How to execute projects efficiently...
After the Initiation and Planning phases, the project will enter the Execution phase of the Project Lifecycle. Within this phase, the physical deliverables will be produced for the customer and a suite of management processes will be undertaken to ensure that the project produces the deliverables on time and within budget. To execute projects efficiently, we suggest that you take the following steps:
Step 1: Build the Deliverables
The first and most important step in the Execution phase is the construction of each of the project deliverables specified within the Terms of Reference. During this activity, a detailed design of each deliverable is created and the deliverables are physically constructed and tested. The deliverables are then reviewed by the Quality Manager and the Customer to determine whether they meet the quality criteria (defined in the Quality Plan) and the acceptance criteria (defined in the Acceptance Plan). If all of the criteria have been met, then the deliverables are signed off on by the customer, ready be handed over to the customer environment.
Step 2: Monitor and Control the Execution
Alongside the 'Build Deliverables' activity, the Project Manager performs a suite of management processes to monitor and control the time, cost and quality of each deliverable being produced. The following processes are undertaken:
Perform Time Management. This is the process of monitoring and controlling the time spent by staff on the project. Timesheets are used to track and record time spent, so that the Project Manager can ascertain the overall progress of the project.
Perform Cost Management. Ensuring the delivery of projects within budget is always a difficult task. To monitor and control costs effectively, a Cost Management Process is put in place to identify project costs (i.e. expenditures) and to record the rate of consumption of the project budget.
Perform Quality Management. To ensure that the project produces deliverables that meet customer requirements, it is necessary to use a formal Quality Management Process. This process involves undertaking the Quality Assurance and Control activities specified in the Quality Plan to manage a project's level of quality.
Perform Change Management. A Change Management Process is implemented to ensure that any change requests are reviewed and approved prior to implementation. This process will also help to control the project scope.
Perform Risk Management. While managing time, cost and quality can be a fulltime job, another key process within Project Management is the mitigation of project risk. To perform Risk Management on a project, you need to monitor and control project risks by taking the steps necessary to prevent risks and also minimize the impact on the project should those risks eventuate.
Perform Issue Management. During the Project Lifecycle, unforeseen issues often arise that impact the ability of the project to meet its stated objectives. The key to success is having a process in place to review and resolve issues before they severely impact on the project.
Perform Procurement Management. Projects often require goods and services from external suppliers to help them meet the objectives set. In these situations, a Procurement Management Process is put in place to monitor and control the performance of project suppliers.
Perform Acceptance Management. You may deliver a suite of top class deliverables, but unless the customer accepts that your deliverables meet their requirements then the success of the project will be compromised. To gain the customer's approval of each deliverable, Acceptance Reviews should be undertaken as part of an Acceptance Management Process.
Perform Communications Management. Everyone in the team needs to be kept regularly informed of the progress of the project. By completing the communications activities listed in the Communications Plan, you will ensure that every stakeholder within the project receives the right information, at the right time.
Step 3: Perform a Phase Review
With all your deliverables signed off on by the customer, you are almost ready to close the project. But first, a Phase Review is undertaken to ensure that all of the required activities in the Execution phase have been completed and the project is ready to proceed to the Closure phase.
And that's it. If you complete the steps above, you will be able to efficiently monitor and control the project schedule, risks and issues and therefore increase you chances of achieving a successful project delivery.
If you would like to use a suite of templates to complete each of these activities quickly and efficiently, then read about the Project Execution Kit. This kit includes all of the templates, forms and processes required to perform these 3 steps faster than ever before. Learn more...
Introductory Offer
If you purchase either the MPMMTM Standard Edition or Professional Edition before 30 June 2006, we will give you a free subscription to the MPMM Downloads Centre, where you will be able to obtain the latest releases of all MPMM editions any time, throughout the next 12 months. This free subscription is worth $69.50. We will also give you a 100% refund on any prior Method123 purchase! Here's how to do it:
Purchase the MPMM Standard or Professional Edition, to help you to deliver projects more successfully.
Email us at specialoffer@Method123.com with the details of any prior purchase and we will give you a 100% refund on that purchase immediately.
This offer applies to a single prior purchase of a single user license (up to the value of $297) for a Method123 template product.
Visit MPMM to find out about this Project Methodology now.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Starting new projects
Starting new projects
When you start a new project, you need to follow these 8 "golden rules" to ensure its success...
Sponsorship: You need to have a highly motivated sponsor who understands the criticality of the project on the business and is motivated to making it a success. They need to have the resources available to support you, and the right level of "influence" in the business.
Targets: Sit down with your sponsor and agree specific targets. Make sure they are realistic. Perform a feasibility study to ensure that what is discussed is feasible to achieve. Only agree to the targets if there is sufficient contingency. Add an extra 20% to the budget and timeline if you can.
Scope: Keep your scope to a minimum. If you can't get the contingency you need, then try and negotiate to deliver less than you have to. And if that doesn't work, identify any deliverables that are not on the critical path and negotiate to produce these items after the project deadline has been reached.
Resourcing: Find the best people you can afford. Then find extra people to assist, as further contingency. You will always need more people than you plan for, so you need to identify additional help as a "backup" should you need it. This could include people from other teams in your business, contractors or suppliers.
Planning: Your success will be measured against your ability to deliver against the plan. So plan wisely. Only plan in detail the next few months. After that, plan at a summary level. Never "over-plan" by listing every tiny task for the entire length of the project, as people will hold you to it. Then, stick to the plan.
Processes: Implement processes for managing time, cost, quality, change, risks and issues upfront. MPMM contains all of the processes you need. Communicate these processes to your entire team and make sure that everyone follows them rigorously.
Tracking: With your plan complete, you need to start tracking progress against it. ProjectManager.com helps you do this, by allowing you to see at a glimpse your progress on the dashboard. Track your progress against budget and schedule. Track your risks and issues. Track your work efficiency and your overall percent complete.
Reporting: Report on your project status weekly. Keep your reports brief and 100% accurate. Report the summary level to your Sponsor and the detailed level to your team. Focus on the current issues to hand. Remember that your project report can be a great motivational tool to rally everyone behind the project and focus them on the outcome. With the whole team motivated to achieve the goals, you have the best chance of success.
These 8 golden rules apply to any size and type of project. One final golden rule is do anything you can to work smart and save time. By using the Project Management Kit of templates, you'll save both time and effort, boosting your chance of success
When you start a new project, you need to follow these 8 "golden rules" to ensure its success...
Sponsorship: You need to have a highly motivated sponsor who understands the criticality of the project on the business and is motivated to making it a success. They need to have the resources available to support you, and the right level of "influence" in the business.
Targets: Sit down with your sponsor and agree specific targets. Make sure they are realistic. Perform a feasibility study to ensure that what is discussed is feasible to achieve. Only agree to the targets if there is sufficient contingency. Add an extra 20% to the budget and timeline if you can.
Scope: Keep your scope to a minimum. If you can't get the contingency you need, then try and negotiate to deliver less than you have to. And if that doesn't work, identify any deliverables that are not on the critical path and negotiate to produce these items after the project deadline has been reached.
Resourcing: Find the best people you can afford. Then find extra people to assist, as further contingency. You will always need more people than you plan for, so you need to identify additional help as a "backup" should you need it. This could include people from other teams in your business, contractors or suppliers.
Planning: Your success will be measured against your ability to deliver against the plan. So plan wisely. Only plan in detail the next few months. After that, plan at a summary level. Never "over-plan" by listing every tiny task for the entire length of the project, as people will hold you to it. Then, stick to the plan.
Processes: Implement processes for managing time, cost, quality, change, risks and issues upfront. MPMM contains all of the processes you need. Communicate these processes to your entire team and make sure that everyone follows them rigorously.
Tracking: With your plan complete, you need to start tracking progress against it. ProjectManager.com helps you do this, by allowing you to see at a glimpse your progress on the dashboard. Track your progress against budget and schedule. Track your risks and issues. Track your work efficiency and your overall percent complete.
Reporting: Report on your project status weekly. Keep your reports brief and 100% accurate. Report the summary level to your Sponsor and the detailed level to your team. Focus on the current issues to hand. Remember that your project report can be a great motivational tool to rally everyone behind the project and focus them on the outcome. With the whole team motivated to achieve the goals, you have the best chance of success.
These 8 golden rules apply to any size and type of project. One final golden rule is do anything you can to work smart and save time. By using the Project Management Kit of templates, you'll save both time and effort, boosting your chance of success
10 Tips for Project Success
10 Tips for Project Success
Starting out: Make sure that when you start out your customer defines their requirements in depth. You need to know exactly what it is that must be delivered, to who and when. Make it specific, write it up formally and get them to sign it off. This document will become the basis upon which to measure your success.
Customers: Involve your customers throughout the entire project life cycle. Get them involved in the analysis and planning, as well as execution. You don't have to seek their approval, just keep them informed. The more you involve them, the greater their level of buy-in and the easier it is to manage their expectations.
Timeframes: Keep your delivery timeframes short and realistic. Never agree to lengthy timeframes. Split the project into "mini-projects" if you need to. Keep each mini-project to less than 6 months. This keeps everyone motivated and focused.
Milestones: Break your project timeframe into "Milestones" which are manageable pieces of work. Add delivery deadlines to your milestones and try to deliver on every deadline, no matter what. If you're late, tell your customer about it as early as possible.
Communications: Make sure you keep everyone informed by providing the right information at the right time. Produce Weekly Status Reports and run regular team meetings. Use these Project Management Templates to save you time.
Scope: Only authorize changes to your project scope if there is no impact on the timeline. Get your customers approval to important scope changes first and then get their buy-in to extend the delivery dates if you need to.
Quality: Keep the quality of your deliverables as high as possible. Constantly review quality and never let it slip. Implement "peer reviews" so that team members can review each others deliverables. Then put in place external reviews to ensure that the quality of the solution meets your customer's needs.
Issues: Jump on risks and issues as soon as they are identified. Prioritize and resolve them before they impact on your project. Take pride in keeping risks and issues to a minimum.
Deliverables: As each deliverable is complete, hand it formally over to your customer. Get them to sign an Acceptance Form to say that it meets their expectations. Only then can you mark each deliverable off as 100% complete.
Your team: Great projects are run by great teams. Hire the best people you can afford. Spend the time to find the right people. It will save you time down the track. Remember, good people are easy to motivate. Show them the vision and how they can make it happen. Trust and believe in them. Make them feel valued. They will work wonders.
And that's it. With these 10 tips you can boost your project success. And here's one last tip that will save you time and effort - use Project Management Templates to produce deliverables faster and easier than before. Download the Project Management Kit of templates today.
Starting out: Make sure that when you start out your customer defines their requirements in depth. You need to know exactly what it is that must be delivered, to who and when. Make it specific, write it up formally and get them to sign it off. This document will become the basis upon which to measure your success.
Customers: Involve your customers throughout the entire project life cycle. Get them involved in the analysis and planning, as well as execution. You don't have to seek their approval, just keep them informed. The more you involve them, the greater their level of buy-in and the easier it is to manage their expectations.
Timeframes: Keep your delivery timeframes short and realistic. Never agree to lengthy timeframes. Split the project into "mini-projects" if you need to. Keep each mini-project to less than 6 months. This keeps everyone motivated and focused.
Milestones: Break your project timeframe into "Milestones" which are manageable pieces of work. Add delivery deadlines to your milestones and try to deliver on every deadline, no matter what. If you're late, tell your customer about it as early as possible.
Communications: Make sure you keep everyone informed by providing the right information at the right time. Produce Weekly Status Reports and run regular team meetings. Use these Project Management Templates to save you time.
Scope: Only authorize changes to your project scope if there is no impact on the timeline. Get your customers approval to important scope changes first and then get their buy-in to extend the delivery dates if you need to.
Quality: Keep the quality of your deliverables as high as possible. Constantly review quality and never let it slip. Implement "peer reviews" so that team members can review each others deliverables. Then put in place external reviews to ensure that the quality of the solution meets your customer's needs.
Issues: Jump on risks and issues as soon as they are identified. Prioritize and resolve them before they impact on your project. Take pride in keeping risks and issues to a minimum.
Deliverables: As each deliverable is complete, hand it formally over to your customer. Get them to sign an Acceptance Form to say that it meets their expectations. Only then can you mark each deliverable off as 100% complete.
Your team: Great projects are run by great teams. Hire the best people you can afford. Spend the time to find the right people. It will save you time down the track. Remember, good people are easy to motivate. Show them the vision and how they can make it happen. Trust and believe in them. Make them feel valued. They will work wonders.
And that's it. With these 10 tips you can boost your project success. And here's one last tip that will save you time and effort - use Project Management Templates to produce deliverables faster and easier than before. Download the Project Management Kit of templates today.
Managing Outsourced Projects
Managing Outsourced Projects
Take these 5 steps to ensure the success of your outsourced projects:
State the Work
Before you outsource, specify the Statement of Work. This is a document which is released to the third party, specifying exactly what you need them to deliver, when and how. It lists your requirements and it gives your supplier the opportunity to confirm that they can meet your expectations.
Seal the Deal
Every successful supplier relationship has a strong contract behind it. In your supplier contract make sure you clearly state the responsibilities of each party. Include delivery milestones which are points in time by which elements of the project must be delivered. And make it clear that you will only pay them when each delivery milestone is completed. Go one step further by including penalties for late delivery, and clauses allowing you to pull out if you need to.
Monitor Progress
Make sure that once the contract is signed, you can scrutinize the progress of your supplier on a regular basis. Get them to complete timesheets and weekly status reports. Make them log all issues, risks and changes and use online project software that you can access, to track their progress. Make sure your status reports are received on time. If you don't receive them on time, it's often because the project is behind schedule and they don't want you to know. Remember - to succeed, you need the right status information, at the right time.
React like Lightening
If you notice delays, risks or issues that have not been dealt with, then react like lightening. Arrange a formal meeting with the supplier to discuss it. Have a copy of the contract to hand, so they know you're serious. Come heavy handed by bringing your boss along. Meet in the office, not at a café. State clearly what it is that you want them to do, by when and how. The more seriously you take it, the more likely they will meet your demands and the greater your chances of success.
Accept Deliverables
As your supplier completes each delivery milestone, you need to review and formally accept the deliverables produced. Never leave this to someone else, always be involved in the process personally. Make sure a formal acceptance process is followed, one that tests each deliverable and ensures it meets your needs.
Physically sign off on each deliverable, and only when all of the deliverables are signed off, should you make your final supplier payment. Along with this payment, you both need to re-sign the contract, stating that it is 100% complete. This covers you legally and ensures your success.
And there you have it. By following these tips, you can manage outsourced projects more easily.
Want all of the documents needed to manage outsourced projects? Download the Method123 Project Management Kit today.
Take these 5 steps to ensure the success of your outsourced projects:
State the Work
Before you outsource, specify the Statement of Work. This is a document which is released to the third party, specifying exactly what you need them to deliver, when and how. It lists your requirements and it gives your supplier the opportunity to confirm that they can meet your expectations.
Seal the Deal
Every successful supplier relationship has a strong contract behind it. In your supplier contract make sure you clearly state the responsibilities of each party. Include delivery milestones which are points in time by which elements of the project must be delivered. And make it clear that you will only pay them when each delivery milestone is completed. Go one step further by including penalties for late delivery, and clauses allowing you to pull out if you need to.
Monitor Progress
Make sure that once the contract is signed, you can scrutinize the progress of your supplier on a regular basis. Get them to complete timesheets and weekly status reports. Make them log all issues, risks and changes and use online project software that you can access, to track their progress. Make sure your status reports are received on time. If you don't receive them on time, it's often because the project is behind schedule and they don't want you to know. Remember - to succeed, you need the right status information, at the right time.
React like Lightening
If you notice delays, risks or issues that have not been dealt with, then react like lightening. Arrange a formal meeting with the supplier to discuss it. Have a copy of the contract to hand, so they know you're serious. Come heavy handed by bringing your boss along. Meet in the office, not at a café. State clearly what it is that you want them to do, by when and how. The more seriously you take it, the more likely they will meet your demands and the greater your chances of success.
Accept Deliverables
As your supplier completes each delivery milestone, you need to review and formally accept the deliverables produced. Never leave this to someone else, always be involved in the process personally. Make sure a formal acceptance process is followed, one that tests each deliverable and ensures it meets your needs.
Physically sign off on each deliverable, and only when all of the deliverables are signed off, should you make your final supplier payment. Along with this payment, you both need to re-sign the contract, stating that it is 100% complete. This covers you legally and ensures your success.
And there you have it. By following these tips, you can manage outsourced projects more easily.
Want all of the documents needed to manage outsourced projects? Download the Method123 Project Management Kit today.
How to Deliver Challenging Projects
How to Deliver Challenging Projects
There are 5 classic signs of a "challenging" project. We’ve described them below and offer you advice for managing them:
Tight Deadlines
If your project deadline is practically unachievable, then here's what to do. First, try and get it delayed. If you can't, then immediately replan your project so you know by how much you will be late. If it’s more than 10% then try and find more resource to help you deliver it more quickly. And if you can’t get the resource, then reduce your scope. Identify non-critical deliverables and get your sponsor to agree that you can complete those deliverables after the deadline has passed.
