1. Develop consensus regarding the goal
The goal of the project may have many interested parties; they may be customers, clients, management or sponsors of the project board. The project manager should be aware of who these people are and their expectations. The PM also needs to understand what those parties deem to be a successful outcome.
Assumptions will be held by all parties, but all parties must agree on the definition of a successful outcome.
2. Clarify Project Constraints
The project may be constrained by factors not yet revealed by those requesting the project. Make sure you ask them to rank in order of importance the constraints of the project. This may include:
Time is often thought of as the most common constraint, however it rarely is. Scope and quality are usually more important. Fixed resources in the form of a low budget may also be a constraining factor. The project may also need to address particular issues and benefits.
Make sure interested parties agree the constraining factors and the project will have more chance of success.
3. Make sure everyone understands their roles
As the project manager it is your responsibility to make sure everyone understands their role and what is expected of them. Make sure personnel have the required skills, resources, training and time to be able to complete their tasks. Be careful when using project management jargon, it's not what is said that is important, it's what is understood.
Get those who participate in the project to agree their role with you and have it written down. Also, make sure that they are free from their regular work in order to be able to devote the time required.
4. Adapt to Client's requirements
Each project may have different channels of communication, both up and down the chain. Make sure that extra report writing is factored into the project and that the project board may have to make reply. Point out that time spent in reporting back will affect the speed of project completion and break the flow of the project.
Lines of communication must be clear for those who you wish to send reports back and forth.
5. Plan for success
A plan is worthless if it is not enacted and then progress checked at specific intervals. A plan will inform you when you are working within your tolerances and when you are out of them. Rather than create a plan with too much information, see it as a series of stepping stones to reach your goal. Each stone a destination within the plan.
A plan must have structure but will fail if overly detailed. Simple, visual models work best, along with tracking the numbers with a spreadsheet.
6. Taking lots of small steps means no need for a giant leap
If you make a detailed plan for everything you do in the project, it will make things more difficult with fewer rewards. If this has been insisted upon try re-using bits of the plan which have been proved before. Usually the bigger the plan, the more expensive the reporting and this means time and resources are taken which could have been devoted to innovation. Aim for a high level plan giving an overview of the project, but it also makes sense to also have a detailed break down of the next step forward.
Do not make the mistake of concentrating on milestones at the expense of all the individual things you promised in the plan.
7. Avoid being busy, concentrate on completing the task
You can seem busy and not make progress towards the end point. Make sure you define progress accurately. Your plan should be as simple as it needs to be; to track progress, enabling you to make sure what is happening.
It is important to realize the end goal is the reason why you are involved in the process and not the process itself.
8. The difference between stopped and finished
If a projects runs out of time, it does not mean it is finished. It means it has stopped and has to be restarted before it can be finished. Your project at its lowest level is made of individual components; each one must be completed and then tested before it can be called finished. It must be to a level that is good enough for all the parties involved to agree upon.
A project is may be made up of many components which may look finished in a stand alone setting, but when two components are put together, they need to be tested a third time.
9. Monitoring Progress
Keeping the monitoring system lean and mean will help the project to run smoothly.
Use a "Two Pen" system, one colour to detail things started and one to detail them finished (not stopped). You could add an extra pen and use the "Three Pen" system where you detail things which are stopped.
If there is a rise in the amount of colour representing things starting, it may be that people are busy, but not progressing. And it may represent a clear visual signal that something is wrong.
10. Ditch the plan
A plan exists to keep your goal on target. A plan has to be light and adaptable enough to account for real world changes.
A number of things can happen to your carefully prepared plan:
Whatever happens, your plan may no longer be valid. Create a new plan quickly, get it approved and get back on track.
11. When things go wrong
Think of your plan as a map rather than directions.
When you give directions to someone you tell them right, left, straight ahead, which is fine until the person gets lost. It is much better to give them a map with directions on it, that way when they are lost they can find their way back to the correct path.
Beware of putting too much detail onto the plan, regarding things going right. What you really need is a plan to tell you what to do when things go wrong.
This article was originally written and found on Afaproject.com
The goal of the project may have many interested parties; they may be customers, clients, management or sponsors of the project board. The project manager should be aware of who these people are and their expectations. The PM also needs to understand what those parties deem to be a successful outcome.
