Choosing an appropriate and effective name for a project can be a difficult task. The project's audience, how the audience is expected to view the project, even how the project team is expected to view the project are all factors that you should consider when choosing a name. Without discounting the merit of the project itself, the title will elicit a reaction from the audience, good or bad, and this first impression will influence the success of the undertaking. A thoughtful approach to a title will yield a suitable array of examples from which to choose the best fit.
Naming to Reflect the Purpose of a Project
The most straightforward title for a project is a statement that concisely outlines the project's goals. The naming of civic projects comes to mind, as these cater to every person living and working in an area. The titles of these projects have to appeal to and be understood by everyone and therefore are usually simple statements of the purpose or goal of each project. Restating a central goal can create a lengthy name, which may be preferable to creating a shorter name that leaves out important details and leads to misunderstandings about the nature of the project.
Naming to Imply a Deeper Story
While it's easy to give a project a definitive, stoic name, project developers may more effectively sway their audience with an imaginative and emotionally moving name. This calls for a creative process that utilizes atypical methods, such as double entendre, metaphor, connotation and others, to produce a thought-provoking title for a mundane circumstance. A creative title will elicit an emotional response from the project's audience, sometimes without their realizing it. The naming consultants NameStormers suggested that Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy change its name to Fresh Energy precisely because that name called to mind many possible positive connotations.
Naming to Satisfy Organizational Needs
For some companies, stringent project-naming criteria help prevent confusion when dealing with multiple projects. An individual may be involved with several assignments at any one time, and utilizing a naming system can help with cross-departmental communications and to keep track of filing and other such needs. Adhering to strict file-naming conventions is an essential part of many companies' day-to-day workflow, and choosing a project name that follows those same guidelines will eliminate frustrations for all involved with the project.
The Benefits of Internal and External Names
Having more than one name for a project is beneficial to those working on it for a few reasons. While the public or outside name of a project may be undecided even after work on the project begins, a simple internal name can keep workflow going and save confusion with other internal projects. The project's team can deliberate on the public name throughout the process until the project's presentation so that the name is thoroughly vetted. A team can lighten its dynamic by using a relevant, yet jocular internal title that may not be suitable as the public name. Project managers should keep in mind that the internal name for a project can sway the team's approach to it, and so should choose a name accordingly.
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