Otherwise, you need to revisit the tasks in your plan to see if you can produce the same deliverables, with less tasks and effort than before. Use these project management templates to save you time and effort completing project tasks.
Limited Budget
If your budget has been cut back, then try and find another sponsor in your business to provide the additional funding required. If cashflow is the problem, then negotiate with suppliers to take delayed payments. Use internal resource rather than external contractors, as they are usually cheaper. Rent equipment rather than buy. Re-negotiate with your suppliers to reduce their deliverables and therefore, their costs. And lastly, reduce staff overtime and offer them unpaid leave when they have down time.
Resource Shortage
If you don't have sufficient resource to complete the project, then take these steps. Review your deliverables and ensure you focus on the critical ones first. Try and find people in your business who can be succonded to your project, without you being charged. If you can't, then you need to work incredibly smart. So take time out each day to prioritize your tasks and ensure everyone is spending their time wisely. Work extra hours if necessary, but don't burn out. You can only work smart if you’re "as fresh as a daisy".
Scope Changes
If your scope is constantly changing, then you need to nail it down. Start by identifying the tasks on the "critical path" and sticking to them, regardless of the change requests that arise. Identify your project priorities and get them approved by your sponsor. Make sure each priority is linked to a business objective, so that they are harder to change.
Being a Super-Hero
Does everyone expect you to be a super-hero by delivering your project with less time, budget and resource than you need? If so, don't worry - it's normal. The trick is to manage people's expectations, by under promising and over delivering. Keep people well informed, so they know what you'll deliver, how and by when.
By taking these tips, you can deliver challenging projects with a smile, and gain a reputation for super-hero like qualities!
Method123 offers templates to help you deliver challenging projects. Download the Project Management Kit today.
There are 5 classic signs of a "challenging" project. We’ve described them below and offer you advice for managing them:
Tight Deadlines
If your project deadline is practically unachievable, then here's what to do. First, try and get it delayed. If you can't, then immediately replan your project so you know by how much you will be late. If it’s more than 10% then try and find more resource to help you deliver it more quickly. And if you can’t get the resource, then reduce your scope. Identify non-critical deliverables and get your sponsor to agree that you can complete those deliverables after the deadline has passed.
Otherwise, you need to revisit the tasks in your plan to see if you can produce the same deliverables, with less tasks and effort than before. Use these project management templates to save you time and effort completing project tasks.
Limited Budget
If your budget has been cut back, then try and find another sponsor in your business to provide the additional funding required. If cashflow is the problem, then negotiate with suppliers to take delayed payments. Use internal resource rather than external contractors, as they are usually cheaper. Rent equipment rather than buy. Re-negotiate with your suppliers to reduce their deliverables and therefore, their costs. And lastly, reduce staff overtime and offer them unpaid leave when they have down time.
Resource Shortage
If you don't have sufficient resource to complete the project, then take these steps. Review your deliverables and ensure you focus on the critical ones first. Try and find people in your business who can be succonded to your project, without you being charged. If you can't, then you need to work incredibly smart. So take time out each day to prioritize your tasks and ensure everyone is spending their time wisely. Work extra hours if necessary, but don't burn out. You can only work smart if you’re "as fresh as a daisy".
Scope Changes
If your scope is constantly changing, then you need to nail it down. Start by identifying the tasks on the "critical path" and sticking to them, regardless of the change requests that arise. Identify your project priorities and get them approved by your sponsor. Make sure each priority is linked to a business objective, so that they are harder to change.
Being a Super-Hero
Does everyone expect you to be a super-hero by delivering your project with less time, budget and resource than you need? If so, don't worry - it's normal. The trick is to manage people's expectations, by under promising and over delivering. Keep people well informed, so they know what you'll deliver, how and by when.
By taking these tips, you can deliver challenging projects with a smile, and gain a reputation for super-hero like qualities!
Method123 offers templates to help you deliver challenging projects. Download the Project Management Kit today.
How to Plan Your Projects
How to Plan Your Projects
It doesn't matter which industry you're in or project you're involved with, these 5 steps should be taken every time to properly plan your project:
Step 1: Set the Direction
Before you start out, set the direction for the project. Do this by clearly identifying the project vision, goals and deliverables. State the overall timeframes for delivery and clarify the amount of resource available. Determine what is "in scope" and "out of scope". Identify the benefits and costs in delivering the project and any milestones and constraints. Only once this is agreed with your Project Sponsor will you know what it is that you have to achieve.
Step 2: Task Selection
You're now ready to start planning. Identify the groups of tasks that need to be completed to build your project deliverables. Then for each group of tasks, breakdown those tasks into sub-tasks to create what is known as a "Work Breakdown Structure" (WBS). Your WBS is essentially a hierarchical list of tasks, in order. Assign start and end dates to each task, as well as task durations. Always add a little extra time (e.g. 10%) to your durations, providing you with contingency. Next add Milestones to your plan. These are tasks that represent major achievements along the way.
Step 3: Inter-linking
The next step is to add links (or dependencies) between project tasks. While there are a variety of link types, most Project Managers add "finish-to-start" links so that one task cannot start until another one finishes. To make your project achievable, only add links between tasks if there is a critical dependency between them. Remember, when one task slips, all tasks linked to it may slip as well. So use links wisely.
Step 4: Resource Assignment
Now comes the fun part, assigning resources. A "resource" may be a person, equipment, location or materials. Against each task in your plan, assign one or more resources required to complete it. As you assign resources, watch your resource utilization. In other words, make sure you don't over-assign a specific resource to multiple tasks, so that it’s impossible for that resource to complete everything assigned to it. Project Manager makes this easy for you, by telling you the resource utilization as you assign resources to projects.
Step 5: Baseline, Actuals and Reporting
With a fully completed project plan, you're now ready to save it as a "baseline", so that you can later compare your progress against it. Then start recording your actual progress against the plan. Every day, record the amount of time you've spent against each task. Also record the new planned start and finish dates, and monitor the overall project completion date. Report on progress as you go. By regularly updating the project plan with your progress, you can control the delivery of your project and meet those critical goals set.
And there you have it. If you'd like smart software to help you plan your projects, see Project Manager
Do you use MS Project? You can import your project plan straight into Project Manager and use the intelligent dashboard, tracking and reporting features to keep track of projects. Free Trial for a free trial.
It doesn't matter which industry you're in or project you're involved with, these 5 steps should be taken every time to properly plan your project:
Step 1: Set the Direction
Before you start out, set the direction for the project. Do this by clearly identifying the project vision, goals and deliverables. State the overall timeframes for delivery and clarify the amount of resource available. Determine what is "in scope" and "out of scope". Identify the benefits and costs in delivering the project and any milestones and constraints. Only once this is agreed with your Project Sponsor will you know what it is that you have to achieve.
Step 2: Task Selection
You're now ready to start planning. Identify the groups of tasks that need to be completed to build your project deliverables. Then for each group of tasks, breakdown those tasks into sub-tasks to create what is known as a "Work Breakdown Structure" (WBS). Your WBS is essentially a hierarchical list of tasks, in order. Assign start and end dates to each task, as well as task durations. Always add a little extra time (e.g. 10%) to your durations, providing you with contingency. Next add Milestones to your plan. These are tasks that represent major achievements along the way.
Step 3: Inter-linking
The next step is to add links (or dependencies) between project tasks. While there are a variety of link types, most Project Managers add "finish-to-start" links so that one task cannot start until another one finishes. To make your project achievable, only add links between tasks if there is a critical dependency between them. Remember, when one task slips, all tasks linked to it may slip as well. So use links wisely.
Step 4: Resource Assignment
Now comes the fun part, assigning resources. A "resource" may be a person, equipment, location or materials. Against each task in your plan, assign one or more resources required to complete it. As you assign resources, watch your resource utilization. In other words, make sure you don't over-assign a specific resource to multiple tasks, so that it’s impossible for that resource to complete everything assigned to it. Project Manager makes this easy for you, by telling you the resource utilization as you assign resources to projects.
Step 5: Baseline, Actuals and Reporting
With a fully completed project plan, you're now ready to save it as a "baseline", so that you can later compare your progress against it. Then start recording your actual progress against the plan. Every day, record the amount of time you've spent against each task. Also record the new planned start and finish dates, and monitor the overall project completion date. Report on progress as you go. By regularly updating the project plan with your progress, you can control the delivery of your project and meet those critical goals set.
And there you have it. If you'd like smart software to help you plan your projects, see Project Manager
Do you use MS Project? You can import your project plan straight into Project Manager and use the intelligent dashboard, tracking and reporting features to keep track of projects. Free Trial for a free trial.
What to do when your project slips
What to do when your project slips
At some point during your project, you may develop a gut feel that your project is going to be late. If this happens, immediately compare your planned vs. actual progress at a summary level and determine whether your gut feel is likely to be correct. If it is, then take these 5 steps:
Just how late exactly?
The first step is to identify how late it is that you're likely to be. If your plan doesn't tell you this, then meet with all of your team leaders or members individually to assess the amount they have delivered to date vs. what was planned for delivery at this point. Of the work remaining, how complex or risky is it?
In many cases, people do the easy tasks at the start, so often the last 20% of the project takes 80% of the time. You need to identify the type, quantity and complexity of the work remaining and identify the amount of time it will take to complete it. Follow your gut feel, as it will usually be right.
Root cause analysis
The next step is to identify the root cause of the problem. Only when you know the root cause, will you know how to fix it. Most projects are delayed due to unexpected change requests from the customer, staffing issues, budgetary constraints or quality problems. You need to fix the problems encountered, so that you don't lengthen the delay.
Front up
Then tell your Sponsor about it. Tell them that you may be late, the reasons why you could be late and what has caused it. Let them know what you've already done to fix the problems and what you'll do to bring the project back on track. Don't be overly optimistic, instead be realistic. Your customer wants to hear the truth, so keep it short and to the point.
Getting back on track
Now that all of the cards are on the table, you're ready to try and get back on track. Ask your customer for more time, resources or money, whichever you need the most. If you can't get it, then review your plan to try and identify non-critical tasks that can be re-scheduled to after the customer has received their final deliverables. Try and reallocate people against tasks to increase the workload of those under-resourced.
Boost motivation
Tell staff you're behind schedule and motivate them to work harder to help you get back on track. Recognize and reward staff for achievements and manage performance carefully. Build a healthy team morale and inspire them as much as you can. If you lead from the front, by working hard, remaining focused and always positive, then you'll provide the kick-start that your team needs to boost their performance and help the project to deliver on time successfully.
Save time and effort by using this kit of project management templates. Watch the video or download the Project Management Kit today from www.Method123.com
At some point during your project, you may develop a gut feel that your project is going to be late. If this happens, immediately compare your planned vs. actual progress at a summary level and determine whether your gut feel is likely to be correct. If it is, then take these 5 steps:
Just how late exactly?
The first step is to identify how late it is that you're likely to be. If your plan doesn't tell you this, then meet with all of your team leaders or members individually to assess the amount they have delivered to date vs. what was planned for delivery at this point. Of the work remaining, how complex or risky is it?
In many cases, people do the easy tasks at the start, so often the last 20% of the project takes 80% of the time. You need to identify the type, quantity and complexity of the work remaining and identify the amount of time it will take to complete it. Follow your gut feel, as it will usually be right.
Root cause analysis
The next step is to identify the root cause of the problem. Only when you know the root cause, will you know how to fix it. Most projects are delayed due to unexpected change requests from the customer, staffing issues, budgetary constraints or quality problems. You need to fix the problems encountered, so that you don't lengthen the delay.
Front up
Then tell your Sponsor about it. Tell them that you may be late, the reasons why you could be late and what has caused it. Let them know what you've already done to fix the problems and what you'll do to bring the project back on track. Don't be overly optimistic, instead be realistic. Your customer wants to hear the truth, so keep it short and to the point.
Getting back on track
Now that all of the cards are on the table, you're ready to try and get back on track. Ask your customer for more time, resources or money, whichever you need the most. If you can't get it, then review your plan to try and identify non-critical tasks that can be re-scheduled to after the customer has received their final deliverables. Try and reallocate people against tasks to increase the workload of those under-resourced.
Boost motivation
Tell staff you're behind schedule and motivate them to work harder to help you get back on track. Recognize and reward staff for achievements and manage performance carefully. Build a healthy team morale and inspire them as much as you can. If you lead from the front, by working hard, remaining focused and always positive, then you'll provide the kick-start that your team needs to boost their performance and help the project to deliver on time successfully.
Save time and effort by using this kit of project management templates. Watch the video or download the Project Management Kit today from www.Method123.com
How to Deliver Projects Successfully
How to Deliver Projects Successfully
These 5 tips will give you a head start:
Be honest
Always be totally honest and upfront with your customer right from the start. Tell them if their project is not feasible or if you don’t have all of the resource, money and time needed to deliver it successfully from the outset. Set their expectations by telling them what you will deliver and by when. And if it eventuates that you can’t deliver on your promises, then tell them about it immediately. By having an “open book” policy, you’ll gain your customer’s trust. And if you involve them early enough, they will be more supportive to your cause.
Hand it over
Managers often fall into the trap of believing that they can do things more efficiently than staff. Of course in many cases they might be right, but the problem is that they don’t have the time to do everything themselves. So a smart manager always tries to delegate as much as possible to staff. It gives them the time needed to monitor the project and support their team. It’s a tough ask, but even if you know you can do a task more efficiently than others, delegate it anyway.
Become a leader
When you save time by delegating your tasks, you have free time for leading and motivating your team. Do this by regularly communicating the project vision to your team, rewarding them for progress and recognizing their achievements. Gain their respect by showing them you care. Build team spirit by taking them to lunch regularly and talking about what they achieved together. Remember, there is no “i” in “team”.
Expect the unexpected
Always expect things to change and be ready for it when it occurs. People have ideas, your customer may want changes, and the industry and technology change over time as well. It’s not the change that’s important, it’s how you react to the change that counts. Always embrace change, but be wary of it. Question it, double-question it and only when you’re certain it’s for the best, implement it.
Work smart, not hard
Try not to start from scratch. Give yourself a head-start wherever possible by using tools like Method123. These templates boost the quality of your deliverables, while saving you time and effort.
Using these 5 tips, you’ll boost your project success. Tell us what you think, by emailing us at Email us
Try the complete Method123 of templates today.
These 5 tips will give you a head start:
Be honest
Always be totally honest and upfront with your customer right from the start. Tell them if their project is not feasible or if you don’t have all of the resource, money and time needed to deliver it successfully from the outset. Set their expectations by telling them what you will deliver and by when. And if it eventuates that you can’t deliver on your promises, then tell them about it immediately. By having an “open book” policy, you’ll gain your customer’s trust. And if you involve them early enough, they will be more supportive to your cause.
Hand it over
Managers often fall into the trap of believing that they can do things more efficiently than staff. Of course in many cases they might be right, but the problem is that they don’t have the time to do everything themselves. So a smart manager always tries to delegate as much as possible to staff. It gives them the time needed to monitor the project and support their team. It’s a tough ask, but even if you know you can do a task more efficiently than others, delegate it anyway.
Become a leader
When you save time by delegating your tasks, you have free time for leading and motivating your team. Do this by regularly communicating the project vision to your team, rewarding them for progress and recognizing their achievements. Gain their respect by showing them you care. Build team spirit by taking them to lunch regularly and talking about what they achieved together. Remember, there is no “i” in “team”.
Expect the unexpected
Always expect things to change and be ready for it when it occurs. People have ideas, your customer may want changes, and the industry and technology change over time as well. It’s not the change that’s important, it’s how you react to the change that counts. Always embrace change, but be wary of it. Question it, double-question it and only when you’re certain it’s for the best, implement it.
Work smart, not hard
Try not to start from scratch. Give yourself a head-start wherever possible by using tools like Method123. These templates boost the quality of your deliverables, while saving you time and effort.
Using these 5 tips, you’ll boost your project success. Tell us what you think, by emailing us at Email us
Try the complete Method123 of templates today.
How to Measure Progress against Budget
How to Measure Progress against Budget
A "project" by definition will always have a limited timeframe and a fixed budget. The "budget" is the amount of money that the Project Sponsor is willing to spend to achieve the project objectives. So here are some tips and hints on setting your budget and measuring progress against it.
Don't fix it in concrete
Your first job as a Project Manager is to ask your Sponsor "So how long have I got and what's the budget?". Your next job is often to ask for more time and money to boost your chances in succeeding.
You can do this by writing a Business Case, Feasibility Study, Project Charter to show your Project Sponsor that you will need more money than that identified to date, to meet the project objectives. When you have agreed on an amount that you believe is adequate, ask them to "fix this amount as a budget, but make available another 10-20% as contingency". That way, your budget isn't fixed in concrete. Yes it's an agreed amount but at least you have contingency.
