Project Management Tips

Like it, love it, hate it or all of the above if you have a business or work in a business, then sooner or later you’ll have to be in charge of a project.  Whether you fail in a grand manner or succeed gloriously the choice is yours.

So what’s the big deal and what is project management?

Let’s take it in steps.  A project is an effort or assignment that has a very definite beginning and end.  This “project” also has a budget with a specific goal.  The budget will contain the manpower, materials, and time associated with the specific assignment.  If one or more of those elements are missing then STOP.  Don’t accept the assignment or have the elements defined and provided before you begin.

Your role as project manager is to remove obstacles, coordinate activities, update and publish the project charter and report to management the progress of the project.  Your job is not to do all the work, but to get the team members to function and accomplish the detailed goals and assignments.

The Statement of Work (SOW)

There’s good news and bad news in these Cliff Notes on Project Management.  The Good news is it’s not that tough.

The bad news is as Project Manager you must sit down and write the scope of work or the project definition with its start date, its end date, and all restrictions.  My best project management tips are below.

• Start with the end (at least in sight) because if you don’t know where you’re going, as the saying goes, any road will get you there.
• Define, in the statement of work (SOW), what you and the client agreed upon in detail including the end date.

The Project Plan or Gantt Chart

Try to think of all the details and it is easiest if you do it in an outline or bullet form because that way it’s easy to go back and forth adding and/or combining activities.  Go back in your mind to the guidelines on a book report (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How) remember?  Eventually this will be the best tool or agenda to have detailed meetings and conversations with both the client and the team because it should cover everything.  Don’t forget to update this tool frequently.  Believe it or not, communication with both the client and the team is almost as important as the product or service provided.

Revise the Contract/Plan…no Scope Creep

Whoa, hold on!!!  Time Out!!!

If you allow project modification to creep in without calling timeout, you are starting down a slippery slope.  I know, I know you don’t want to “nickel and dime” the client and you should not, but call timeout and discuss the departure from the plan/contract.  Once you and your client have come to terms, document it, and move on.  If financial adjustments or schedule slips are required, incorporate them.  As a business person, only so many modifications can be accepted without destroying the profitability of the enterprise.

Lessons Learned

When it’s all said and done do a project recap.  List things that are important to you, like:

• Customer name.
• Good and bad experiences.
• Outstanding performers (employees/contractors).
• Problems encountered.
• HERE it is…what were the Profits in dollars and margin in percent.
• Left over/residual/excess materials and where it’s stored.

Summary

• Start.
  • Remember your role.
  • To remove obstacles not to solve all the problems.
• Review the plan.
• Revise/Update the plan.
• When it’s done, it’s done.
  • No scope creep.
• Lessons learned.
  • Write it down.
  • Learn from it.
• Define the project.
  • Develop a formal (SOW) Statement of Work.
  • What’s the goal.
  • When’s it due.
  • PLAN AHEAD.
• What’s the budget.
  • Money.
  • Other resources.
• Outline the plan.
  • Who.
  • What.
  • When.
  • Where.
  • Why.
  • How.
• Communicate.
  • Team members.
  • Client.
  • Develop a graph*.

*A simple Gantt chart is good and can be done in Excel.  The Gantt chart is one of the most popular scheduling tools in project management.  It’s a horizontal bar chart that shows progress on a project schedule.  Tasks are arranged on the vertical axis while the horizontal axis represents time.

Well, there you have it; project management tips in a nutshell.  Nothing gets done without it and one day or another, you will encounter it if you haven’t already.  Please remember to Like, Comment, and Share.

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