Project management is the cornerstone of any successful organization. Even with the most brilliant ideas and the most dedicated team, projects fail if they are not managed properly. Unfortunately, in many organizations project management is treated as an afterthought. It is assumed that once you have a brilliant team, great ideas and extensive documentation everything will be fine. That is why so many projects end in failure, time and time again. Fortunately, it does not have to be that way. With the right tools and techniques, project management can be an asset rather than a liability. Here are seven tips for successful project management:
Plan your work and work your plan
Before you even get started on a project, you need to make sure that you have a plan. A great plan will make it easier to identify potential problems and find solutions to them. It will also make it easier to communicate expectations to team members. Make sure to include the following elements in your plan:
– Strategic alignment: This refers to whether the project aligns with your organization’s strategic objectives. If it does not , there is no reason to spend time and resources on it.
– Strategic fit: This refers to whether the project fits within your organization’s strategic approach. If it does not, the project is probably too large for your organization to handle and will not have the desired effect.
– Objectives: Objectives explain the specific outcomes that you hope to achieve with the project. They are often expressed in terms of what the organization hopes to achieve, how it hopes to achieve it and when it hopes to achieve it by.
– Scope: The scope is the total amount of work that needs to be done to complete the project successfully. It is often expressed as the amount of money that will be spent on the project.
– Deliverables: Deliverables are specific outcomes that you will produce as part of the project. They usually form the basis for which you will measure success or failure.
Don’t bet the farm on a single project
Whether the project is to introduce a new product or expand into a new market, successful organizations do not bet the farm on a single project. They diversify their portfolio and spread their bets among multiple projects. A single project is too risky. What happens if the project is delayed or fails? What happens if the project is wildly successful? These are questioning that organizations who rely on a single project rarely have to ask themselves.
– Be open to additional projects: This does not mean that you should dive into ill-conceived projects just because they are available. It means that you should be open to adding new projects to your portfolio.
– Think in terms of categories: Instead of focusing on a single project, try to think in terms of project categories. This will make it easier to identify projects that will diversify your portfolio.
– Expand into new categories: When you are ready to expand your portfolio, be sure to expand into new categories. This will help you avoid being too heavily weighted in any one category and will also help you avoid being too heavily weighted in any one project.
– Avoid the temptation to overreach: As your organization grows, it will be presented with more and more opportunities. Some of these will be plain foolish and some will be opportunities to significantly expand your organization. Be careful not to overreach with these opportunities.
Utilize effective communication
Communication is the glue that holds any organization together. It is what connects employees with one another and with management. It is the means through which objectives are communicated and delivered. Poor communication is one of the most common causes of project failure. In fact, it has been estimated that $37 billion is lost by American companies annually due to poor communication. This does not just mean that employees are not communicating effectively with each other. It means that various departments within an organization are not communicating effectively with each other. There are many ways to improve communication within your organization. Make sure that your employees are familiar with the technologies that you use for internal communication. This will make it easier for them to get their points across to their colleagues.
Track progress frequently
It is easy to get lost in the details of a project and lose sight of the big picture. If a project is behind schedule, does that really mean that it failed? Did you really fail because you did not hit the deadline or is there a chance that you will still be successful? Did you really succeed even if the project was completed on time? Did you hit all the objectives? Did you produce the right deliverables? Did you spend too much money? You won’t know the answers to these questions unless you track project progress frequently. When tracking project progress, keep the following things in mind:
– Track regularly: You do not want to wait until the end of the project to start tracking progress. Start tracking progress as soon as you begin.
– Track in real time: You do not want to wait until the end of the project to start tracking progress. Start tracking progress as soon as you begin.
Recognize risks and react quickly
A good project manager will recognize potential problems and make a note of them. A great project manager will also act to mitigate those risks. For example, if you have a contracted employee who will only work 25 hours per week, you will have to find a way to make up for the reduction in hours. This could have a significant impact on your project as a whole. Thankfully, you can mitigate this risk. You can either assign less work to the contracted employee or assign someone else to complete the work that the contracted employee was going to complete. This is just one example of the type of risk that you should be looking for. Other potential risk examples include:
Measure effectiveness at the end
You can make all the plans in the world and track progress as frequently as you like, but you won’t be able to judge your success unless you know what success looks like. Before you start a project, make sure that you clearly define what success looks like. This does not just apply to your project as a whole. It applies to each deliverable within the project. When you are assigning work to team members, make sure that they have a clear idea of what success looks like. This will make it easier for them to hit their targets and will also help you identify which deliverables are more successful than others.
Conclusion
Successful project management is not about finding the right people or having the best ideas. It is about managing those people and using those ideas effectively. The more effectively you manage your team and the more effectively you utilize your ideas, the more likely you are to succeed. This means that it is important to plan your work and work your plan. It means that you should avoid betting the farm on a single project and instead diversify your portfolio. It means that you should track progress frequently and recognize risks as they arise. It also means that you should measure effectiveness at the end and learn from your successes and failures
Reference
https://getnave.com/blog/successful-project-managers/
https://www.teamwork.com/blog/successful-project-managers/
https://forbytes.com/blog/how-to-execute-a-project-successfully-tips-from-a-senior-project-manager/
https://elearningindustry.com/tips-how-to-make-project-management-successful