Planning ahead
Right at the outset, create a Financial Plan so that you have a detailed view of all of the expenses that are going to arise and when they will be incurred. And if you haven't done it already, complete a Project Plan so that you know the cost of every task to be completed.
In this way, you know for every week in the project the amount of money that will be consumed. Make sure that the amounts in your Financial Plan and Project Plan align with the budget set. That way, you know that you have a good chance of delivering within budget from the outset.
Setting out
From the minute you’ve set the budget, you need to start recording the actual cost of the project. This includes the actual cost of your time, your staff, contractors, equipment and materials. If you're using internal staff, then assign a standard rate to the hourly cost of these resources and ask them to complete a Timesheet so you know how many hours they are spending on the project.
If you don't have a financial system, then use a spreadsheet to record the daily cost of the project. And if you want to get specific, then also record the costs against the tasks in your project plan. By accurately recording the project costs throughout the entire project, you will be able to ensure you keep on track.
Keeping on track
To check whether you're on track, monitor your actual costs vs. your planned costs, and identify any deviations. If you're always under your planned weekly cost, then you're likely to deliver your project under budget. It's that simple!
Method123 offers templates to help you manage progress against budget. See the Watch this video or Method123.
A "project" by definition will always have a limited timeframe and a fixed budget. The "budget" is the amount of money that the Project Sponsor is willing to spend to achieve the project objectives. So here are some tips and hints on setting your budget and measuring progress against it.
Don't fix it in concrete
Your first job as a Project Manager is to ask your Sponsor "So how long have I got and what's the budget?". Your next job is often to ask for more time and money to boost your chances in succeeding.
You can do this by writing a Business Case, Feasibility Study, Project Charter to show your Project Sponsor that you will need more money than that identified to date, to meet the project objectives. When you have agreed on an amount that you believe is adequate, ask them to "fix this amount as a budget, but make available another 10-20% as contingency". That way, your budget isn't fixed in concrete. Yes it's an agreed amount but at least you have contingency.
Planning ahead
Right at the outset, create a Financial Plan so that you have a detailed view of all of the expenses that are going to arise and when they will be incurred. And if you haven't done it already, complete a Project Plan so that you know the cost of every task to be completed.
In this way, you know for every week in the project the amount of money that will be consumed. Make sure that the amounts in your Financial Plan and Project Plan align with the budget set. That way, you know that you have a good chance of delivering within budget from the outset.
Setting out
From the minute you’ve set the budget, you need to start recording the actual cost of the project. This includes the actual cost of your time, your staff, contractors, equipment and materials. If you're using internal staff, then assign a standard rate to the hourly cost of these resources and ask them to complete a Timesheet so you know how many hours they are spending on the project.
If you don't have a financial system, then use a spreadsheet to record the daily cost of the project. And if you want to get specific, then also record the costs against the tasks in your project plan. By accurately recording the project costs throughout the entire project, you will be able to ensure you keep on track.
Keeping on track
To check whether you're on track, monitor your actual costs vs. your planned costs, and identify any deviations. If you're always under your planned weekly cost, then you're likely to deliver your project under budget. It's that simple!
Method123 offers templates to help you manage progress against budget. See the Watch this video or Method123.
Create a Business Case in 4 easy steps...
Create a Business Case in 4 easy steps...
The following diagram depicts the steps involved in creating a comprehensive Business Case for your project:
The first step when creating a Business Case is to identify the business problem (or opportunity) that results in the need for a new project. Alternative solutions are then identified and based on each solution's individual merits, a preferred solution is recommended. The last step taken when creating a Business Case is to define a plan for the implementation of the recommended solution. The following sections explain each step in more detail...
Step 1: Identify the Business Problem
Projects are typically undertaken to solve a particular business problem (or "opportunity"). It's therefore imperative that you spend the time upfront to investigate that business problem before you attempt to find a solution to it. First, you need to determine the root cause of the problem by analyzing the environment within which it has arisen. For instance, the root cause of a problem may be related to:
Changes to the business vision, strategy or objectives
Newly identified competing products or processes
Opportunities resulting from newly introduced technologies
Commercial trends that are driving business changes
Changes to legislative or other environmental factors
Once identified, you need to describe the problem by listing the reasons why it has arisen, the impact it is having on the business and the timeframes within which it must be resolved.
Step 2: Identify the Alternative Solutions
Now that you have a detailed understanding of the business problem, it is time to identify a preferred solution. For every business problem identified, there will likely be a range of alternative solutions available for implementation. Choosing the right solution is always a challenge. To ensure that you select the best solution available, complete the following steps.
Identify the alternative solutions available
Quantify the benefits of implementing each solution
Forecast the costs of implementing each solution
Assess the feasibility of implementing each solution
Identify the risks and issues associated with each solution
Step 3: Recommend a Preferred Solution
With a range of alternative solutions identified, the next step when creating a Business Case is to select a preferred solution for recommendation. To select a preferred solution, you will need to define a set of criteria upon which each solution will be assessed. For instance, the criteria may be related to the solution; benefits, costs, feasibility and risk level.
You then need to identify a mechanism for scoring each alternative solution. For instance, you may decide to simply score each solution from 1-10, or you might choose a more complicated mechanism whereby you assign a certain weight depending on which criteria are more important to you.
After defining your assessment criteria and scoring mechanism, simply take each alternative solution and assign it a score based on its ability to meet the criteria set. Then summarize the scores across all criteria, to identify the Total Score for each alternative solution. The solution with the highest Total Score should become your preferred solution for implementation.
Step 4: Describe the Implementation Approach
By now, you have selected a preferred solution and you have quantified the benefits to be gained from its implementation. The final step when creating a Business Case is to convince the Project Sponsors that you have thought through the plan for implementation of that solution. You can do this by describing in detail how the project will be initiated, planned, executed and closed effectively.
Initiation: List the steps involved in initiating the project, such as defining the Terms of Reference, recruiting the team and establishing a Project Office.
Planning: Describe the steps you will take to plan the project in detail. This not only addresses the creation of a Project Plan, but it also lists the plans required to monitor and control project resources, finances, quality, risks, suppliers and communications.
Execution: Outline the approach to be taken to build the physical project deliverables and gain the customer's acceptance for each deliverable produced
Closure: Identify the activities required to hand over the final solution to the customer, release staff, close the Project Office and perform a Post Implementation Review of the project
And that's it. If you complete each of the steps above, then you will create a solid Business Case for each project, helping you to consistently deliver the business benefits to your customer. If you need more help, why not download a Business Case template from Method123?
New Years Special
To help Project Managers start off the new year on the "right foot", we've decided to give you the opportunity to win lots of money. So for every 5th purchase of our Project Management Kit during the months of January and February, we’ve decided to give you $100 cash in return! Here's how to enter:
Purchase the Project Management Kit for $297, providing you with the complete suite of Project Management templates to help you to deliver your projects successfully.
Email us at prizedraw@method123 with the words "I'd like to enter the New Year prize draw thanks".
And for every 5th email we receive for valid purchases of the Project Management Kit, we will give you $100 USD cash in return. We can either pay you by PayPal or refund $100 on your purchase. You decide.
It’s that simple. All prize draw entries for purchases made between 1 January - 28 February 2006 qualify. Good luck.
Further Information
Visit www.method123.com for a complete suite of Word and Excel document templates, forms, checklists and processes to help you complete projects successfully.
The following diagram depicts the steps involved in creating a comprehensive Business Case for your project:
The first step when creating a Business Case is to identify the business problem (or opportunity) that results in the need for a new project. Alternative solutions are then identified and based on each solution's individual merits, a preferred solution is recommended. The last step taken when creating a Business Case is to define a plan for the implementation of the recommended solution. The following sections explain each step in more detail...
Step 1: Identify the Business Problem
Projects are typically undertaken to solve a particular business problem (or "opportunity"). It's therefore imperative that you spend the time upfront to investigate that business problem before you attempt to find a solution to it. First, you need to determine the root cause of the problem by analyzing the environment within which it has arisen. For instance, the root cause of a problem may be related to:
Changes to the business vision, strategy or objectives
Newly identified competing products or processes
Opportunities resulting from newly introduced technologies
Commercial trends that are driving business changes
Changes to legislative or other environmental factors
Once identified, you need to describe the problem by listing the reasons why it has arisen, the impact it is having on the business and the timeframes within which it must be resolved.
Step 2: Identify the Alternative Solutions
Now that you have a detailed understanding of the business problem, it is time to identify a preferred solution. For every business problem identified, there will likely be a range of alternative solutions available for implementation. Choosing the right solution is always a challenge. To ensure that you select the best solution available, complete the following steps.
Identify the alternative solutions available
Quantify the benefits of implementing each solution
Forecast the costs of implementing each solution
Assess the feasibility of implementing each solution
Identify the risks and issues associated with each solution
Step 3: Recommend a Preferred Solution
With a range of alternative solutions identified, the next step when creating a Business Case is to select a preferred solution for recommendation. To select a preferred solution, you will need to define a set of criteria upon which each solution will be assessed. For instance, the criteria may be related to the solution; benefits, costs, feasibility and risk level.
You then need to identify a mechanism for scoring each alternative solution. For instance, you may decide to simply score each solution from 1-10, or you might choose a more complicated mechanism whereby you assign a certain weight depending on which criteria are more important to you.
After defining your assessment criteria and scoring mechanism, simply take each alternative solution and assign it a score based on its ability to meet the criteria set. Then summarize the scores across all criteria, to identify the Total Score for each alternative solution. The solution with the highest Total Score should become your preferred solution for implementation.
Step 4: Describe the Implementation Approach
By now, you have selected a preferred solution and you have quantified the benefits to be gained from its implementation. The final step when creating a Business Case is to convince the Project Sponsors that you have thought through the plan for implementation of that solution. You can do this by describing in detail how the project will be initiated, planned, executed and closed effectively.
Initiation: List the steps involved in initiating the project, such as defining the Terms of Reference, recruiting the team and establishing a Project Office.
Planning: Describe the steps you will take to plan the project in detail. This not only addresses the creation of a Project Plan, but it also lists the plans required to monitor and control project resources, finances, quality, risks, suppliers and communications.
Execution: Outline the approach to be taken to build the physical project deliverables and gain the customer's acceptance for each deliverable produced
Closure: Identify the activities required to hand over the final solution to the customer, release staff, close the Project Office and perform a Post Implementation Review of the project
And that's it. If you complete each of the steps above, then you will create a solid Business Case for each project, helping you to consistently deliver the business benefits to your customer. If you need more help, why not download a Business Case template from Method123?
New Years Special
To help Project Managers start off the new year on the "right foot", we've decided to give you the opportunity to win lots of money. So for every 5th purchase of our Project Management Kit during the months of January and February, we’ve decided to give you $100 cash in return! Here's how to enter:
Purchase the Project Management Kit for $297, providing you with the complete suite of Project Management templates to help you to deliver your projects successfully.
Email us at prizedraw@method123 with the words "I'd like to enter the New Year prize draw thanks".
And for every 5th email we receive for valid purchases of the Project Management Kit, we will give you $100 USD cash in return. We can either pay you by PayPal or refund $100 on your purchase. You decide.
It’s that simple. All prize draw entries for purchases made between 1 January - 28 February 2006 qualify. Good luck.
Further Information
Visit www.method123.com for a complete suite of Word and Excel document templates, forms, checklists and processes to help you complete projects successfully.
Create a bullet-proof "Project Status Report"
Create a bullet-proof "Project Status Report"
The Project Status Report summarizes the entire progress of the project to date. It also provides the stakeholders with a list of the critical changes, risks and issues which require immediate attention. If you want to create a bullet-proof status report, then make sure that your report includes each of the following sections:
Executive Summary
Summarize the overall progress to date and any key achievements. Then state whether the project is currently on schedule and within budget. List the key deliverables accepted by the customer so far and describe all high priority risks and issues. Finally, describe any changes affecting the project.
Schedule
List the deliverables accepted by the customer
Identify the scheduled completion date for each deliverable
Identify the actual completion date for each deliverable
List actual and scheduled completion date variances
Identify the new forecast completion date for each deliverable
List the scheduled and forecast completion date variances
Expenses
List each expense type; such as labor, equipment & materials
Identify the budgeted expenditure, per expense type
Identify the actual expenditure, per expense type
List actual and budgeted expenditure variances
Identify the forecast expenditure, per expense type
List budgeted and forecast expenditure variances
Effort
List all of the major activities that staff have spent effort on
Identify the amount of effort originally budgeted per activity
Identify the actual effort expended per activity
List actual and budgeted effort variances
Identify the forecast effort, per project activity
List budgeted and forecast effort variances
Quality
List the deliverables to be provided by the project
List the original quality targets set for each deliverable
Describe the extent to which each quality target was achieved
Identify any variances between the quality target set and the actual level of quality achieved, for each deliverable
Risks and Issues
List the high priority risks raised during the reporting period
Rate the likelihood of each risk occurring and its project impact
List the high priority issues raised during the reporting period
Rate the current impact of the issue on the project
And that's it. If you create a project report which describes each of the sections above, then you will keep your project stakeholders better informed of the overall progress of the project. See www.method123.com for templates which help you better communicate with staff, customers and stakeholders.
New Years Special
Welcome to 2006. To help Project Managers start off the year on the "right foot", we've decided to give you the opportunity to win lots of money. So for every 5th purchase of our Project Management Kit during the months of January and February, we've decided to give $100 cash in return.
Here's how to enter:
Purchase the Project Management Kit for $297 providing you with the complete suite of Project Management templates to help you to deliver your projects successfully
Email us at prizedraw@method123 with the words "I'd like to enter the New Year prize draw thanks"
And for every 5th email we receive for valid purchases of the Project Management Kit, we will give $100 USD cash in return. We can either pay you by PayPal or refund $100 on your purchase. You decide.
It's that simple. All prize draw entries for purchases made between 1 January—28 February qualify. Good luck :-)
Further Information
Visit www.method123.com for a complete suite of Word and Excel document templates, forms, checklists and processes to help you complete projects successfully.
The Project Status Report summarizes the entire progress of the project to date. It also provides the stakeholders with a list of the critical changes, risks and issues which require immediate attention. If you want to create a bullet-proof status report, then make sure that your report includes each of the following sections:
Executive Summary
Summarize the overall progress to date and any key achievements. Then state whether the project is currently on schedule and within budget. List the key deliverables accepted by the customer so far and describe all high priority risks and issues. Finally, describe any changes affecting the project.
Schedule
List the deliverables accepted by the customer
Identify the scheduled completion date for each deliverable
Identify the actual completion date for each deliverable
List actual and scheduled completion date variances
Identify the new forecast completion date for each deliverable
List the scheduled and forecast completion date variances
Expenses
List each expense type; such as labor, equipment & materials
Identify the budgeted expenditure, per expense type
Identify the actual expenditure, per expense type
List actual and budgeted expenditure variances
Identify the forecast expenditure, per expense type
List budgeted and forecast expenditure variances
Effort
List all of the major activities that staff have spent effort on
Identify the amount of effort originally budgeted per activity
Identify the actual effort expended per activity
List actual and budgeted effort variances
Identify the forecast effort, per project activity
List budgeted and forecast effort variances
Quality
List the deliverables to be provided by the project
List the original quality targets set for each deliverable
Describe the extent to which each quality target was achieved
Identify any variances between the quality target set and the actual level of quality achieved, for each deliverable
Risks and Issues
List the high priority risks raised during the reporting period
Rate the likelihood of each risk occurring and its project impact
List the high priority issues raised during the reporting period
Rate the current impact of the issue on the project
And that's it. If you create a project report which describes each of the sections above, then you will keep your project stakeholders better informed of the overall progress of the project. See www.method123.com for templates which help you better communicate with staff, customers and stakeholders.
New Years Special
Welcome to 2006. To help Project Managers start off the year on the "right foot", we've decided to give you the opportunity to win lots of money. So for every 5th purchase of our Project Management Kit during the months of January and February, we've decided to give $100 cash in return.
Here's how to enter:
Purchase the Project Management Kit for $297 providing you with the complete suite of Project Management templates to help you to deliver your projects successfully
Email us at prizedraw@method123 with the words "I'd like to enter the New Year prize draw thanks"
And for every 5th email we receive for valid purchases of the Project Management Kit, we will give $100 USD cash in return. We can either pay you by PayPal or refund $100 on your purchase. You decide.
It's that simple. All prize draw entries for purchases made between 1 January—28 February qualify. Good luck :-)
Further Information
Visit www.method123.com for a complete suite of Word and Excel document templates, forms, checklists and processes to help you complete projects successfully.
How to get your project back under budget
How to get your project back under budget
If you have a set budget for your project and you're currently exceeding it, then it's unlikely that you'll get it back under budget unless you do something about it. So here are 7 tips to help you do just that:
Take a helicopter view
First summarize all of the expenditure on your project to date vs. the expenditure you planned at the start. Then quantify the amount you have exceeded your budget by. If you're more than 10% over budget in total, then you need to take action.
Review spend
Next, review your actual spend vs. planned spend per week. Have you always been spending more money than you had budgeted, or is it only in the last few weeks? Then narrow down the cause of the problem. Was it that your budget was flawed, or have you experienced problems that were unexpected?
