Start with the End in Mind
One day your boss approaches you and asks you to tackle a project to take care of problems that are routinely delaying customer orders. Everybody knows it is a problem because customers complain it despite everyone at the company doing their best to get orders out quickly.
You are excited about the opportunity to finally be able to tackle this big problem for the company! As you start thinking about where you will start, you quickly realize this is going to take the participation of nearly all the departments to make this work. But, wait....as you start thinking about where you start and putting together your plan, you wonder if Betty in Shipping or Jonathon in Marketing is going to be on board. They have both been with the company for a long time and don't like change. And, what about getting the vendors on board to make all this come together. All of a sudden, this exciting opportunity is starting to feel overwhelming and leaving you worried if you will be able to meet your boss's expectations.
What do you do next?
Identify & Meet with the Stakeholders
Key stakeholders can make or break the success of a project, even if all the deliverables are met and the objectives are satisfied. Understand each person's interest, expectations and benefits from the project.
Set & Prioritize Goals
If you try to do everything, you'll end up doing nothing. Taking on too much at once dilutes energy and focus, meaning you can't bring your best to any one task. Priotize and understand this is a marathon, not a race. Set yourself up for success!
Most of us have heard of the SMART goals, but it can easy to get sidetracked by all the "noise".
S= Specific
M= Measureable
A= Accountable
R= Realistic
T= Timebound
Define your Deliverables and Success Criteria
A key deliverable is identifying the primary goal whether tangible or intangible or the key deliverables set to achieve the desired outcome. By having clearly defined deliverables also paves the way for limiting scope creep, which we will cover in a future topic.
The project success criteria typically refers to what can be measured and what will be acceptable to the end user, customer, and the stakeholders.
Develop the Project Schedule
Developing a project schedule is critical to managing your budget, schedule and scope. It is important to include your project team in the development of the schedule, as this will help ensure resources are properly identified and gain team buy-in on deliverables and due dates.
Once a project schedule has been developed and approved, remember this is an evergreen document where your team will provide important updates on progress completion and provide input on risks that may jeopardize the project.
There are many project management tools available. Some tools may be overkill depending on the size of the project, however, it is important to have a single document that manages these updates. We will cover in future Tips & Tricks article on different tools for different size and types of projects.
Identify Issues and Complete a Risk Assessment
When you try to get started on your project, what roadblocks lie ahead? Document the known and unknown risks that could get between you and your desired outcome.
Risk analysis is about identifying how the project outcomes and objectives may change due to the impact of the risk event. Once the risks are identified, they should be analyzed based on the qualitative and quantitative impact to help you prepare for how you will respond if those risks become issues that jeopardize the success of your project.
For the more complex projects, you will want to identify the probability of the risk, the impact of the risk and the risk exposure. Just remember this will be an ongoing process of working with your team to continually reassess known and unknown risks so you can achieve your desired outcome.
Present the Project Plan to the Stakeholders and Get Sign-off
So, you are near the finish line. The tasks on the schedule have been completed, but it can be easy to forget that the end of the project is equally important. There should be a project checklist, which will vary depending on the size and complexity of the project. A few core basic steps should include the following:
1. Schedule a post-mortem with the project team. Get input on what went well and what could be improved and document this feedback. This will only help strengthen your working relationship for future projects.
2. Make sure all the deliverables have been signed off by the stakeholders, getting their approval and satisfaction.
3. Be sure all the project documents are properly archived, as historical data can be helpful for future reference.
4. Release or reassign the resources used on the project. This can be not just your team members, but other project personnel and/or equipment used for the project.
5. Remember to celebrate your success! You all worked hard and it's important that your team knows how much they are appreciated.
Just remember, every project is unique. The process to get to your desired outcome should be consistent but remember to assess the complexity and size of the project to help avoid the common pitfalls that often cause projects to get off course and you will be successful!
