digital space.  We’re not here to sell you on our own project-specific needs; rather, we’re here to determine your project’s unique direction and how it can best benefit your organization.

A brief history of Project First

The history of Project First is synonymous with my personal history in the digital space.

My name is Sam Roon. In 1994 I used my sister’s brand new computer to change the colors of my Geocities page using the advanced editor. It was a time before DIVs and the popularity of CSS.

Fast-forward 20 years, and I still find myself changing colors, only now it’s on business-critical web applications for my clients.

My way of working starts by thinking from my client’s perspective. I assess needs and requirements objectively to define the most appropriate path for solving challenges. I approach projects as if they are critical for my own company. I want the best team to create the best product with the best price and time frame.

That is where the idea for Alpha Alias comes from, and the name for the concept is Project First.

Starting Alpha Alias afforded me the ability to develop the idea further. I explored different angles of how I could provide the best possible service without the traditional website agency business tactics.

The result is not a technical solution but a methodology. The methodology is our process for defining solutions that best solve the unique challenges our clients face. 

Alpha Alias Is Project First

The Biggest Little Agency In The World

To be truly Project First, an agency needs to allow a project to define what is needed without the looming knowledge that you can’t do everything, or that it needs to fit into some proprietary company requirement. Project First means that If a project needs something, it will get done in the best way possible, period.

Alpha Alias solves the challenge of hiring every expertise in the digital space by not hiring anyone at all (besides our operational experts, of course).

Our operational model includes pre-vetted partnerships with highly talented design agencies, development houses, analytics teams, marketing managers, and so on. By building a substantial network of partners, we can have 2 of everything, while only paying for exactly what we need, when we need it.

By having every digital expertise possible at our disposal, Alpha Alias can be truly Project First.

The web has changed; why haven’t traditional digital agencies changed with it?

Answer: Efficiency at the cost of flexibility. When an agency can charge value rates for a pre-fixe solution, they make more money. It’s a re-branded product with a custom-build price tag.

Traditional agencies try to solve challenges with the products or productized services they’ve created. It leads to poor decision-making that accommodates their product’s needs instead of the client’s.

A traditional agency will ask: “How can we modify our product to solve the client’s challenge?”

Alpha Alias asks, “What technology should we use that achieves the client’s goals.” We solve challenges by crafting the best possible solution and allowing the solution to guide how we take action.

Do we build websites or sell products?

Traditional website agencies are fundamentally Agency First. They have a proprietary team, a one-size-fits-all website product, processes for selling that product, and operations for implementing it. If you ask their leadership what internal projects they are working on, they’ll talk about tasks that improve their product or another product they’re building.

It sounds a lot like a SaaS company, and it’s the wrong model for a value-driving digital agency.

You have a choice.

You can build a website with a methodology for solving unique digital challenges by thinking without limitations. Or you can buy a website product from a company that will explain a creative way to use their proprietary solution.

They cost the same. Which do you choose?

The Project First mindset

Challenge ordinary. Expect results. Lead the pack. It’s the Alpha Alias way, and it comes from the Project First model.

Alpha Alias may not be your new digital partner, but we encourage you to work with teams that understand businesses cannot compete in the digital space with one-size-fits-all websites.

It’s my mission to see businesses succeed, and my weapon on this journey is the Project First operational model.

project-first

CEO

The Author

Sam Roon

Sam Roon is an operational leader with nearly 20 years of experience in the digital space. He is the founder and CEO of Alpha Alias. Sam is responsible for managing partnerships and vetting experts for inclusion in our operations.