Lower resources
Now take the first step towards saving costs by determining whether you can use cheaper suppliers, equipment or materials. These types of costs usually consume a lot of your budget, so it's worth reviewing them in detail. You can also save money by reducing the number of contract or administrative staff assigned to the project.
Reduce scope
The best way to save money is by reducing the scope of the project. Identify deliverables that you believe are non-critical to the project and negotiate with your customer to remove them from scope.
Monitor changes
One place that unbudgeted spend usually occurs is in the area of change control. Review all of the project changes currently requested and only approve those requests which are absolutely necessary from this point onwards.
Minimize tasks
You may also be able to save costs by removing non-critical tasks from the project plan. Typically, project managers can save 10-15% of their budget by removing tasks that aren't critical.
Boost efficiency
Motivate your team and they will complete more tasks within the same period of time. This will save you a percentage of staffing costs, which are usually one of the largest cost areas of a project manager's budget.
By taking these tips seriously, you will be able to reduce project costs and ensure that you deliver successfully under budget.
Save time and effort by using this kit of project management templates. Watch the video or download the Project Management Kit today from www.Method123.com
If you have a set budget for your project and you're currently exceeding it, then it's unlikely that you'll get it back under budget unless you do something about it. So here are 7 tips to help you do just that:
Take a helicopter view
First summarize all of the expenditure on your project to date vs. the expenditure you planned at the start. Then quantify the amount you have exceeded your budget by. If you're more than 10% over budget in total, then you need to take action.
Review spend
Next, review your actual spend vs. planned spend per week. Have you always been spending more money than you had budgeted, or is it only in the last few weeks? Then narrow down the cause of the problem. Was it that your budget was flawed, or have you experienced problems that were unexpected?
Lower resources
Now take the first step towards saving costs by determining whether you can use cheaper suppliers, equipment or materials. These types of costs usually consume a lot of your budget, so it's worth reviewing them in detail. You can also save money by reducing the number of contract or administrative staff assigned to the project.
Reduce scope
The best way to save money is by reducing the scope of the project. Identify deliverables that you believe are non-critical to the project and negotiate with your customer to remove them from scope.
Monitor changes
One place that unbudgeted spend usually occurs is in the area of change control. Review all of the project changes currently requested and only approve those requests which are absolutely necessary from this point onwards.
Minimize tasks
You may also be able to save costs by removing non-critical tasks from the project plan. Typically, project managers can save 10-15% of their budget by removing tasks that aren't critical.
Boost efficiency
Motivate your team and they will complete more tasks within the same period of time. This will save you a percentage of staffing costs, which are usually one of the largest cost areas of a project manager's budget.
By taking these tips seriously, you will be able to reduce project costs and ensure that you deliver successfully under budget.
Save time and effort by using this kit of project management templates. Watch the video or download the Project Management Kit today from www.Method123.com
What to do when your project slips...
What to do when your project slips...
Step 1: Focus the team
A common trend is that in the middle of a project, the team start to feel like they are under pressure and they lose sight of the end goal. The excitement of “project startup” is long since past and any team politics have kicked in. It’s now that you need to recognize and reward staff for good performance. And it’s now that you need to focus the team by restating the objectives, providing incentives and boosting morale. You need to be their shining star when things get dark and gloomy.
Step 2: Prioritize
If there is simply too much to do in the timeframe you’ve been given, then prioritize all of your tasks. Identify the key deliverables that must be produced and then identify the tasks involved with producing them. It’s those tasks that you need to focus on now. Then get the priority list approved by your project sponsor, so that you have their buy in. Only with their acceptance, can you confirm that the tasks you’re working on, are the most important tasks required to deliver your solution.
Step 3: Reduce Scope
After you’ve focused the team and prioritized your work, then update your schedule. If you’re still likely to deliver late, then request approval from your Project Sponsor to leave the low priority tasks to after the project deadline. This will reduce the scope of your project. It will also boost your chances of delivering the high and medium priority tasks by the deadline date. Reducing scope is by far the best option to take, as the smaller the project scope, the lower the risk of project failure.
Step 4: Increase Resource
If your Project Sponsor will not extend the end date of the project or reduce the scope, then ask for more resource to help you complete it. With more resource (people, money, equipment and materials) you will be able to complete more tasks in parallel and boost your chances of success
Step 5: Communicate
Ok, so if you’ve tried all of the above and there is no hope—your project will be delivered late regardless of what you do. You then need to accept it and communicate this to as many project stakeholders as possible. Set their expectations as early as possible that you will be late. If they understand the reasons for late delivery and they know it’s coming, then it will be less of a shock when it happens. And if you are able to miraculously deliver it on time, then your team will be seen as hero’s!
And there you have it. If you would like to download a set of Project Management Templates to help bring your project on track, then see Method123—or Watch this vide
Step 1: Focus the team
A common trend is that in the middle of a project, the team start to feel like they are under pressure and they lose sight of the end goal. The excitement of “project startup” is long since past and any team politics have kicked in. It’s now that you need to recognize and reward staff for good performance. And it’s now that you need to focus the team by restating the objectives, providing incentives and boosting morale. You need to be their shining star when things get dark and gloomy.
Step 2: Prioritize
If there is simply too much to do in the timeframe you’ve been given, then prioritize all of your tasks. Identify the key deliverables that must be produced and then identify the tasks involved with producing them. It’s those tasks that you need to focus on now. Then get the priority list approved by your project sponsor, so that you have their buy in. Only with their acceptance, can you confirm that the tasks you’re working on, are the most important tasks required to deliver your solution.
Step 3: Reduce Scope
After you’ve focused the team and prioritized your work, then update your schedule. If you’re still likely to deliver late, then request approval from your Project Sponsor to leave the low priority tasks to after the project deadline. This will reduce the scope of your project. It will also boost your chances of delivering the high and medium priority tasks by the deadline date. Reducing scope is by far the best option to take, as the smaller the project scope, the lower the risk of project failure.
Step 4: Increase Resource
If your Project Sponsor will not extend the end date of the project or reduce the scope, then ask for more resource to help you complete it. With more resource (people, money, equipment and materials) you will be able to complete more tasks in parallel and boost your chances of success
Step 5: Communicate
Ok, so if you’ve tried all of the above and there is no hope—your project will be delivered late regardless of what you do. You then need to accept it and communicate this to as many project stakeholders as possible. Set their expectations as early as possible that you will be late. If they understand the reasons for late delivery and they know it’s coming, then it will be less of a shock when it happens. And if you are able to miraculously deliver it on time, then your team will be seen as hero’s!
And there you have it. If you would like to download a set of Project Management Templates to help bring your project on track, then see Method123—or Watch this vide
Tips for Outsourcing Your Projects
Tips for Outsourcing Your Projects
Outsourcing is a term used when an external supplier (i.e. vendor) is responsible for delivering a set of goods and services to your business. Follow these tips, when outsourcing to an external company:
Step 1: Put a Stake in the Ground
The single most important step to take when appointing a supplier, is to define your outsourcing requirements by documenting them in a "Statement of Work". In this document, you will describe in depth the; goods and services that must be provided, the delivery process, terms and conditions, and timeframes for providing them.
You should then release the document to your supplier to see if they can actually meet your requirements. If they can, then you have a clear "stake in the ground" around which you can create a supplier contract. But if they can't meet your needs, then at least you know upfront, and you can then go about finding a more suitable supplier to work with.
Step 2: Get Formal
Even if the supplier is 'your best mate', 'an expert in the market' or 'someone you've worked with before', you still need to get formal by creating a Supplier Contract with them. The contract is needed in case things get messy. It's a great tool for clarifying all of the deliverables up front, and for setting out the terms and conditions for delivery.
Every contract should include a set of delivery milestones, which state the dates for delivery of the goods and services to your project. And if you're smart, you'll add supplier reviews straight after those dates and then schedule payments to suppliers around those dates as well. In that way, everyone knows what will be delivered, by when and when they will be paid.
Step 3: Manage Milestones
You then need to manage each milestone, as though your life depended on it. Schedule time in your diary to make sure that a supplier milestone NEVER slips, and make sure you have penalties in your contract in case it does.
Sure, it might be your fault that the supplier hasn't met their target delivery date, but even if this happens, still run the milestone reviews regardless. The review can determine how late they are going to be, the cause of the delay and the effect on the project timeline and budget.
By always running the reviews on time, your supplier will quickly learn that late delivery is unacceptable, and your whole team will be motivated next time round to helping the supplier to deliver their part of the bargain. In this way, a true supportive partnership can be established.
The process of managing suppliers is more of an "art than a science", but only by being supportive, yet firm, will you promote the right supplier behaviour and boost your chances of achieving project success.
This newsletter was brought to you by Method123, the makers of the Project Management Kit - which gives you the complete set of templates for managing suppliers and projects.
Outsourcing is a term used when an external supplier (i.e. vendor) is responsible for delivering a set of goods and services to your business. Follow these tips, when outsourcing to an external company:
Step 1: Put a Stake in the Ground
The single most important step to take when appointing a supplier, is to define your outsourcing requirements by documenting them in a "Statement of Work". In this document, you will describe in depth the; goods and services that must be provided, the delivery process, terms and conditions, and timeframes for providing them.
You should then release the document to your supplier to see if they can actually meet your requirements. If they can, then you have a clear "stake in the ground" around which you can create a supplier contract. But if they can't meet your needs, then at least you know upfront, and you can then go about finding a more suitable supplier to work with.
Step 2: Get Formal
Even if the supplier is 'your best mate', 'an expert in the market' or 'someone you've worked with before', you still need to get formal by creating a Supplier Contract with them. The contract is needed in case things get messy. It's a great tool for clarifying all of the deliverables up front, and for setting out the terms and conditions for delivery.
Every contract should include a set of delivery milestones, which state the dates for delivery of the goods and services to your project. And if you're smart, you'll add supplier reviews straight after those dates and then schedule payments to suppliers around those dates as well. In that way, everyone knows what will be delivered, by when and when they will be paid.
Step 3: Manage Milestones
You then need to manage each milestone, as though your life depended on it. Schedule time in your diary to make sure that a supplier milestone NEVER slips, and make sure you have penalties in your contract in case it does.
Sure, it might be your fault that the supplier hasn't met their target delivery date, but even if this happens, still run the milestone reviews regardless. The review can determine how late they are going to be, the cause of the delay and the effect on the project timeline and budget.
By always running the reviews on time, your supplier will quickly learn that late delivery is unacceptable, and your whole team will be motivated next time round to helping the supplier to deliver their part of the bargain. In this way, a true supportive partnership can be established.
The process of managing suppliers is more of an "art than a science", but only by being supportive, yet firm, will you promote the right supplier behaviour and boost your chances of achieving project success.
This newsletter was brought to you by Method123, the makers of the Project Management Kit - which gives you the complete set of templates for managing suppliers and projects.
How to Prioritize Projects...
How to Prioritize Projects...
Why should you prioritize your projects - don't they all have to be delivered on time and within budget? Yes, but any smart Project Manager will recognize that they only have limited time, resources and budget available to do it. So they need to set priorities, to ensure that their most important projects don't run out of time, people or money when they need them.
So here are 3 steps to help you prioritize projects quickly and easily...
Step 1: Define your Criteria
The first step is to define your criteria for ranking one project over another. And the best criteria for determining project priority is the fit between your project and the overall business strategy. If one project is undertaken to achieve a critical part of your business strategy, then it may be marked as a higher priority than one that's not related to the business strategy at all.
If you have no clear business strategy from which to prioritize, then use other factors, such as the: level of project risk, the amount of resource consumed, the extent to which other projects are dependent on this one, or simply the likelihood of success.
Step 2: Match your Projects
With a clear set of criteria defined, the next step is to match your projects against those criteria. You will need to identify the extent to which each project matches the criteria set out, and identify any gaps.
This is the most important step, as projects that you thought would be a perfect fit against your criteria may not end up being so. And projects that you didn't think were that important may end up meeting many of the criteria and therefore be marked as high priority.
Note: Make sure that your personal preferences don't influence the exercise. It's easy to make the "fun" projects the ones that receive all of the priority. Unless they are critical to the business, they should always be the "icing on the cake". It's often the more mundane projects that are critical to the strategy for the business.
Step 3: Define the Priorities
Ok, so you now have a list of projects that are each ranked according to their fit with your criteria. You now need to define their priorities.
We suggest you keep it simple. Group them into A, B and C (with A being "high priority", B "moderate priority" and C "low priority"). Decide now how you are going to manage each priority grouping differently. You may decide for instance, to spend more time on your "Group A" projects than your Groups B & C. You might drive them harder than the rest, report on them at a more detailed level than the rest and always allocate spare resource to them, over the rest.
And there you have it. By taking these 3 steps, you'll prioritize projects faster and more efficiently than before, boosting your chances of delivering your high priority projects on time and under budget.
And one last tip - try these Project Management Templates to save time on projec
Why should you prioritize your projects - don't they all have to be delivered on time and within budget? Yes, but any smart Project Manager will recognize that they only have limited time, resources and budget available to do it. So they need to set priorities, to ensure that their most important projects don't run out of time, people or money when they need them.
So here are 3 steps to help you prioritize projects quickly and easily...
Step 1: Define your Criteria
The first step is to define your criteria for ranking one project over another. And the best criteria for determining project priority is the fit between your project and the overall business strategy. If one project is undertaken to achieve a critical part of your business strategy, then it may be marked as a higher priority than one that's not related to the business strategy at all.
If you have no clear business strategy from which to prioritize, then use other factors, such as the: level of project risk, the amount of resource consumed, the extent to which other projects are dependent on this one, or simply the likelihood of success.
Step 2: Match your Projects
With a clear set of criteria defined, the next step is to match your projects against those criteria. You will need to identify the extent to which each project matches the criteria set out, and identify any gaps.
This is the most important step, as projects that you thought would be a perfect fit against your criteria may not end up being so. And projects that you didn't think were that important may end up meeting many of the criteria and therefore be marked as high priority.
Note: Make sure that your personal preferences don't influence the exercise. It's easy to make the "fun" projects the ones that receive all of the priority. Unless they are critical to the business, they should always be the "icing on the cake". It's often the more mundane projects that are critical to the strategy for the business.
Step 3: Define the Priorities
Ok, so you now have a list of projects that are each ranked according to their fit with your criteria. You now need to define their priorities.
We suggest you keep it simple. Group them into A, B and C (with A being "high priority", B "moderate priority" and C "low priority"). Decide now how you are going to manage each priority grouping differently. You may decide for instance, to spend more time on your "Group A" projects than your Groups B & C. You might drive them harder than the rest, report on them at a more detailed level than the rest and always allocate spare resource to them, over the rest.
And there you have it. By taking these 3 steps, you'll prioritize projects faster and more efficiently than before, boosting your chances of delivering your high priority projects on time and under budget.
And one last tip - try these Project Management Templates to save time on projec
How to use Project Standards...
How to use Project Standards...
A "Project Standard" is an agreed best practice way of managing a project. We say agreed, as the standard will usually have been reviewed and used by thousands of project managers around the world, before it becomes formally recognized as a "standard" practice.
There are 3 common standards in the Project Management industry:
1. PMI "PMBOK" Standard
2. OGC "Prince2" Standard
3. APM "Body of Knowledge" Standard
These standards give you a generic way of managing projects. They don't give you a prescriptive "step-by-step" approach to managing projects (as MPMM does), but they do give you a set of practices and principles that you can apply to your projects, to boost your chances of success. So how should you use them? Here's how...
Make your selection
Review each of the above standards and select the one that has the closest fit with the way you run projects now. Each standard will have a completely different approach, terminology and lifecycle to the rest.
Only by selecting the standard that closely matches the way you work, will you really be able to immediately boost your efficiency.
Pick and Choose
Standards are typically generic, so that they fit all industries and all project sizes. So they will probably include stuff you won't need. Pick and choose the elements of the standard that you know you need to deliver projects successfully.
Customize to Fit
Then take the parts you've chosen and customize them to fit your environment. Keeping within copyright law, you'll probably want to change the terminology, the language used and the sequence of activities used.
Break it Down
To be able to use a standard properly, you really need to take it to the next level for your projects. You need to define the next level down. So for instance, if it talks about "risk management", then you'll want to list and describe the exact steps needed to manage risk within a project. For every step, describe what should be completed, how, by whom and in which order.
Use it for projects
Now that you have chosen your standard, picked the relevant parts, customized it by adding your own terminology and described it in a little more detail, you're ready to use it for your projects. Here are some tips on how to use it:
Use the same standard for every project. Only by applying the same principles over and over again, will you gain "economies of scale" allowing you to manage projects faster.
Don't always apply the standard in its entirety. Only apply the bits that are relevant to the particular project you're managing.
Continue improving the standard. On every project, identify the elements of the standard that help and those that didn't. If you continuously improve the standard used , then it will become a "living and breathing" tool to help you improve your projects.
By using standards to improve the way you work, you'll soon be known as "that guru who always gets their projects done on time!"
