|
January 2005
Ten Secrets to a Smooth-Running Project
By Deborah Hoard, President, Net Results
It’s 11 am on Thursday, with a Friday deadline looming. Information you need still hasn’t arrived. Other team
members haven’t provided you with the cooperation, focus, or time you were expecting from them. Your manager hasn’t
given his input on the content, and you can’t move forward without it. Through no fault of your own, the project
you’re managing is off track. You’re not alone.
This happens so frequently, that there are businesses that capitalize on this scenario. However, a more systematic
approach can effectively avoid delays and keep your projects moving forward. By implementing the following ten project
management tips, you’ll be able to meet deadlines, stay in budget, gain cooperation, obtain buy-in from executive
management, and make your manager and team happy—all with minimal stress.
Gather the Key People You Need for Your Team
Make sure your core team includes people who can answer critical questions. This can include anyone from the
people doing the actual work to those familiar with executive managements’ direction. You should also recruit
those individuals in your organization responsible for final decisions on objectives, budgets, and key project
milestones.
Be Clear About What the Project Should Accomplish
Members driving towards different goals is the most common mistake made by project teams, and one that is
easy to overcome with a few simple steps. Before work on the project begins, have the core team: P
- Identify objectives and key messages
- Define the target audience and competition
- Outline the strategy and tactics
- Determine milestones, measurements, and budget
- Capture the above information in a formal document, like a creative brief used in marketing communication
projects, to guide your team throughout the process
Obtain Buy-in from Executive Management
Once you complete the final draft of your document present it to executive management for their blessing. If you
have the right people on your team, your plan should accurately reflect management’s goals, therefore, obtaining
buy-in is simply a formality. Having their approval and commitment to the project makes it easier to work with their
staff.
Know Your Budget
You should finalize your budget as part of the management-approval process. Allocate the available funds to the
various project elements, and keep a strict accounting of all costs, so there are no surprises at the end—such as
running out of money before you’re finished.
Create Your Schedule
Not having a schedule is like driving without knowing which roads are necessary to reach your destination.
Creating a schedule is easy:
- Determine the project’s key milestones
- Assign owners and dates to each of them
- Distribute the schedule to the project team
- Update the schedule on a regular basis as the milestones change, so no one misses a deadline
Set Reasonable Expectations
This is easier said than done, but it’s important that everyone—team members and executive
management—understand what you can and can’t accomplish within the established timeframe and budget. Pushing
the envelope is fine. However, if you push too far, quality—along with deadlines—will slip and the project
will suffer.
Line Up Your Reviewers
Ideally, you’ve already identified those individuals who should review the project, and you have their
commitment to adhere to the timeline. Nevertheless, give them a few days notice before they need to review
something, so they can arrange their schedule accordingly.
Lead Weekly Team Meetings
To keep communications flowing freely among your team, be sure to schedule brief weekly meetings with your core
members to discuss obstacles and brainstorm solutions, provide progress reports, and identify action items.
Distribute the meeting notes soon after to the wider team, including executive management.
Check In Frequently with Your Team
This can be as easy as a brief conversation in the hallway or a quick email or phone call to find out how
things are going. Touching base daily helps you react quickly to problems and resolve them before they impact the
project deadline.
Understand That Things Will Go Wrong
No matter how carefully you plan, I guarantee that at least one thing will go wrong, such as the product not
working as expected or a new vice president who wants to imprint her vision on your project. The key is remaining
calm. Maintaining your composure—coupled with a strong team with whom you can brainstorm—helps ensure
that you’ll still keep the project on track.
While these tips won’t eliminate last-minute “fire drills” from your project, they will ensure that they don’t
become the norm. Remember to prepare up front by building a strong team, documenting project details formally, and
obtaining executive buy-in. After that, you simply need to maintain momentum by holding people to their deliverables
and being prepared for that inevitable “bump in the road.” And don’t forget your sense of humor—it always
makes projects easier to handle.
Deborah Hoard, founder and president of Net Results,
has more than 16 years experience successfully turning around critical marketing communication projects that are
in danger of missing deadlines. Her clients include Apple Computer Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Informatica, Inc.,
Maxtor Corporation, and Oracle Corporation.
|
