7 Tips to Successful Project Management

Project management methodologies such as PRINCE 2 may make project management seems like a straightforward process. You follow the methodology, produce the documents, pass the gates and the project gets done…. right?

Wrong, in reality, project management is rarely straightforward. A project manager is trying to keep many plates spinning and must possess a range of capabilities to successfully deliver a project.

What can project managers do to improve their chances of successfully delivering projects on time and on budget? Here we share 7 tips to successful project management.

1. Clear scope. Before rushing forward to deliver your project, ensure that the scope of the project is clearly defined and articulated. This will include milestones, deliverables, stakeholders and budget. Scope creep is the Achilles heel of any project manager, but by defining the scope up front and ensuring that the stakeholders are identified and on board, the scope of a project can be better managed.
2. Clear expectations. When everyone on the project is on the same page, you eliminate any ambiguity, which can impact a project. A good way to get everyone on board is to have a kick off meeting. Here the project can be discussed in detail and everyone has the opportunity to clarify their understanding. Regular checkpoint meetings ensure that the project stays on track and stakeholder expectations are aligned.
3. Clear accountability and ownership. With project management, there is nothing worse than a task not being completed, because of confusion as to who was responsible for completion of the activity. Every team member on a project should be clear about who is accountable and responsible for each activity. A RACI can help with this as this tools allows a project manager to clearly articulate who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed for each activity or task.
4. Clear governance model. Good and balanced governance helps the project move along effectively. Having escalation and reporting processes documented and agreed can effectively manage issues without them derailing the overall project. With project management governance balance is key, as regular team meeting can be useful in helping to spot issues before they arise, but be careful not to micromanage and empower the team members to follow the processes should issues or incidents arise.
5. Central repository of information. Project management tools, which help provide a centralised repository can help teams, which are geographically, dispersed work more productively. Trying to find documents forwarded in an email can be time consuming as can inadvertently looking at the incorrect version of a plan, therefore having a version controlled repository helps reduce time and mistakes.
6. Build in contingency. Issues will occur as will changes, therefore ensure that the project plan and budget includes some contingency to accommodate for these unforeseen events.
7. Finally, have fun! Keep the team motivated and together by celebrating milestones. This can be a great way to build team rapport and help the team gel to work more productively.

Link to original article: http://www.canaryoneconsulting.com/2015/02/13/7-tips-successful-project-management/

__________________________________________________________________

Vishal Patel is a Director at Canary One Consulting. Canary One Consulting brings together our breadth and depth of subject matter expertise in business and IT related training. We deliver a comprehensive range of off-the-shelf courses on a wide range of subjects including project and programme management through our dedicated trainers. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow us on Twitter @canary1consult.