Use these templates which are based on project standards.
Download this methodology to help you implement standards.
A "Project Standard" is an agreed best practice way of managing a project. We say agreed, as the standard will usually have been reviewed and used by thousands of project managers around the world, before it becomes formally recognized as a "standard" practice.
There are 3 common standards in the Project Management industry:
1. PMI "PMBOK" Standard
2. OGC "Prince2" Standard
3. APM "Body of Knowledge" Standard
These standards give you a generic way of managing projects. They don't give you a prescriptive "step-by-step" approach to managing projects (as MPMM does), but they do give you a set of practices and principles that you can apply to your projects, to boost your chances of success. So how should you use them? Here's how...
Make your selection
Review each of the above standards and select the one that has the closest fit with the way you run projects now. Each standard will have a completely different approach, terminology and lifecycle to the rest.
Only by selecting the standard that closely matches the way you work, will you really be able to immediately boost your efficiency.
Pick and Choose
Standards are typically generic, so that they fit all industries and all project sizes. So they will probably include stuff you won't need. Pick and choose the elements of the standard that you know you need to deliver projects successfully.
Customize to Fit
Then take the parts you've chosen and customize them to fit your environment. Keeping within copyright law, you'll probably want to change the terminology, the language used and the sequence of activities used.
Break it Down
To be able to use a standard properly, you really need to take it to the next level for your projects. You need to define the next level down. So for instance, if it talks about "risk management", then you'll want to list and describe the exact steps needed to manage risk within a project. For every step, describe what should be completed, how, by whom and in which order.
Use it for projects
Now that you have chosen your standard, picked the relevant parts, customized it by adding your own terminology and described it in a little more detail, you're ready to use it for your projects. Here are some tips on how to use it:
Use the same standard for every project. Only by applying the same principles over and over again, will you gain "economies of scale" allowing you to manage projects faster.
Don't always apply the standard in its entirety. Only apply the bits that are relevant to the particular project you're managing.
Continue improving the standard. On every project, identify the elements of the standard that help and those that didn't. If you continuously improve the standard used , then it will become a "living and breathing" tool to help you improve your projects.
By using standards to improve the way you work, you'll soon be known as "that guru who always gets their projects done on time!"
Use these templates which are based on project standards.
Download this methodology to help you implement standards.
Building high performing teams
Building high performing teams
What exactly is a high performing team? It's "a team that exceeds the goals you set, by working hard and smart, as a group, not individuals."
Whether you're in IT, construction, engineering or another industry, building a high performing team is critical to success. You can do it in just 5 steps...
1) Planning
Before you hire your first person, you need to document what it is that your team have to achieve and by when. You also need to create specific Job descriptions that set out your expectations for each role and how you'll measure their performance.
Don't stop there. Think about the team culture you want to build, the dynamics of your team and how they should work together. Only with a personal vision for how your team will perform, will you be able to meet that goal.
2) Recruiting
Recruitment is harder than it looks. It's easy to recruit the wrong person, and it's even easier to build a team that don't perform well. A candidate should only be recruited if they fit the job description, align with your personal vision for how the team will work together and they want to work in a culture that depicts your vision.
Take your time. Be swayed by your gut feel. Recruit "like-minded people". Introduce them to high performing staff you know of and get their feedback. Be choosy. Recruit the best. If you have to pay top dollar for top performer, it will often cost less in the long run, than a cheap resource who doesn't perform.
3) Culture Creation
If you've hired "like-minded people" then they will all like each other, and that's a great start. Get them working together on tasks. Constantly change the people you pair up, so that people get to know others in the team.
If your ideal culture is "performance through achievement" then shout out loud about each team success. And if you want "performance through happy customers" then strengthen the relationship between the team and your customers. Get them socializing. Try team sports.
4) Self Motivation
A happy motivated team will always out-perform an unhappy unmotivated one. And it starts with you! Are you happy and motivated? Get on track personally by working out, relaxing after hours, de-stress and set personal goals. Your motivation will rub off on your team.
Then when you're ready, focus on motivating your team. Use team building and group rallying exercises to get them pumped. Tell them how proud you are to work with them. Help them understand why the goals are important and how every team member contributes to them.
5) Recognition & Reward
People only respond positively to positive behavior. So you need to constantly recognize achievement when it's due. Tell the team about an individuals success. Make them feel proud. Spread the love—don't focus on one team or person too frequently.
And reward them when it's due. Reward them unexpectedly as people will appreciate it all the more. Meals to restaurants, tickets to the super-bowl. These things mean a lot to staff when they didn't expect it!
And there you are. If you plan for success, recruit a great team, build a positive culture and recognize achievement, then you'll build a healthy project team and boost your chances of success!
And if you want your team to perform even better, download the Project Management Kit now to save time completing projects.
Download the Project Management Kit now.
What exactly is a high performing team? It's "a team that exceeds the goals you set, by working hard and smart, as a group, not individuals."
Whether you're in IT, construction, engineering or another industry, building a high performing team is critical to success. You can do it in just 5 steps...
1) Planning
Before you hire your first person, you need to document what it is that your team have to achieve and by when. You also need to create specific Job descriptions that set out your expectations for each role and how you'll measure their performance.
Don't stop there. Think about the team culture you want to build, the dynamics of your team and how they should work together. Only with a personal vision for how your team will perform, will you be able to meet that goal.
2) Recruiting
Recruitment is harder than it looks. It's easy to recruit the wrong person, and it's even easier to build a team that don't perform well. A candidate should only be recruited if they fit the job description, align with your personal vision for how the team will work together and they want to work in a culture that depicts your vision.
Take your time. Be swayed by your gut feel. Recruit "like-minded people". Introduce them to high performing staff you know of and get their feedback. Be choosy. Recruit the best. If you have to pay top dollar for top performer, it will often cost less in the long run, than a cheap resource who doesn't perform.
3) Culture Creation
If you've hired "like-minded people" then they will all like each other, and that's a great start. Get them working together on tasks. Constantly change the people you pair up, so that people get to know others in the team.
If your ideal culture is "performance through achievement" then shout out loud about each team success. And if you want "performance through happy customers" then strengthen the relationship between the team and your customers. Get them socializing. Try team sports.
4) Self Motivation
A happy motivated team will always out-perform an unhappy unmotivated one. And it starts with you! Are you happy and motivated? Get on track personally by working out, relaxing after hours, de-stress and set personal goals. Your motivation will rub off on your team.
Then when you're ready, focus on motivating your team. Use team building and group rallying exercises to get them pumped. Tell them how proud you are to work with them. Help them understand why the goals are important and how every team member contributes to them.
5) Recognition & Reward
People only respond positively to positive behavior. So you need to constantly recognize achievement when it's due. Tell the team about an individuals success. Make them feel proud. Spread the love—don't focus on one team or person too frequently.
And reward them when it's due. Reward them unexpectedly as people will appreciate it all the more. Meals to restaurants, tickets to the super-bowl. These things mean a lot to staff when they didn't expect it!
And there you are. If you plan for success, recruit a great team, build a positive culture and recognize achievement, then you'll build a healthy project team and boost your chances of success!
And if you want your team to perform even better, download the Project Management Kit now to save time completing projects.
Download the Project Management Kit now.
Turning around Failing Projects
Turning around Failing Projects
Great– you've been assigned to a new project, but things are already going crazy. Your team are dissatisfied, your deliverables are late and your budget has already been exceeded. Your Project Sponsor is unhappy and no-one really knows who the customer is. Where do you start?
Confirmation
The first thing to do is to find the documented vision for the project, go to the Sponsor and confirm that it's still accurate. If there is no vision, then you need to create one pretty darned quickly. Identify the key project stakeholders and get them to agree on exactly what the project must achieve, by when and whom for. Only with a solid vision will you have a clear stake in the ground from which to move forward.
Review
Next, you need to find out what's going on. Why are the team unhappy? Why is everything late etc. Identify the top 10 things that need to be fixed to get the project back on track. Don't look back, only look forward.
Don't do a post mortem. Instead make it a short, sharp review that identifies the key issues affecting the project. Involve your team as much as possible, as you need their buy-in.
Quick Wins
You need to build confidence with your Sponsor and more importantly, your team. Choose a couple of issues that you know you can solve immediately, and once solved, communicate it to your team.
Plan of Attack
Only now, will you have a good feel for the project issues and what it will take to resolve them. You can now create a plan of attack. Identify the actions to be taken by all of the team, to deliver the project vision successfully. We say "all" of the team, as you need to gain the buy-in of your entire team to get the show on the road.
Then take your plan to your Sponsor and get their support. Don't be afraid to ask for more money, time or resource as this is the time to ask for it. If you ask now while you're fresh in the role, it won't reflect on you. Don't wait until you're near the end of the project before you ask.
Rally
With your Project Sponsors support, get the project team together, for a single communications event. Tell them what you've found, what needs to be fixed and how you plan to do it. Tell them about the quick wins that have already been made and how you know that if everyone focuses on the plan ahead, you can deliver successfully.
Milestones
Set clear milestones that everyone understands. Put the milestones and plan of attack on a wall chart to make them visible. Then meet regularly to discuss their progress.
Love, Hugs and Tears
Then love your high performing staff, hug your underperformers who show promise, and shed no tears at having to change staff that show no signs of buying in to your action plan. It's onwards and upwards!
Want a Project Management Methodology that helps you get projects back on track? Download a free trial edition of MPMM now.
Great– you've been assigned to a new project, but things are already going crazy. Your team are dissatisfied, your deliverables are late and your budget has already been exceeded. Your Project Sponsor is unhappy and no-one really knows who the customer is. Where do you start?
Confirmation
The first thing to do is to find the documented vision for the project, go to the Sponsor and confirm that it's still accurate. If there is no vision, then you need to create one pretty darned quickly. Identify the key project stakeholders and get them to agree on exactly what the project must achieve, by when and whom for. Only with a solid vision will you have a clear stake in the ground from which to move forward.
Review
Next, you need to find out what's going on. Why are the team unhappy? Why is everything late etc. Identify the top 10 things that need to be fixed to get the project back on track. Don't look back, only look forward.
Don't do a post mortem. Instead make it a short, sharp review that identifies the key issues affecting the project. Involve your team as much as possible, as you need their buy-in.
Quick Wins
You need to build confidence with your Sponsor and more importantly, your team. Choose a couple of issues that you know you can solve immediately, and once solved, communicate it to your team.
Plan of Attack
Only now, will you have a good feel for the project issues and what it will take to resolve them. You can now create a plan of attack. Identify the actions to be taken by all of the team, to deliver the project vision successfully. We say "all" of the team, as you need to gain the buy-in of your entire team to get the show on the road.
Then take your plan to your Sponsor and get their support. Don't be afraid to ask for more money, time or resource as this is the time to ask for it. If you ask now while you're fresh in the role, it won't reflect on you. Don't wait until you're near the end of the project before you ask.
Rally
With your Project Sponsors support, get the project team together, for a single communications event. Tell them what you've found, what needs to be fixed and how you plan to do it. Tell them about the quick wins that have already been made and how you know that if everyone focuses on the plan ahead, you can deliver successfully.
Milestones
Set clear milestones that everyone understands. Put the milestones and plan of attack on a wall chart to make them visible. Then meet regularly to discuss their progress.
Love, Hugs and Tears
Then love your high performing staff, hug your underperformers who show promise, and shed no tears at having to change staff that show no signs of buying in to your action plan. It's onwards and upwards!
Want a Project Management Methodology that helps you get projects back on track? Download a free trial edition of MPMM now.
Managing a Program of Work
Managing a Program of Work
So what is a Program? Well, a simple definition is that it's a group of projects. But wait– there's more! The projects in a program will have been grouped together for a reason, which is typically that they contribute to the same objectives in the business strategy.
Also, programs may include operational work within their scope, which makes them different by their very nature.
So you've been asked to run a program to build a new retail complex which involves 3 construction projects and some general marketing activities. How do you do it? Here are some tips:
Review the Strategy
When kicking off your program of work, the first step is to review your company strategy and agree on the objectives that your program is responsible for delivering. This is important, as the objectives are what you use to peg your projects to. If you end up creating new projects that don't contribute to your specified objectives, then they should be excluded from your program of work!
Get support
To gain the support, funds and "mind share" of your executive team, complete a Business Case. This will help you to identify the benefits and costs of running the program, the risks you foresee and what it is that you need to make it a success. It will also help you get the funding you require, as your Business Case will justify the funding needed, by stating the benefits to be realized.
Start carefully
Now that you have the funding and support from management, you're ready to kickoff. Before launching into scoping your projects—instead define your overall program of work in depth first. Create a Program Charter setting out your vision, objectives, roadmap and deliverables. Then set up a Program Office and appoint the key members of your administration team.
Selection is critical
You're now ready to define your projects and other related work. Scope out each project carefully and make sure that the benefits delivered from all of your projects combined, deliver the goals stated in your Business Case. Selecting the right projects to deliver the right benefits is critical. Make sure you categorize, evaluate, select and prioritize your projects carefully.
It's all down to execution
Now kick off your projects in a logical order. Spread your program resources (people, time and money) evenly so you don't have resource constraints. Go for quick wins first. Schedule larger projects next, once you have momentum. Never schedule critical projects to take place at the end. To retain the buy-in of your Sponsor, make sure your projects deliver value early.
Control chaos
After your projects kick off, changes in the business often cause a level of chaos. Your projects change in scope, their budgets get constrained and resource shortages start occurring. How you react to these changes will determine your level of success as a Program Manager.
When this happens, step back and re-assess your program. Outside influences are often the cause and these are things that you alone can fix. Only in exceptional circumstances should you dive into the depths of the program itself and work alongside project managers and teams at the micro level. A good Program Manager will instead step back and make macro level changes to influence the success of the program.
We hope these tips help improve your program management success!
Next Steps...
Use this kit of templates to run projects within a program.
Use this methodology to improve your project success.
So what is a Program? Well, a simple definition is that it's a group of projects. But wait– there's more! The projects in a program will have been grouped together for a reason, which is typically that they contribute to the same objectives in the business strategy.
Also, programs may include operational work within their scope, which makes them different by their very nature.
So you've been asked to run a program to build a new retail complex which involves 3 construction projects and some general marketing activities. How do you do it? Here are some tips:
Review the Strategy
When kicking off your program of work, the first step is to review your company strategy and agree on the objectives that your program is responsible for delivering. This is important, as the objectives are what you use to peg your projects to. If you end up creating new projects that don't contribute to your specified objectives, then they should be excluded from your program of work!
Get support
To gain the support, funds and "mind share" of your executive team, complete a Business Case. This will help you to identify the benefits and costs of running the program, the risks you foresee and what it is that you need to make it a success. It will also help you get the funding you require, as your Business Case will justify the funding needed, by stating the benefits to be realized.
Start carefully
Now that you have the funding and support from management, you're ready to kickoff. Before launching into scoping your projects—instead define your overall program of work in depth first. Create a Program Charter setting out your vision, objectives, roadmap and deliverables. Then set up a Program Office and appoint the key members of your administration team.
Selection is critical
You're now ready to define your projects and other related work. Scope out each project carefully and make sure that the benefits delivered from all of your projects combined, deliver the goals stated in your Business Case. Selecting the right projects to deliver the right benefits is critical. Make sure you categorize, evaluate, select and prioritize your projects carefully.
It's all down to execution
Now kick off your projects in a logical order. Spread your program resources (people, time and money) evenly so you don't have resource constraints. Go for quick wins first. Schedule larger projects next, once you have momentum. Never schedule critical projects to take place at the end. To retain the buy-in of your Sponsor, make sure your projects deliver value early.
Control chaos
After your projects kick off, changes in the business often cause a level of chaos. Your projects change in scope, their budgets get constrained and resource shortages start occurring. How you react to these changes will determine your level of success as a Program Manager.
When this happens, step back and re-assess your program. Outside influences are often the cause and these are things that you alone can fix. Only in exceptional circumstances should you dive into the depths of the program itself and work alongside project managers and teams at the micro level. A good Program Manager will instead step back and make macro level changes to influence the success of the program.
We hope these tips help improve your program management success!
Next Steps...
Use this kit of templates to run projects within a program.
Use this methodology to improve your project success.
Managing a Portfolio of Work
Managing a Portfolio of Work
What is Project Portfolio Management? Well, the short and sweet definition is that it's "managing most (or all) of an organizations resources towards achieving a common goal". Wow - that's huge!
Yes, if you're responsible for managing a portfolio of work, then you often have all, or at least a large portion of the organizations resources (people, equipment, money...) at your disposal. This is why portfolios usually include a whole suite of projects, programs and even operational work, grouped together to achieve a common goal. So how do you manage a portfolio? Take these 4 steps:
Initiate your Portfolio
When starting up a new portfolio of work, take the first step by identifying the elements of the business strategy that will be achieved by the portfolio and the timeframes in which it must be delivered.
Then create a Portfolio Charter (like a Project Charter), stating the objectives, scope, constraints and risks involved in undertaking it. You will then want to create a Portfolio Management Office consisting of planners and administrators responsible for reporting the status of the portfolio at all times.