Assumptions will be held by all parties, but all parties must agree on the definition of a successful outcome.
2. Clarify Project Constraints
The project may be constrained by factors not yet revealed by those requesting the project. Make sure you ask them to rank in order of importance the constraints of the project. This may include:
- Time
- Scope
- Quality
- Budget
- Perception of the project by the client
Time is often thought of as the most common constraint, however it rarely is. Scope and quality are usually more important. Fixed resources in the form of a low budget may also be a constraining factor. The project may also need to address particular issues and benefits.
Make sure interested parties agree the constraining factors and the project will have more chance of success.
3. Make sure everyone understands their roles
As the project manager it is your responsibility to make sure everyone understands their role and what is expected of them. Make sure personnel have the required skills, resources, training and time to be able to complete their tasks. Be careful when using project management jargon, it's not what is said that is important, it's what is understood.
Get those who participate in the project to agree their role with you and have it written down. Also, make sure that they are free from their regular work in order to be able to devote the time required.
4. Adapt to Client's requirements
Each project may have different channels of communication, both up and down the chain. Make sure that extra report writing is factored into the project and that the project board may have to make reply. Point out that time spent in reporting back will affect the speed of project completion and break the flow of the project.
Lines of communication must be clear for those who you wish to send reports back and forth.
5. Plan for success
A plan is worthless if it is not enacted and then progress checked at specific intervals. A plan will inform you when you are working within your tolerances and when you are out of them. Rather than create a plan with too much information, see it as a series of stepping stones to reach your goal. Each stone a destination within the plan.
A plan must have structure but will fail if overly detailed. Simple, visual models work best, along with tracking the numbers with a spreadsheet.
6. Taking lots of small steps means no need for a giant leap
If you make a detailed plan for everything you do in the project, it will make things more difficult with fewer rewards. If this has been insisted upon try re-using bits of the plan which have been proved before. Usually the bigger the plan, the more expensive the reporting and this means time and resources are taken which could have been devoted to innovation. Aim for a high level plan giving an overview of the project, but it also makes sense to also have a detailed break down of the next step forward.
Do not make the mistake of concentrating on milestones at the expense of all the individual things you promised in the plan.
7. Avoid being busy, concentrate on completing the task
You can seem busy and not make progress towards the end point. Make sure you define progress accurately. Your plan should be as simple as it needs to be; to track progress, enabling you to make sure what is happening.
It is important to realize the end goal is the reason why you are involved in the process and not the process itself.
8. The difference between stopped and finished
If a projects runs out of time, it does not mean it is finished. It means it has stopped and has to be restarted before it can be finished. Your project at its lowest level is made of individual components; each one must be completed and then tested before it can be called finished. It must be to a level that is good enough for all the parties involved to agree upon.
A project is may be made up of many components which may look finished in a stand alone setting, but when two components are put together, they need to be tested a third time.
9. Monitoring Progress
Keeping the monitoring system lean and mean will help the project to run smoothly.
Use a "Two Pen" system, one colour to detail things started and one to detail them finished (not stopped). You could add an extra pen and use the "Three Pen" system where you detail things which are stopped.
If there is a rise in the amount of colour representing things starting, it may be that people are busy, but not progressing. And it may represent a clear visual signal that something is wrong.
10. Ditch the plan
A plan exists to keep your goal on target. A plan has to be light and adaptable enough to account for real world changes.
A number of things can happen to your carefully prepared plan:
- Your estimates may be wrong
- Someone changes their mind
- Something you thought would work, does not
- An unforeseen risk arises which needs attention
Whatever happens, your plan may no longer be valid. Create a new plan quickly, get it approved and get back on track.
11. When things go wrong
Think of your plan as a map rather than directions.
When you give directions to someone you tell them right, left, straight ahead, which is fine until the person gets lost. It is much better to give them a map with directions on it, that way when they are lost they can find their way back to the correct path.
Beware of putting too much detail onto the plan, regarding things going right. What you really need is a plan to tell you what to do when things go wrong.
This article was originally written and found on Afaproject.com
