How to Deliver Digital Projects Effectively: Eva Liparova

Interview with Eva Liparova by Thore Davies.

"What key lessons from your work with V&A can other cultural institutions apply to their digital projects?"

• Appoint a strong thought leader for your digital strategy – and ideally, give them a seat at a leadership table. 

• Align digital projects with your strategy and understand the technical architecture underpinning them. Define roles and responsibilities needed for each project and empower a ‘product owner’ at your institution to oversee it. 

• Upskill non-digital teams to close knowledge gaps and support sustainable growth of your digital services – which aligns with the defined digital strategy. 

"How do you identify the right people and skill sets to bring a digital project to life?"

• I usually ask this: What responsibilities does your project need in order to proceed with confidence, every step of the way? Who do you need to define, develop, deliver and measure the success of the project? 

• At minimum, if building is involved, your essential roles are product manager, front-end/back-end developer, designer and data analyst. You might need to add content, research or technical experts as required. 

• Your product owner should ensure alignment and engage stakeholders appropriately – who needs to be consulted vs informed? 

"Why is user involvement essential from start to finish in a digital project, and how do you approach it?

• Without user involvement, it’s impossible to build a digital project with confidence.

• It is absolutely crucial for prioritising needs and ensuring project value. Early engagement helps validate assumptions, guiding teams to build solutions that truly meet user needs and enable the digital project to succeed. 

"What benefits do you see in mapping user journeys, and how does it impact outcomes?"

• User journey mapping helps teams understand user needs, pain points, and motivations – and where there are gaps in understanding, thus enabling targeted improvements and better design decisions. 

• It is particularly useful when working with non-digital folks – it brings a service and what’s required to life, including what operational requirements a new digital service will entail. 

"What are some advantages of letting users guide content creation, in your experience?"

• User-led content enhances engagement by aligning text, visuals, and structure with real user needs. Testing content with users ensures it resonates, improves usability, and strengthens the overall experience. This in turn contributes to the success of your project.