And you'll also want to create a Governance Structure, which is a fancy term for appointing the portfolio sponsor, board and manager, as well as making sure that their roles are clearly defined.
Plan your Portfolio
Now comes the fun bit - scoping out the programs, projects and operational work that are needed to undertake the portfolio. Make sure that you scope each group of work clearly and accurately, and that there is no overlap between related projects.
Also, make sure you balance your resources evenly across programs. Remember, you only have a fixed amount of resource at your disposal, so make sure there are no shortages or surpluses in your plan.
Once you've scoped out the programs, projects and other related work, schedule it all in a Gantt chart. Then make sure that items on the critical path have ample resource to succeed.
Execute your Portfolio
Then kick-off your programs and projects in the order specified in your plan. You'll need to appoint Program and Project Managers for each chunk of work and closely monitor their delivery.
While each program and project is being delivered, you need to carefully monitor and control the overall performance of the portfolio, to make sure that it delivers the strategic goals agreed.
Close your Portfolio
Portfolios don't usually close over night like projects do. The reason is that by the end of the portfolio schedule, the majority of the value of the portfolio should have been gained by the business. If you've worked smart, you will have scheduled the high value projects at the start and the low value projects at the end, so the success of the portfolio will already be known throughout the organization.
To close your portfolio when ready, you need to document its outcome in a Portfolio Closure Report. In this report you will specify the strategic objectives achieved and value delivered to the organization. Then gain approval to release the remaining staff, suppliers, equipment and funds held by the portfolio team.
So if you get the opportunity to run a portfolio of work, you can use these tips above to boost your likelihood of success.
Further Information
The bread and butter of portfolio management is the running of projects. Use this template kit to deliver projects quickly and easily.
Want a methodology for managing projects? Download a free trial from www.MPMM.com
What is Project Portfolio Management? Well, the short and sweet definition is that it's "managing most (or all) of an organizations resources towards achieving a common goal". Wow - that's huge!
Yes, if you're responsible for managing a portfolio of work, then you often have all, or at least a large portion of the organizations resources (people, equipment, money...) at your disposal. This is why portfolios usually include a whole suite of projects, programs and even operational work, grouped together to achieve a common goal. So how do you manage a portfolio? Take these 4 steps:
Initiate your Portfolio
When starting up a new portfolio of work, take the first step by identifying the elements of the business strategy that will be achieved by the portfolio and the timeframes in which it must be delivered.
Then create a Portfolio Charter (like a Project Charter), stating the objectives, scope, constraints and risks involved in undertaking it. You will then want to create a Portfolio Management Office consisting of planners and administrators responsible for reporting the status of the portfolio at all times.
And you'll also want to create a Governance Structure, which is a fancy term for appointing the portfolio sponsor, board and manager, as well as making sure that their roles are clearly defined.
Plan your Portfolio
Now comes the fun bit - scoping out the programs, projects and operational work that are needed to undertake the portfolio. Make sure that you scope each group of work clearly and accurately, and that there is no overlap between related projects.
Also, make sure you balance your resources evenly across programs. Remember, you only have a fixed amount of resource at your disposal, so make sure there are no shortages or surpluses in your plan.
Once you've scoped out the programs, projects and other related work, schedule it all in a Gantt chart. Then make sure that items on the critical path have ample resource to succeed.
Execute your Portfolio
Then kick-off your programs and projects in the order specified in your plan. You'll need to appoint Program and Project Managers for each chunk of work and closely monitor their delivery.
While each program and project is being delivered, you need to carefully monitor and control the overall performance of the portfolio, to make sure that it delivers the strategic goals agreed.
Close your Portfolio
Portfolios don't usually close over night like projects do. The reason is that by the end of the portfolio schedule, the majority of the value of the portfolio should have been gained by the business. If you've worked smart, you will have scheduled the high value projects at the start and the low value projects at the end, so the success of the portfolio will already be known throughout the organization.
To close your portfolio when ready, you need to document its outcome in a Portfolio Closure Report. In this report you will specify the strategic objectives achieved and value delivered to the organization. Then gain approval to release the remaining staff, suppliers, equipment and funds held by the portfolio team.
So if you get the opportunity to run a portfolio of work, you can use these tips above to boost your likelihood of success.
Further Information
The bread and butter of portfolio management is the running of projects. Use this template kit to deliver projects quickly and easily.
Want a methodology for managing projects? Download a free trial from www.MPMM.com
Monitor and Control Your Projects (Part 3)
Monitor and Control Your Projects
(Part 3)
Having previously covered the management of time, cost, quality, change, risk and issues - the final step in the "Monitor and Control" newsletter series is the management of suppliers, procurement and communications.
If you can monitor and control all of these aspects smoothly and efficiently, then you will have a great chance of delivering your project successfully. So let's tackle the last 3 remaining areas now...
Managing Suppliers
Always make sure you appoint suppliers through a formal process. Even if you're appointing suppliers you know and have worked with for some time, always create a statement of work which defines the exact scope of work that you wish them to perform.
Next create a formal detailed supplier contract for the scope of work to be completed. In this contract, define the work to be completed, the responsibilities of both parties, the performance criteria and terms and conditions for the relationship. Then if things go sour, you have something to fall back on.
In your contract, have milestones which specify what it is that you expect them to have delivered and by when. Then at each milestone date, complete a formal review of deliverables completed to date, vs. the deliverables specified in the contract. If things change during the project, then amend the contract accordingly. The contract should always represent the nature of the agreement and never become "out dated".
You can then closely monitor and control your suppliers performance.
Control Procurement
As well as managing your suppliers overall performance, you also need to monitor and control the procurement of goods and services from those suppliers.
Controlling procurement is all about reviewing and accepting goods and services once they have been delivered by your supplier. You need to implement a Procurement Management Process which enables your team to take ownership of the item being delivered, review it against pre-defined criteria and approve payment for it, based on your supplier contract.
Tip: Always make sure that you issue Purchase Orders for products you require from suppliers. Create a detailed description of the product you require on the Purchase Order, so that you have something to measure against when it arrives.
Perform Communications
Communication is King! As part of the "monitor and control" phase in a project, you'll need to keep a constant eye on the communications that are taking place.
You should always have a formal Communications Plan in place so that key messages are communicated to the right people at the right time. You can then monitor and control your project communications by making sure that the activities on your communications plan are completed at the right time, and in the right manner.
Make sure you have a feedback process so that if the wrong messages are received by staff, suppliers or stakeholders, then you'll be immediately informed and can take action to resolve it.
So that's in. In these last 3 newsletters, we've explained how to monitor and control your project by managing:
Time, Cost and Quality
Change, Risks, and Issues
Suppliers, Procurement and Communications
By using these key project management principles, you can deliver projects quickly and efficiently, with less stress and effort than before.
Further Information
Visit Method123.com for the complete set of templates, forms and checklists to complete projects quickly.
See MPMM.com for smart software that helps you implement methodologies for projects.
(Part 3)
Having previously covered the management of time, cost, quality, change, risk and issues - the final step in the "Monitor and Control" newsletter series is the management of suppliers, procurement and communications.
If you can monitor and control all of these aspects smoothly and efficiently, then you will have a great chance of delivering your project successfully. So let's tackle the last 3 remaining areas now...
Managing Suppliers
Always make sure you appoint suppliers through a formal process. Even if you're appointing suppliers you know and have worked with for some time, always create a statement of work which defines the exact scope of work that you wish them to perform.
Next create a formal detailed supplier contract for the scope of work to be completed. In this contract, define the work to be completed, the responsibilities of both parties, the performance criteria and terms and conditions for the relationship. Then if things go sour, you have something to fall back on.
In your contract, have milestones which specify what it is that you expect them to have delivered and by when. Then at each milestone date, complete a formal review of deliverables completed to date, vs. the deliverables specified in the contract. If things change during the project, then amend the contract accordingly. The contract should always represent the nature of the agreement and never become "out dated".
You can then closely monitor and control your suppliers performance.
Control Procurement
As well as managing your suppliers overall performance, you also need to monitor and control the procurement of goods and services from those suppliers.
Controlling procurement is all about reviewing and accepting goods and services once they have been delivered by your supplier. You need to implement a Procurement Management Process which enables your team to take ownership of the item being delivered, review it against pre-defined criteria and approve payment for it, based on your supplier contract.
Tip: Always make sure that you issue Purchase Orders for products you require from suppliers. Create a detailed description of the product you require on the Purchase Order, so that you have something to measure against when it arrives.
Perform Communications
Communication is King! As part of the "monitor and control" phase in a project, you'll need to keep a constant eye on the communications that are taking place.
You should always have a formal Communications Plan in place so that key messages are communicated to the right people at the right time. You can then monitor and control your project communications by making sure that the activities on your communications plan are completed at the right time, and in the right manner.
Make sure you have a feedback process so that if the wrong messages are received by staff, suppliers or stakeholders, then you'll be immediately informed and can take action to resolve it.
So that's in. In these last 3 newsletters, we've explained how to monitor and control your project by managing:
Time, Cost and Quality
Change, Risks, and Issues
Suppliers, Procurement and Communications
By using these key project management principles, you can deliver projects quickly and efficiently, with less stress and effort than before.
Further Information
Visit Method123.com for the complete set of templates, forms and checklists to complete projects quickly.
See MPMM.com for smart software that helps you implement methodologies for projects.
Monitor and Control Your Projects (Part 2)
Monitor and Control Your Projects
(Part 2)
So things aren't going to plan because your customer has changed the scope of the project? Don't worry, this is a normal event for a Project Manager, as many projects are time consuming and while the project has been progressing, the business pressures faced by the customer have changed.
The art is not in minimizing change, but in managing it properly when it does occur. Here's how to do it...
Monitor Change
The most typical cause of a project going off-the-rails is that the scope has grown out of control, by "osmosis". The client has asked for changes, the team have had new ideas and your nice neat set of project tasks now look like spaghetti.
To succeed, you need to keep tight control of your project scope, by being vigilant about change. Do this by implementing a change management process. As soon as you identify a request for change in your project, document it formally by specifying where the change has come from, why it's needed and its impact on your project objectives.
And if the change is likely to affect the target end dates, budget or deliverables, then get your sponsor and customers approval before implementing it. Don't be afraid to ask for more time, people or money if you need it, especially if the change was initiated by the customer.
Never allow change to run your project. Instead, run your project by managing change!
Control Risks
As a Project Manager, it's all too easy to roll your sleeves up and get stuck into the project delivery. But when you do this, it's often hard to keep your head above water. You may end up managing at the micro level and high level risks to the project may pass you by.
It's hard, but try and remain a little divorced from the detailed day-to-day operation of your project where possible. In this way, you can continually assess the overall risk to the project from the outside and pounce on new risks when they appear.
Also, implement a Risk Management Process to formalize the way that risks are identified, assessed and mitigated. For each risk that appears, quantify its potential impact on the project, then take immediate action to minimize the likelihood of it occurring. Always create contingency plans, so that if the risk does occur, you can go to "plan b" and minimize its effect on the project delivery.
Resolve Issues
Resolving issues sounds easy right? The challenge however, is not just in resolving every issue that turns your way, but instead monitoring all of the issues that occur on a project and only resolving issues that are likely to impact on the project outcome. It's very infrequent on a project that you'll have time to resolve every issue that crops up - so be picky.
To make sure that you resolve issues in a timely manner, you need to put in place an Issue Management Process. This helps you to review all of the issues that crop up, assess their impact, delegate the ones that can be handled by others and resolve those that are critical to the project.
And there you have it! By managing change, risks and issues, you'll be able to avoid scope creep and boost your chances of achieving project success!
Further Information
Visit Method123.com for the complete set of templates, forms and checklists to complete projects quickly.
See MPMM.com for smart software that helps you implement methodologies for projects.
(Part 2)
So things aren't going to plan because your customer has changed the scope of the project? Don't worry, this is a normal event for a Project Manager, as many projects are time consuming and while the project has been progressing, the business pressures faced by the customer have changed.
The art is not in minimizing change, but in managing it properly when it does occur. Here's how to do it...
Monitor Change
The most typical cause of a project going off-the-rails is that the scope has grown out of control, by "osmosis". The client has asked for changes, the team have had new ideas and your nice neat set of project tasks now look like spaghetti.
To succeed, you need to keep tight control of your project scope, by being vigilant about change. Do this by implementing a change management process. As soon as you identify a request for change in your project, document it formally by specifying where the change has come from, why it's needed and its impact on your project objectives.
And if the change is likely to affect the target end dates, budget or deliverables, then get your sponsor and customers approval before implementing it. Don't be afraid to ask for more time, people or money if you need it, especially if the change was initiated by the customer.
Never allow change to run your project. Instead, run your project by managing change!
Control Risks
As a Project Manager, it's all too easy to roll your sleeves up and get stuck into the project delivery. But when you do this, it's often hard to keep your head above water. You may end up managing at the micro level and high level risks to the project may pass you by.
It's hard, but try and remain a little divorced from the detailed day-to-day operation of your project where possible. In this way, you can continually assess the overall risk to the project from the outside and pounce on new risks when they appear.
Also, implement a Risk Management Process to formalize the way that risks are identified, assessed and mitigated. For each risk that appears, quantify its potential impact on the project, then take immediate action to minimize the likelihood of it occurring. Always create contingency plans, so that if the risk does occur, you can go to "plan b" and minimize its effect on the project delivery.
Resolve Issues
Resolving issues sounds easy right? The challenge however, is not just in resolving every issue that turns your way, but instead monitoring all of the issues that occur on a project and only resolving issues that are likely to impact on the project outcome. It's very infrequent on a project that you'll have time to resolve every issue that crops up - so be picky.
To make sure that you resolve issues in a timely manner, you need to put in place an Issue Management Process. This helps you to review all of the issues that crop up, assess their impact, delegate the ones that can be handled by others and resolve those that are critical to the project.
And there you have it! By managing change, risks and issues, you'll be able to avoid scope creep and boost your chances of achieving project success!
Further Information
Visit Method123.com for the complete set of templates, forms and checklists to complete projects quickly.
See MPMM.com for smart software that helps you implement methodologies for projects.
Monitor and Control Your Projects (Part 1)
Monitor and Control Your Projects
(Part 1)
After you've started up and planned your projects, you'll move into the Execution (or "delivery") phase in the project life cycle.
This is typically the longest phase in the project, as it's in this phase that the physical deliverables are built for the customer. Whether your project is to build a construction complex, computer system or land a space vehicle on mars, you will need to very carefully monitor progress and control delivery. Otherwise, your project could go off the rails.
So to monitor and control delivery, you need to implement 9 critical project management processes. We'll describe the first 3 processes here, and in the next newsletter we'll cover the remaining 4 critical processes or you.
Critical Process #1: Time Management
Every Project Manager knows that the customer expects their project to be delivered "on time". But how many Project Managers actually record every hour spent by staff on the project?
To ensure on-time delivery, that's what you need to do: implement a time management process. This process will help you to monitor the time spent by all of the members of your team, so that you can control how time is spent.
It's not just about "having great time management skills" either, it's about putting in place a process for recording time spent by staff by using timesheets and recording that time against the project plan.
That way, you can create an accurate picture of the current status of the project to determine whether or not it is likely to finish under / on / over the time allotted.
Critical Process #2: Cost Management
Few Project Managers can tell you for every day of the project, exactly how much of their budget they have spent to date. The reason is that many of the project costs are often difficult to track, especially when they relate to the use of equipment and consumption of materials.
But to deliver you project within budget, you need to monitor and control all of the costs that accrue, on a very regular basis. You can do this by implementing a cost management process.
Cost Management is all about accurately recording project expenses, as they occur. By using Expense Forms and an Expense Register, you can monitor all project costs and control expenditure when unplanned expenses arise. You don't need to be an accountant, you just need to keep an eye on the overall project expenditure on a weekly basis and act quickly when any issues arise.
Critical Process #3: Quality Management
It's often said that the hardest thing to monitor is "quality". Most Project Managers find it difficult to determine exactly what the customer expects in terms of deliverable "quality", let alone measure the actual levels of quality achieved. But you must try.
To do this properly, you need to implement a Quality Management Process. By following this process, you can set quality targets to be achieved and gain agreement from your customer.
Then you can use Quality Assurance and Quality Control techniques to monitor and control the actual quality of your project deliverables. If your quality levels drop below the targets set, then you can take action to rectify it. By constantly reviewing quality levels and ensuring that they always meet the target, you can feel confident that your customer will sign off your project as complete, once all of the deliverables have been produced.
And there you have it. By implementing time, cost and quality management, you can take the first steps needed to properly monitor and control your project delivery.
Use Templates or a Methodology to monitor and control your projects effectively.
(Part 1)
After you've started up and planned your projects, you'll move into the Execution (or "delivery") phase in the project life cycle.
This is typically the longest phase in the project, as it's in this phase that the physical deliverables are built for the customer. Whether your project is to build a construction complex, computer system or land a space vehicle on mars, you will need to very carefully monitor progress and control delivery. Otherwise, your project could go off the rails.
