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Successful Project Management - Project Managers’ Best Practices

September 21, 2008 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Project Management Best Practices

Successful Project Management - Project Managers’ Best Practices
By Abhijat Saraswat

Project management skills are essential whether you are a high profile project manager, a student or any other individual. Most of my experience in project management has come from my student years, but I have noticed that no matter what level of management you are involved in the fundamentals remain the same.

Here I discuss some of the key processes for success in project management. These can and should be applied at any and all levels of management and I especially encourage students to use these when taking on a big project (dissertations, thesis etc).

Why project manage?

Projects come in all shapes and sizes from the simple and straight-forward to the large and unmentionably complex. With most projects a multitude of outcomes are possible and project management is needed to carefully plan, analyse and deliver the result you (and/or your client) want.

However for most people when project management is mentioned, they quickly think of large organisations and highly specialised, and usually miserable, individuals - “the suits”. But, project management exists at all levels and concerns just about everything.

The project management process

I found that by applying a few simple, and ofttimes obvious, project management techniques the entire project can be completed with ease, without much stress and usually ahead of time. These techniques are applicable as much to the micro-projects as they are to the larger more upscale projects.

  1. Define the project: This is where you describe the project itself - what are the aims of the project and what you wish to deliver. State the basic parameters (timescales, budget etc.) as well as any other details (frequency of meetings, for example) and most importantly decide how progress and results will be measured. If working within a large team you want to create expectations for each member of the team, by which they will be judged - this not only helps everyone get a good idea of their roles but also helps later on if people start blaming each other incompetency.
  2. Plan the project: It is usually more helpful to work backwards, with the end in mind. This is even more important with the larger projects, where several activities will be running parallel and some activities must be completed before another begins. But whatever the size of the project you’re looking to plan the following:
    • Timescale - how long do you have to complete the project and how much time can be spent on each stage. Plan this so you have at least some time left at end as most projects tend to overrun.
    • The team – the most important step here is to carefully select your team based on individual expertise. This should be done as soon as possible, so that your team is able to contribute right from the start.
    • Other tools – there are many project planning tools available and two of the most popular are by using Critical Path Analysis (CPA) charts and Gantt charts.
    • Contingency planning – this is crucial in projects where results cannot be absolutely guaranteed. Contingency planning all about preparing fall backs, and answering the questions “what if this goes wrong”? Ideally you want a contingency plan allows for additional budget, resources and time.
  3. Delegate project actions: As a general rule, the bigger the project the more people will be involved, and without careful delegation it is likely the project will either fail or will not be completed to required standards. For each task that needs to be delegated following a few simple guidelines will make sure that everyone is happy.
    • Define the task – does the task really need delegating?
    • Select the best individual(s) – does it require one person or a team? What will they get out of it?
    • Give reasons – explain why you are delegating and why to that particular individual/team?
    • Agree – both parties must agree on realistic deadline and desired result. You must both have a clear idea of the finished assignment and exactly when it needs to be done.
    • Feedback – this is the one stage that is often overlooked. How are they doing? What can they improve? What are the strong points? This must be done throughout the task, not just at the end.
  4. Communication and support: Constantly keep in touch with everyone involved in the project – offer support for any issues that arise and praise for job well done. This will help you gauge how will the project is progressing as well as allow for any adjustments to be made.
  5. Project review: Having successfully completed ahead of time, congratulate and reward those involved. Give feedback on what was done well and what could be improved next time around; refrain from assigning blame. Note any follow issues and delegate as necessary.
  6. Move on to the next project.

There you have it - project management in a nutshell. Of course the level of detail you apply each step with will vary considerably with the size of the project, for example if you’re working on your dissertation you wouldn’t generally delegate any tasks, but it that case you’d be in constant communication with your supervisor.

Overall completing a project, no matter the size, to the desired specification (time, budget etc) is an amazing achievement, and in my personal experience one that provides the drive for many future projects.

Abhijat Saraswat is a student of many subjects with particular interest in synergy between coaching and business practices. He has many years experience with customer service and management, working for firms such as the National Health Service (NHS, UK) and ING Direct (UK). He is currently working at Harte-Hanks and writes regularly at abhijatsaraswat.com.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 and is filed under Project Management Best Practices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 people have left comments

[...] The key point to be made is that the project manager is expected to be the leader of the project. Successful project managers have used many different styles and methods of leadership, depending on their own personalities, [...]

Leadership by the Project Manager - PM Hut wrote on March 16, 2009 - 4:31 pm | Visit Link

what are the pros and cons of in house training of architectural PM’s vs. trained proffessional PM’s being hired to manage the architects?

Thanks.

trent wrote on August 20, 2009 - 3:08 am | Visit Link

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