A conversation with a friend from the industry this week revealed something we have in common: the “contingency first” trick. It’s an easy way to help projects come in on budget. First, what’s a contingency? Check out the Word of the Day. Ready? …

What is cost control in a cultural project? Cost control is about controlling costs, up or down, in order to achieve your goal. That’s what it is. Here’s what it isn’t. For example, cost control isn’t trying to make all the elements in a project equally inexpensive. …

"We need to engage the community." — Every Exhibition Project Ever. Usually, the next question is, “Who do we mean by community?” But let’s consider a different question: “Who do we mean by we?” …

There is an old story about a worker who keeps bringing a rock to a supervisor. Each time, the supervisor looks at it, shakes his head, and says, “Bring me another rock.” Back the worker goes. No explanation of what the right rock would be. …

“That was a great meeting! Finally we’re going to make our exhibitions sustainable.” “I agree! It’s about time we considered whether we can pay for these things.” “What? I thought the boss was talking about the environment.” …

How do you build a museum? Jamē Anderson, Monteil Crawley, Sarah Ghorbanian, and Chris Wood from SmithGroup discuss “Building a Museum: This is Not a Manual” (the New Book), with MtM host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners). …

Almost all museums are nonprofit businesses. But “nonprofit” is just a tax status — it’s not a financial goal. Museums make money. They have to. And when our work helps them to do that, we can have a bigger impact. …

Ready for a fun, quick test? Every field has words that sound strange from the outside. Some are technical. Some sound completely made up. But they are real words we all use to plan, design, build, install, and maintain exhibitions. …

Scope creep is the gradual, unacknowledged expansion of work beyond what was originally agreed upon, without corresponding official changes to the budget, schedule, or expectations. Scope creep is not just “the project getting bigger.” …

A tight timeline is one of the most common causes of project stress. Deadlines are approaching. Teams are overlapping. People are working late. Everything is compressed and urgent. But “tight timeline” can mean different things. …

Exhibition budgets are never … no, uh, wait, I mean always … tight. But tight budgets don’t necessarily limit exhibitions. They just force better decisions. So what do we decide to do when the budget is tight? Good question. Here are ten tips. …

There is a pattern that shows up in almost every exhibition project. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. At the very beginning of a project, you can change almost anything. Layout. Storyline. Budget. Media ideas. The overall concept. But then …

Many of us work with boards of trustees throughout our careers, but we aren’t sure what they do. I know I wasn’t for … um, a while. But that’s not surprising. Staff handle the daily operations, while boards only meet from time to time. …

The Iron Triangle is one of the most important project management concepts. Many know it. But do we respect it? Let’s unpack it. First, every exhibition project is defined by a triangle: scope, time, and cost. …

Museums and the people who work with them are not islands. We are all linked through a network of professional associations. And there are more of them than you think. Even just here in the US. I can think of seven categories: …

Exhibition planning and design is a team sport.  Yes, it does take experienced team leaders. But that doesn’t mean great ideas are exclusively the domain of a leader. Nor are great ideas only generated by people who have “creative” jobs. …

How do you design for all ages at the same time? Shoshana Wasserman and Kimberly Rodriguez from First Americans Museum, and Bill Smith (Storyline Studio) discuss “Serious Fun at the First Americans Museum” with MtM host Jonathan Alger. …

MONIQUE: [Chewing] This free cheese isn’t bad. Museums should give out more free cheese. Free cheese never fails. PHIL: [Stops chewing] Uh, what? MONIQUE: Metaphorical cheese, I mean. PHIL: Uh oh, here we go. …

It’s Thanksgiving Week in the US, meaning no newsletter on Thursday. Today, a top ten list of the worries I bet we all have in common. Tomorrow, a top ten list of the joys we all share. It’s Thanksgiving, after all. Here’s the worry list: …

In any complex organization, especially a non-profit, decision-making is complex. Planners and designers need to give committees choices. Usually, creative contracts call for “three options.” But in our studio, we find three is not enough. …