So to monitor and control delivery, you need to implement 9 critical project management processes. We'll describe the first 3 processes here, and in the next newsletter we'll cover the remaining 4 critical processes or you.
Critical Process #1: Time Management
Every Project Manager knows that the customer expects their project to be delivered "on time". But how many Project Managers actually record every hour spent by staff on the project?
To ensure on-time delivery, that's what you need to do: implement a time management process. This process will help you to monitor the time spent by all of the members of your team, so that you can control how time is spent.
It's not just about "having great time management skills" either, it's about putting in place a process for recording time spent by staff by using timesheets and recording that time against the project plan.
That way, you can create an accurate picture of the current status of the project to determine whether or not it is likely to finish under / on / over the time allotted.
Critical Process #2: Cost Management
Few Project Managers can tell you for every day of the project, exactly how much of their budget they have spent to date. The reason is that many of the project costs are often difficult to track, especially when they relate to the use of equipment and consumption of materials.
But to deliver you project within budget, you need to monitor and control all of the costs that accrue, on a very regular basis. You can do this by implementing a cost management process.
Cost Management is all about accurately recording project expenses, as they occur. By using Expense Forms and an Expense Register, you can monitor all project costs and control expenditure when unplanned expenses arise. You don't need to be an accountant, you just need to keep an eye on the overall project expenditure on a weekly basis and act quickly when any issues arise.
Critical Process #3: Quality Management
It's often said that the hardest thing to monitor is "quality". Most Project Managers find it difficult to determine exactly what the customer expects in terms of deliverable "quality", let alone measure the actual levels of quality achieved. But you must try.
To do this properly, you need to implement a Quality Management Process. By following this process, you can set quality targets to be achieved and gain agreement from your customer.
Then you can use Quality Assurance and Quality Control techniques to monitor and control the actual quality of your project deliverables. If your quality levels drop below the targets set, then you can take action to rectify it. By constantly reviewing quality levels and ensuring that they always meet the target, you can feel confident that your customer will sign off your project as complete, once all of the deliverables have been produced.
And there you have it. By implementing time, cost and quality management, you can take the first steps needed to properly monitor and control your project delivery.
Use Templates or a Methodology to monitor and control your projects effectively.
Create a Project Charter
Create a Project Charter
A Project Charter is a document that is completed at the very start of the project life cycle. It sets out the project vision, objectives and scope, so that you can gain a clear picture of what it is that the project must achieve.
It also describes the deliverables, the people involved in producing them and the timeframes for delivery.
To create a Charter for your project, take these 5 steps:
Step 1: Set the Vision
Every team needs a "Vision". By clarifying the vision for the project and the goals that must be met, your team will gain a single collective understanding of what it is expected of them. When setting out your vision, make sure that you:
Gain agreement from the Sponsor first
Write it using clear, meaningful words
Communicate it to all team members
Don't email the vision out to your team. Instead, present it personally, so that they have a first hand understanding of what it is, why it's important and what it should mean to them.
Step 2: Define the Scope
With a clear vision, the next most important step is to define the project scope. The scope lists the activities and deliverables that must be completed, in order to achieve the vision.
Having a detailed scope helps you to plan your project effectively. It also helps you to prevent "scope creep" which is when unplanned deliverables and activities are added to your To Do list by your customer.
Only by clarifying the project scope at the outset, can you manage your customers needs, by telling them for instance that a request is "out of scope" and therefore requires additional time or money to complete it.
Step 3: Structure the Project Team
So you know your end target (i.e. your vision) and deliverables to be produced (i.e. your scope), you now need to identify the people who are going to do the work.
Create a Project Organizational Structure chart which show all of the customers, stakeholders, team members and other people involved with your project. Depict the reporting lines between each, and where possible, add lines of communication as well.
Documenting the organization structure is important, as it clarifies the number of people needed to complete your project and the responsibilities of each member in your team. It also helps you to create Job Descriptions for each member of your team.
Step 4: Create a Roadmap
Then create a project roadmap. This is a high level project plan that lists the phases, activities and tasks that your project will pass through, to complete the entire project management life cycle.
As well as setting out the activities needed to complete the project from start to finish, you need to identify the resources needed for each project phase. And finally, identify the overall budget required to complete the project, so that you gain financial approval to undertake the project, as early as possible in the project life cycle.
Step 5: Identify Risks and Issues
The last step to take when creating a Project Charter is to list the risks and issues that are currently apparent. By listing these items, you can make your Project Sponsor aware of the overall level of risk of the project and enlist their support to resolve them early.
By taking these 5 steps, you're ready to create a Project Charter to initiate projects more successfully. If you would to implement these 5 steps for your projects, then get the Project Charter template now.
Want to boost your project management success? Check out these 2 great project management solutions...
Project Management Templates
Project Management Methodology
A Project Charter is a document that is completed at the very start of the project life cycle. It sets out the project vision, objectives and scope, so that you can gain a clear picture of what it is that the project must achieve.
It also describes the deliverables, the people involved in producing them and the timeframes for delivery.
To create a Charter for your project, take these 5 steps:
Step 1: Set the Vision
Every team needs a "Vision". By clarifying the vision for the project and the goals that must be met, your team will gain a single collective understanding of what it is expected of them. When setting out your vision, make sure that you:
Gain agreement from the Sponsor first
Write it using clear, meaningful words
Communicate it to all team members
Don't email the vision out to your team. Instead, present it personally, so that they have a first hand understanding of what it is, why it's important and what it should mean to them.
Step 2: Define the Scope
With a clear vision, the next most important step is to define the project scope. The scope lists the activities and deliverables that must be completed, in order to achieve the vision.
Having a detailed scope helps you to plan your project effectively. It also helps you to prevent "scope creep" which is when unplanned deliverables and activities are added to your To Do list by your customer.
Only by clarifying the project scope at the outset, can you manage your customers needs, by telling them for instance that a request is "out of scope" and therefore requires additional time or money to complete it.
Step 3: Structure the Project Team
So you know your end target (i.e. your vision) and deliverables to be produced (i.e. your scope), you now need to identify the people who are going to do the work.
Create a Project Organizational Structure chart which show all of the customers, stakeholders, team members and other people involved with your project. Depict the reporting lines between each, and where possible, add lines of communication as well.
Documenting the organization structure is important, as it clarifies the number of people needed to complete your project and the responsibilities of each member in your team. It also helps you to create Job Descriptions for each member of your team.
Step 4: Create a Roadmap
Then create a project roadmap. This is a high level project plan that lists the phases, activities and tasks that your project will pass through, to complete the entire project management life cycle.
As well as setting out the activities needed to complete the project from start to finish, you need to identify the resources needed for each project phase. And finally, identify the overall budget required to complete the project, so that you gain financial approval to undertake the project, as early as possible in the project life cycle.
Step 5: Identify Risks and Issues
The last step to take when creating a Project Charter is to list the risks and issues that are currently apparent. By listing these items, you can make your Project Sponsor aware of the overall level of risk of the project and enlist their support to resolve them early.
By taking these 5 steps, you're ready to create a Project Charter to initiate projects more successfully. If you would to implement these 5 steps for your projects, then get the Project Charter template now.
Want to boost your project management success? Check out these 2 great project management solutions...
Project Management Templates
Project Management Methodology
How to Deliver Projects On Time
How to Deliver Projects On Time
On a project, it is easy to get bogged down with the details, and forget about the "helicopter view". Other than completing Project Status Reports at the end of each reporting period, many Project Managers adopt the approach that their own knowledge and experience alone will ensure that the project delivers on time.
But the reality is that all project managers need to complete some basic steps throughout the project, to make sure that it is "on track", otherwise it is easy for a project to go off the rails.
So what are the steps that a Project Manager needs to complete to make sure that the project is delivered on time? We have listed them for you here...
Step 1: Plan to succeed
There is an old project saying: "Plan not to fail, don't fail to plan". By creating a detailed Project Plan with fixed delivery milestones that your customer agree with, you will gain a firm basis for measuring the progress of the project.
Make sure that your plan includes delivery milestones every month where possible and that the Work Breakdown Structure is detailed enough to show all of the critical tasks that must be completed. Non-critical tasks can be re-scheduled later, but tasks which are on the critical path must be completed by the due dates specified.
Step 2: Clock the time spent
Almost every Project Manager these days has implemented Timesheets for tracking time. But how many actually record that time in a Time Sheet Register and update the Project Plan with the time spent per project task?
By doing this, you can allocate a set amount of time and effort to complete every task on the Project Plan, and easily identify when you are late. If staff spend more time than that allocated and the task is still not complete, then you will need to investigate why this has occurred and resolve the problems identified. This process is called the Time Management Process and it ensures that staff complete tasks where possible, in the timeframe allocated to them.
Step 3: Create a helicopter view
It is harder than it looks. To accurately monitor and report on the project at a helicopter level, you need a crystal clear picture of the project delivery against a schedule.
You need to know for every task in your project plan, whether it is under / on / over schedule and what the overall impact on the project is. You also need to have identified the critical path and determined whether the tasks on this path are on track.
Only with this detailed knowledge can you gain a sufficient "helicopter view" to be able to report accurately to your Project Board or Sponsor. Remember, by keeping your sponsor accurately informed of the project progress, you will ensure their full support.
Step 4: Going "Belly Up"
So you have done all this but your project is going "belly up" (i.e. slipping). What then? Well the first step is to investigate the reasons why. It may be that the scope of the project has grown from that originally agreed, or you have encountered complexities that were not identified when you started, or that the plan was too aggressive in the first place.
Regardless, you need to 1) Stop 2) Investigate 3) Resolve 4) Report. To resolve the problem, you may need to formally redefine the scope of the project, hire additional resources to help out, or agree with the customer on a new delivery timeframe. You will also need to update the Project Plan with any additional tasks required to fix the problems, and then you will need to report on the new status to your Sponsor.
Step 5: Getting the right mix
Almost every project team will encounter unforeseen changes, risks and issues. Your level of success will depend on how you manage these when they arise. By implementing these project processes below, you can ensure that your mix of changes, risks and issues are easily manageable:
Change Management Process
Risk Management Process
Issue Management Process
To help you deliver projects on time and keep your Project Sponsor happy, use these two great project management solutions now...
Project Management Templates
Project Management Methodology
On a project, it is easy to get bogged down with the details, and forget about the "helicopter view". Other than completing Project Status Reports at the end of each reporting period, many Project Managers adopt the approach that their own knowledge and experience alone will ensure that the project delivers on time.
But the reality is that all project managers need to complete some basic steps throughout the project, to make sure that it is "on track", otherwise it is easy for a project to go off the rails.
So what are the steps that a Project Manager needs to complete to make sure that the project is delivered on time? We have listed them for you here...
Step 1: Plan to succeed
There is an old project saying: "Plan not to fail, don't fail to plan". By creating a detailed Project Plan with fixed delivery milestones that your customer agree with, you will gain a firm basis for measuring the progress of the project.
Make sure that your plan includes delivery milestones every month where possible and that the Work Breakdown Structure is detailed enough to show all of the critical tasks that must be completed. Non-critical tasks can be re-scheduled later, but tasks which are on the critical path must be completed by the due dates specified.
Step 2: Clock the time spent
Almost every Project Manager these days has implemented Timesheets for tracking time. But how many actually record that time in a Time Sheet Register and update the Project Plan with the time spent per project task?
By doing this, you can allocate a set amount of time and effort to complete every task on the Project Plan, and easily identify when you are late. If staff spend more time than that allocated and the task is still not complete, then you will need to investigate why this has occurred and resolve the problems identified. This process is called the Time Management Process and it ensures that staff complete tasks where possible, in the timeframe allocated to them.
Step 3: Create a helicopter view
It is harder than it looks. To accurately monitor and report on the project at a helicopter level, you need a crystal clear picture of the project delivery against a schedule.
You need to know for every task in your project plan, whether it is under / on / over schedule and what the overall impact on the project is. You also need to have identified the critical path and determined whether the tasks on this path are on track.
Only with this detailed knowledge can you gain a sufficient "helicopter view" to be able to report accurately to your Project Board or Sponsor. Remember, by keeping your sponsor accurately informed of the project progress, you will ensure their full support.
Step 4: Going "Belly Up"
So you have done all this but your project is going "belly up" (i.e. slipping). What then? Well the first step is to investigate the reasons why. It may be that the scope of the project has grown from that originally agreed, or you have encountered complexities that were not identified when you started, or that the plan was too aggressive in the first place.
Regardless, you need to 1) Stop 2) Investigate 3) Resolve 4) Report. To resolve the problem, you may need to formally redefine the scope of the project, hire additional resources to help out, or agree with the customer on a new delivery timeframe. You will also need to update the Project Plan with any additional tasks required to fix the problems, and then you will need to report on the new status to your Sponsor.
Step 5: Getting the right mix
Almost every project team will encounter unforeseen changes, risks and issues. Your level of success will depend on how you manage these when they arise. By implementing these project processes below, you can ensure that your mix of changes, risks and issues are easily manageable:
Change Management Process
Risk Management Process
Issue Management Process
To help you deliver projects on time and keep your Project Sponsor happy, use these two great project management solutions now...
Project Management Templates
Project Management Methodology
Using software to help you manage projects
Using software to help you manage projects
If you Google the term "project management software" then you will find something like 196 million search results! So which tools do you need and how should you use them to boost your chances of success? To help you out, we have described here the 5 typical groups of project software used, why they are used and how:
Type 1: Planning Software
The most common type of software tool used by project teams, is project planning software. Managers and teams typically use it to create a Gantt chart of their "Work Breakdown Structure" (WBS).
But it should also be used to schedule resources and financial expenditure, as well as equipment used and materials consumed. Dependencies within and between projects should also be listed.
Sample Providers: MS Project, Primavera
Type 2: Methodology Software
After planning a project, you need to implement a suite of processes to ensure its success. These processes together form part of a "methodology" for the project's execution. Such methodologies exist and are easily downloadable. They help you to implement processes to manage the project's; risk, changes, issues, time, cost, quality, staff, customers and suppliers.
By implementing such a methodology, you can improve your project efficiency and improve your chances of success.
Sample Providers: MPMM
Type 3: Tracking Software
Ok, so you have created a plan and implemented a suite of project processes. You are now ready for the execution phase of the project.
To help you monitor and control the project's execution, most managers implement some form of tracking software. This software helps you to:
Monitor and record changes, risks and issues
Keep track of time and money spent
Control the quality of deliverables
Report and communicate project status
Keep the project "on track" at all times
As with the other types of software specified here, using this type of software to monitor and control the project's progress is critical to success.
Sample Providers: Mercury, Tenrox
Type 4: Collaboration Software
On all projects, collaboration between project staff is key. They need to meet to discuss the project progress, current risks and issues, work outstanding and the plan going forward.
There are now a range of software providers that help your team to collaborate more easily, using MSN messenger, intranets, extranets and forums. They allow your team to identify and resolve issues quickly. They promote positive communication and they help you build a "team spirit" even if your team are spread across different physical locations.
Sample Providers: BaseCampHQ, AceProject
Type 5: Administration Software
Admin is often one of the most time consuming tasks for a manager. You need to create documentation, keep accounts up-to-date and administer risks and issues. Yet it is typically the area that you can gain the greatest level of efficiency in, using smart software tools.
By implementing templates to generate documentation quickly and software for your accounts, you can save an enormous amount of time administering, leaving you free to focus on the people side of running a project.
Sample Providers: Method123 for templates, Oracle Projects for accounting
We hope this has given you a brief overview of the types of project management software available in the market so you can reduce the 196 million software search results to just a few!
If you are interested in viewing two great project management solutions, then check these out now...
Project Management Templates
Project Management Methodology
If you Google the term "project management software" then you will find something like 196 million search results! So which tools do you need and how should you use them to boost your chances of success? To help you out, we have described here the 5 typical groups of project software used, why they are used and how:
Type 1: Planning Software
The most common type of software tool used by project teams, is project planning software. Managers and teams typically use it to create a Gantt chart of their "Work Breakdown Structure" (WBS).
But it should also be used to schedule resources and financial expenditure, as well as equipment used and materials consumed. Dependencies within and between projects should also be listed.
Sample Providers: MS Project, Primavera
Type 2: Methodology Software
After planning a project, you need to implement a suite of processes to ensure its success. These processes together form part of a "methodology" for the project's execution. Such methodologies exist and are easily downloadable. They help you to implement processes to manage the project's; risk, changes, issues, time, cost, quality, staff, customers and suppliers.
By implementing such a methodology, you can improve your project efficiency and improve your chances of success.
Sample Providers: MPMM
Type 3: Tracking Software
Ok, so you have created a plan and implemented a suite of project processes. You are now ready for the execution phase of the project.
To help you monitor and control the project's execution, most managers implement some form of tracking software. This software helps you to:
Monitor and record changes, risks and issues
Keep track of time and money spent
Control the quality of deliverables
Report and communicate project status
Keep the project "on track" at all times
As with the other types of software specified here, using this type of software to monitor and control the project's progress is critical to success.
