DDP Website Upgrade 2025

The first year of upgrading the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) website. On a legacy WebSphere platform we built new wayfinding and a VR map, and made it easier to find what you need before a visit.

“I came in to plan the web and left as its PM. It was a real test of the PM I wanted to be, and I saw it through.”

1. 1

   The PM's expertise was VR and mine was web, but the decisions that mattered were on the web side

   My call

   If no one owned the side where the decisions piled up, the whole schedule would wobble.

   Solution

   Started as web planner, then took the PM role, coordinating scope and schedule across external and in-house developers, the maintenance vendor, the client and the design contractor.
2. 2

   Design planned without knowing the live environment, on a legacy WebSphere stack

   My call

   Screens drawn without knowing the environment can't be built, so feasibility had to be rechecked even on a tight schedule.

   Solution

   Spent one to two months analyzing the site and servers, restarted from a feasibility study, and walked the client through what could and could not change.
3. 3

   The VR map loaded through the WAS server and took far too long

   My call

   It was an environment constraint, not something the front end could fix, so the structure had to change.

   Solution

   After three to four months of options, set up a separate virtual server for the VR map.

   Result

   All work was finished within the warranty period.
4. 4

   Requests kept coming, and the company wanted to accept as many as possible

   My call

   Even with next year's contract in mind, we had to accept only the minimum we could cover for risk.

   Solution

   Showed with a schedule estimate that a December launch wasn't possible, and persuaded the company to move from a single developer to two teams, showing it would otherwise slip to June or July.

   Result

   Launched in March with every request delivered.

• March launch with two teams in parallel
• VR loading fixed within the warranty period
• Prevented a slip to June–July