Managing Several Fragrance Projects at Once

What goes wrong with several projects

• Samples cross over. Trial 4 of one brief sits next to trial 4 of another, and a client receives the wrong vial.
• Decisions evaporate. "We agreed less iris" lives in an email thread that nobody finds three weeks later.
• Projects stall unseen. A project waiting for a material or a client's reply looks the same as one being worked on.
• Everything is half done. Starting every new brief immediately means none finishes on time.
• The nose gets blurred. Evaluating trials from four projects in one sitting makes comparisons unreliable.

The stages of a single project — brief, development, submissions, approval, compliance, handover — are described in the fragrance development workflow. This article is about running several of them at once.

The project register

One table, in a spreadsheet or a notebook, that you can read in two minutes:

The "waiting for" column is the one that saves projects: it shows at a glance which are blocked and by whom. Stages can mirror formula statuses so the register and the formula library agree.

Codes everywhere

A short project code (P07) prefixed to everything ties the pieces together:

• Formulas: "P07 Summer cologne T5" — the code, a name, the trial or version.
• Samples: the vial label carries the project code and trial, not just a number (tracking mods and samples).
• Files and messages: briefs, cost sheets, feedback notes and email subjects start with the code.
• Batches: keep batch numbers on their own scheme, but record the project code in the batch record (batch numbers and lot codes).

Codes for formulas and materials, and how they fit a library, are covered in organizing a perfume formula library.

Keep projects apart

• Physically: one tray, box or shelf per active project, labeled with its code. Trials, blotters and retained samples go back to their tray after every session.
• Digitally: group each project's formulas — a folder, a tag or a collection — so a search never mixes them.
• In time: evaluate one project per session where you can, with breaks between projects. Comparing trials from different briefs side by side is rarely useful and tires the nose (evaluating a perfume formula).

Limit work in progress

Choose a maximum number of projects in active development — the right number depends on how much time each needs and how long they spend waiting — and do not start a new one until one moves to a waiting stage or finishes. New briefs wait at the "Brief" stage in the register. This is a judgment, not a rule from anywhere; its purpose is that each active project gets a real session every few days instead of a few minutes every few weeks.

Plan around waiting time rather than against it: resting periods before evaluation and production, client feedback and material lead times are when other projects get your attention.

The weekly review

Once a week, for each row of the register:

1. Is the stage still right?
2. What is the single next action, and when will it happen?
3. Is it waiting on someone? Chase or set a date to chase.
4. Are any trials due for evaluation after resting?
5. Did any decision this week need writing into the project's decision log?

Twenty minutes a week is cheaper than one remade sample or one missed launch.

A decision log per project

For each project keep a dated list of decisions and their reasons: "Oct 10 — client prefers mod C; reduce iris 20%; keep the musk base." It is short, it settles arguments, and it is the history you need when a client returns a year later. For freelancers, it is also part of the record of what the client asked for; see working with a freelance perfumer.

Closing a project

• Mark the winning formula's status, archive the trials, and lock what should not change.
• Return or dispose of client samples as agreed, and update the sample log.
• Write three lines on what you learned — materials that worked, timings that slipped.
• Move the project to "Closed" in the register and keep the row; the history of past projects is how you plan the next ones.

Where RUŌOD Lab fits

In RUŌOD Lab, formulas can be grouped into collections, tagged, starred and given a status (Draft, Testing, Approved, Production, Archived), and a locked formula cannot be deleted. That covers keeping each project's formulas together and marking where they stand; the register, the decision log and the sample log live in whatever document or spreadsheet you use.

Frequently asked questions

How many projects can one perfumer run at once?

It depends on the projects and on how much of their time is waiting. Track how long each stage actually takes, and set your limit from that record rather than from ambition.

Do I need project-management software?

Not to start. A one-page register, a decision log and disciplined codes do most of the work. Add tools when the register no longer fits on a page.

Should my own products be in the same register as client work?

Yes. Your own line competes for the same time and bench space, and it is the work most likely to slip if it is not visible.