Sample Providers: Mercury, Tenrox
Type 4: Collaboration Software
On all projects, collaboration between project staff is key. They need to meet to discuss the project progress, current risks and issues, work outstanding and the plan going forward.
There are now a range of software providers that help your team to collaborate more easily, using MSN messenger, intranets, extranets and forums. They allow your team to identify and resolve issues quickly. They promote positive communication and they help you build a "team spirit" even if your team are spread across different physical locations.
Sample Providers: BaseCampHQ, AceProject
Type 5: Administration Software
Admin is often one of the most time consuming tasks for a manager. You need to create documentation, keep accounts up-to-date and administer risks and issues. Yet it is typically the area that you can gain the greatest level of efficiency in, using smart software tools.
By implementing templates to generate documentation quickly and software for your accounts, you can save an enormous amount of time administering, leaving you free to focus on the people side of running a project.
Sample Providers: Method123 for templates, Oracle Projects for accounting
We hope this has given you a brief overview of the types of project management software available in the market so you can reduce the 196 million software search results to just a few!
If you are interested in viewing two great project management solutions, then check these out now...
Project Management Templates
Project Management Methodology
Helping your team to manage project stress...
Helping your team to manage project stress...
We all know what stress is. It is the thing that makes your hair turn grey and your frowns appear more often then smiles. It is natural that projects attract a lot of stress, as you have a fixed set of deliverables to produce in a fixed timeframe and with fixed resources - and all with your project sponsor breathing down your neck!
Positive stress can be generated in an environment which boosts productivity and focuses your team on the end goal. But negative stress is another side-effect, which can demoralize staff, reduce efficiency and de-focus your team. In this type of environment, you need to turn negative stress into positive stress, and to do that, we have listed here some tips and hints to help:
Step 1. Time-Out
Positive stress can only be generated when people within teams have positive relationships. And to create these relationships, the best way is through socializing. Whether it is taking the team out for regular lunches, drinks after work or a sporting activity, getting the team together so they can get to know one-another outside of the project environment is critical to dumping negative stress.
Step 2. Rallying
Your team members have built positive relationships through taking time out to socialize together. Excellent. The next step is now to rally your team around a cause - your project goal!
Schedule monthly "get-togethers" at which you reiterate the project goals, congratulate them on their successes to date and boost their confidence in doing what it takes to complete the project successfully. Make sure that each person leaves the meeting energized and passionate about finishing the remainder of the project.
Step 3. Boosting
Of course, rallying works fine for teams, but it is not enough for individuals. You need to "boost" every team member by making them feel good about themselves and allowing them to gain confidence in completing the tasks assigned. You can do this by: Recognizing great performance when you see it
Conducting staff reviews and providing positive feedback
Offering bonuses for outstanding performance
Reviewing salaries when applicable
Introducing team awards and prizes
Step 4. Pin-Pointing
Often stressed teams have an "instigator". This is a person (or people) who generate a lot of negativity and who influence the performance of others around them. You need to address these people directly.
When you conduct your staff performance reviews, make sure that the negativity of an instigator is identified in these meetings and agree with them on an action plan to help them to improve. Pin-pointing "stress points" or "weak points" in a team is one key element to ensuring project success.
Step 5: Self-Administering
Of course, to resolve team stress effectively, you need to be in the right "frame-of-mind" yourself. If you are negatively stressed, then those around you are likely to be also.
So to "practice what you preach" you need to feel up-beat and positive about the team. You need to feel fit and healthy, focused, yet inspirational! If you can achieve this frame of mind, then you can turn negative stress into positive stress and give your team a real chance at succeeding.
Here are 2 other ways of reducing stress: Use project management templates to make it easier to create project deliverables.
Use a project management methodology to give your team a solid process for delivering projects
We all know what stress is. It is the thing that makes your hair turn grey and your frowns appear more often then smiles. It is natural that projects attract a lot of stress, as you have a fixed set of deliverables to produce in a fixed timeframe and with fixed resources - and all with your project sponsor breathing down your neck!
Positive stress can be generated in an environment which boosts productivity and focuses your team on the end goal. But negative stress is another side-effect, which can demoralize staff, reduce efficiency and de-focus your team. In this type of environment, you need to turn negative stress into positive stress, and to do that, we have listed here some tips and hints to help:
Step 1. Time-Out
Positive stress can only be generated when people within teams have positive relationships. And to create these relationships, the best way is through socializing. Whether it is taking the team out for regular lunches, drinks after work or a sporting activity, getting the team together so they can get to know one-another outside of the project environment is critical to dumping negative stress.
Step 2. Rallying
Your team members have built positive relationships through taking time out to socialize together. Excellent. The next step is now to rally your team around a cause - your project goal!
Schedule monthly "get-togethers" at which you reiterate the project goals, congratulate them on their successes to date and boost their confidence in doing what it takes to complete the project successfully. Make sure that each person leaves the meeting energized and passionate about finishing the remainder of the project.
Step 3. Boosting
Of course, rallying works fine for teams, but it is not enough for individuals. You need to "boost" every team member by making them feel good about themselves and allowing them to gain confidence in completing the tasks assigned. You can do this by: Recognizing great performance when you see it
Conducting staff reviews and providing positive feedback
Offering bonuses for outstanding performance
Reviewing salaries when applicable
Introducing team awards and prizes
Step 4. Pin-Pointing
Often stressed teams have an "instigator". This is a person (or people) who generate a lot of negativity and who influence the performance of others around them. You need to address these people directly.
When you conduct your staff performance reviews, make sure that the negativity of an instigator is identified in these meetings and agree with them on an action plan to help them to improve. Pin-pointing "stress points" or "weak points" in a team is one key element to ensuring project success.
Step 5: Self-Administering
Of course, to resolve team stress effectively, you need to be in the right "frame-of-mind" yourself. If you are negatively stressed, then those around you are likely to be also.
So to "practice what you preach" you need to feel up-beat and positive about the team. You need to feel fit and healthy, focused, yet inspirational! If you can achieve this frame of mind, then you can turn negative stress into positive stress and give your team a real chance at succeeding.
Here are 2 other ways of reducing stress: Use project management templates to make it easier to create project deliverables.
Use a project management methodology to give your team a solid process for delivering projects
Why use a Methodology for Managing Projects
Why use a Methodology for Managing Projects
Of course most managers use a methodology of sorts, whether it be written on post-it notes stuck to their screen, documented in a stack of procedures on their desk, or included in software that they have bought.
Regardless of the type of methodology used, there is one common theme - that it typically helps them to manage projects and therefore improve their project success. Read this newsletter to find out why...
What is a Methodology?
A methodology is "a set of methods, processes and practices that are repeatedly carried out to deliver projects". The key concept is that you repeat the same steps for every project you undertake, and by doing that, you will gain efficiencies in your approach.
What is a Standard?
So what is the difference between a methodology and a standard? A standard is "a collection of knowledge areas that are generally accepted as best practice in the industry".
Standards give you industry guidance, whereas methodologies give you practical processes for managing projects. Standards are not methodologies, and vice versa. The two most popular standards are PMBOK® and Prince2® .
What should be included?
When you buy a project methodology, it should give you:
1. A core set of processes to follow for delivering projects.
2. A set of templates to help you build deliverables quickly.
3. A suite of case studies to help you learn from past projects.
4. An option for customizing the methodology provided.
5. The ability to import your existing processes into it.
MPMM® is the only methodology that provides all of these features.
What will it not do?
A Methodology is not a silver bullet. It will not fix projects by itself or guarantee success. It is fair to say that no methodology "out-of-the-box" will be 100% applicable to every type of project. So you will need to customize any methodology you purchase to ensure that it perfectly fits your project management environment.
Why use a Methodology?
While a methodology is not a silver bullet for projects, it should help you by giving you a clear process for managing projects.
After you have customized it to perfectly fit your environment, your methodology should tell your team what has to be completed to deliver your project, how it should be done, in which order and by when.
Using a methodology you can:
Create a project roadmap
Monitor time, cost and quality
Control change and scope
Minimize risks and issues
Manage staff and suppliers
Of course, you will need to use the elements of the methodology that are most suitable to each project you undertake. For instance, when managing smaller projects, you will only want to apply lightweight processes to your project. And when managing large projects, you should apply the heavyweight processes to monitor and control every element of your project in depth.
But if you can manage every project you undertake in the same way, then you will gain efficiencies with your approach, work smarter and reduce your stress. You will also give your team a clear understanding of what you expect from them and boost your chances of success.
Want a methodology for projects?
Type "project management methodology" into Google and check out the results. You will see MPMM® is ranked as the #1 methodology worldwide.
Download a complete project management methodology
Download an entire kit of project management templates
Of course most managers use a methodology of sorts, whether it be written on post-it notes stuck to their screen, documented in a stack of procedures on their desk, or included in software that they have bought.
Regardless of the type of methodology used, there is one common theme - that it typically helps them to manage projects and therefore improve their project success. Read this newsletter to find out why...
What is a Methodology?
A methodology is "a set of methods, processes and practices that are repeatedly carried out to deliver projects". The key concept is that you repeat the same steps for every project you undertake, and by doing that, you will gain efficiencies in your approach.
What is a Standard?
So what is the difference between a methodology and a standard? A standard is "a collection of knowledge areas that are generally accepted as best practice in the industry".
Standards give you industry guidance, whereas methodologies give you practical processes for managing projects. Standards are not methodologies, and vice versa. The two most popular standards are PMBOK® and Prince2® .
What should be included?
When you buy a project methodology, it should give you:
1. A core set of processes to follow for delivering projects.
2. A set of templates to help you build deliverables quickly.
3. A suite of case studies to help you learn from past projects.
4. An option for customizing the methodology provided.
5. The ability to import your existing processes into it.
MPMM® is the only methodology that provides all of these features.
What will it not do?
A Methodology is not a silver bullet. It will not fix projects by itself or guarantee success. It is fair to say that no methodology "out-of-the-box" will be 100% applicable to every type of project. So you will need to customize any methodology you purchase to ensure that it perfectly fits your project management environment.
Why use a Methodology?
While a methodology is not a silver bullet for projects, it should help you by giving you a clear process for managing projects.
After you have customized it to perfectly fit your environment, your methodology should tell your team what has to be completed to deliver your project, how it should be done, in which order and by when.
Using a methodology you can:
Create a project roadmap
Monitor time, cost and quality
Control change and scope
Minimize risks and issues
Manage staff and suppliers
Of course, you will need to use the elements of the methodology that are most suitable to each project you undertake. For instance, when managing smaller projects, you will only want to apply lightweight processes to your project. And when managing large projects, you should apply the heavyweight processes to monitor and control every element of your project in depth.
But if you can manage every project you undertake in the same way, then you will gain efficiencies with your approach, work smarter and reduce your stress. You will also give your team a clear understanding of what you expect from them and boost your chances of success.
Want a methodology for projects?
Type "project management methodology" into Google and check out the results. You will see MPMM® is ranked as the #1 methodology worldwide.
Download a complete project management methodology
Download an entire kit of project management templates
How to Create a Communications Plan
How to Create a Communications Plan
Using the latest Communications Plan template released today, we have described how to create a bullet-proof Communications Plan for projects. We have provided a snapshot of this template here by listing the 10 steps you need to take to create a Communications Plan for your project.
Step 1: Situation Analysis
The first step to take when creating a Communications Plan is to perform a Situation Analysis. This is a fancy term for researching your existing communications environment.
Review the performance of all communications within your project and identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Then identify any lessons learned from past communications exercises, so that the same mistakes made in the past are not repeated here.
Step 2: Communications Objectives
Great. So you know what your communications strengths are and where you need to improve. You are now ready to set out your communications objectives.
List the top three objectives that you want to achieve from your project communications. For instance, you might want to inform stakeholders of the project progress, boost management buy-in or improve your team productivity.
Step 3: Communications Guidelines
Then set out your communications guidelines for controlling communications within your project. For example, you may decide that:
All messages will be distributed through pre-defined channels
All critical communications will be pre-approved by management
All communications will be tailored, based on stakeholder needs
Step 4: Target Audience
Now define exactly who it is that your team will formally communicate with. Remember, formal communications are a method for controlling the messages sent out by your team. They promote a single consistent view of your project to a specified audience so that "everyone has the same version of the truth".
Step 5: Stakeholder Needs
Each target audience group will have their own needs. These stakeholders will require information that is specific to their role in the project. For instance, a Project Sponsor will need to be informed of high priority risks and issues, whereas a Quality Reviewer might need to be notified of the current status of project deliverables.
Step 6: Key Messages
Then list the key messages that need to be sent to each Stakeholder. Key messages may include project status, project issues, project risks, project deliverables or project resources. The next step is to define how you will deliver each message to them, through a delivery channel.
Step 7: Delivery Channels
There are a huge variety of ways in which you can deliver your key messages to stakeholders (e.g. emails, newsletters, meetings, conferences). For each stakeholder, identify the channel that you will use to deliver your key messages.
Step 8: Communications Schedule
Now you are ready to create the schedule of communications events, activities and actions that are required to deliver the right messages to the right people at the right time throughout the project. Create a detailed schedule of events and for each item listed, specify the timeframes for completion and any dependencies on other events in the schedule.
Step 9: Communications Events
For each event listed in your schedule, describe it in depth. Make sure that you define the purpose of the event, how it will take place and when it should occur.
Step 10: Communications Matrix
And finally, once you have listed the events and described them in detail, you need to identify who will manage them and who will review their effectiveness. Create a Communications Matrix which lists for each event who is accountable for the event, who will take part and who will review its success.
Once you have taken these 10 steps, it is up to you to get your Communications Plan approved by your manager and then execute it to deliver communications efficiently across your project.
And just one last tip - to improve your communications you need honest feedback on your team's performance. Implement feedback measures such as questionnaires, feedback forms and surveys to learn how to continually improve communications within your project team.
To plan communications for your projects...
Download this Communications Plan template now.
Have you already bought this template? If so, then email us with your Transaction ID and we will send you the latest version for free.
Download the entire kit of project management templates
Download a complete project management methodology
Using the latest Communications Plan template released today, we have described how to create a bullet-proof Communications Plan for projects. We have provided a snapshot of this template here by listing the 10 steps you need to take to create a Communications Plan for your project.
Step 1: Situation Analysis
The first step to take when creating a Communications Plan is to perform a Situation Analysis. This is a fancy term for researching your existing communications environment.
Review the performance of all communications within your project and identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Then identify any lessons learned from past communications exercises, so that the same mistakes made in the past are not repeated here.
Step 2: Communications Objectives
Great. So you know what your communications strengths are and where you need to improve. You are now ready to set out your communications objectives.
List the top three objectives that you want to achieve from your project communications. For instance, you might want to inform stakeholders of the project progress, boost management buy-in or improve your team productivity.
Step 3: Communications Guidelines
Then set out your communications guidelines for controlling communications within your project. For example, you may decide that:
All messages will be distributed through pre-defined channels
All critical communications will be pre-approved by management
All communications will be tailored, based on stakeholder needs
Step 4: Target Audience
Now define exactly who it is that your team will formally communicate with. Remember, formal communications are a method for controlling the messages sent out by your team. They promote a single consistent view of your project to a specified audience so that "everyone has the same version of the truth".
Step 5: Stakeholder Needs
Each target audience group will have their own needs. These stakeholders will require information that is specific to their role in the project. For instance, a Project Sponsor will need to be informed of high priority risks and issues, whereas a Quality Reviewer might need to be notified of the current status of project deliverables.
Step 6: Key Messages
Then list the key messages that need to be sent to each Stakeholder. Key messages may include project status, project issues, project risks, project deliverables or project resources. The next step is to define how you will deliver each message to them, through a delivery channel.
Step 7: Delivery Channels
There are a huge variety of ways in which you can deliver your key messages to stakeholders (e.g. emails, newsletters, meetings, conferences). For each stakeholder, identify the channel that you will use to deliver your key messages.
Step 8: Communications Schedule
Now you are ready to create the schedule of communications events, activities and actions that are required to deliver the right messages to the right people at the right time throughout the project. Create a detailed schedule of events and for each item listed, specify the timeframes for completion and any dependencies on other events in the schedule.
Step 9: Communications Events
For each event listed in your schedule, describe it in depth. Make sure that you define the purpose of the event, how it will take place and when it should occur.
Step 10: Communications Matrix
And finally, once you have listed the events and described them in detail, you need to identify who will manage them and who will review their effectiveness. Create a Communications Matrix which lists for each event who is accountable for the event, who will take part and who will review its success.
Once you have taken these 10 steps, it is up to you to get your Communications Plan approved by your manager and then execute it to deliver communications efficiently across your project.
And just one last tip - to improve your communications you need honest feedback on your team's performance. Implement feedback measures such as questionnaires, feedback forms and surveys to learn how to continually improve communications within your project team.
To plan communications for your projects...
Download this Communications Plan template now.
Have you already bought this template? If so, then email us with your Transaction ID and we will send you the latest version for free.
Download the entire kit of project management templates
Download a complete project management methodology
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