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The major criteria for successful project management are delivering projects within the
deadline and with quality. It is common knowledge. But achieving it is equally uncommon!
Time and quality parameters are most sought after while executing projects. And the logic
lies right in the definition of a project: an endeavour which has a defined goal to be met
within specified timelines.
Now, driving a project to successful completion involves a lot of planning, structuring &
anticipating tasks and events.
Along with it you need to ensure you have the right resources, skills, tools and processes in
place to execute the plan effectively.
Primarily, you need to remember that it is a team effort and not a one man job. Your team
needs to be aligned with the project goal and any half-hearted measures by a single team
member can derail your project.
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2.
The entire project team, supporting processes and technology must all work in sync like a
single well-oiled machine. Any chunks in your armour and everything go into chaos.
To achieve this you must pay equal attention to all aspects of your project right from
initiation, planning, execution, monitoring to closure.
Have an approved Scope and Prevent Scope Creep
In our excitement to get going with a new client or business often times we end up leaving a
few loose ends. And they come back to haunt us at the most inauspicious of times and
situations.
Before you even think of project execution spend enough time and efforts in due diligence
and getti ng the scope signed-off from the project stakeholders.
Scope document is the project bible. Any issues that may arise during the course of the
project can be resolved successfully, if there is an agreed scope.
Moreover, you wouldn’t end up in a situation at all if you have done the scope sign-off right!
To that effect, your Scope document must have:
Absolute clarity of all deliverables expected from the project
Delivery schedule of all milestones
Proper milestone to deliverable mapping
Associated cost (agreed budget) for the entire project plus at a milestone level
Acceptance criteria of the deliverables
Change management process for managing scope changes
Resource management plan
Once you have managed to get these done successfully you are sure to enjoy the following
benefits:
Better stakeholder expectation management
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3. Increased clarity around project goals
Well-aligned project team
Negligible scope change requests
Focused milestone planning & execution
This sets the tone for effective planning & timely delivery of your project.
Get the Task Breakdown Structure right (WBS)
Refer to the project milestone(s) schedule and start with your tasks management &
milestone break down activity.
This is where you:
identify and create all tasks, subtasks, checklists
categorize your tasks with relevant custom task types and labels
define recurrence and set reminders against tasks as applicable
manage task interdependencies & task linking
prepare task estimation, start & end dates
plan your resource allocation
assess skill gaps, training needs & other technology requirements
The sole objective of getti ng your task breakdown right is providing your team absolute
transparency w.r.t the project plan and what are the desired outcomes.
As a result, the teams have:
awareness of the project goals
clarity around task deadlines
visibility of the overall execution flow
understanding of their roles and responsibilities
opportunity for up skilling themselves
What makes this interesting is the fact that the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) is well answered;
there is a clear path forward with no scope for uncertainty. Thus knocking off assigned tasks
becomes easier and fun!
Set the project flow
Just as you are ready to get into the execution mode, make sure your project flow is well-
defined and contributes directly to the associated deliverables.
Your project will include multiple moving parts at the same time. While you are busy
acquiring resources, your team is churning out 1000s of emails, creating multiple
documents, using multiple tools simultaneously and building silos. Prevent it!
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4. Hence, have a well-defined process in place that gives a logical flow to your tasks from start
to end.
Be it your communication plan, recruitment, procurement, development, bug tracking or
content management use distinctive project templates and flows to prevent missteps.
By doing this, you get to
align your people and processes
prevent repetitive manual efforts
eliminate human errors
automate flow of events
improve process adherence
And most importantly, keep the team from entering in to chaos.
Communicate for success
A project communication management plan is a must for your teams.
Spend time to make one at the beginning of the project and ensure everyone in the team
has access to it.
Lack or untimely communication will not only disrupt the proceedings but will delay or
entirely derail the project progress.
And you can very well prevent it by have a communication plan that:
defines what to communicate with whom and when
provides a definite communication medium – emails, chats, meetings, reports
sets the reporting requirements and criteria
addresses the reporting needs of all stakeholders
states which information is to be logged where, when, by whom
has well defined cut-off times
details the RACI matrix
The key here is to ensure that the team knows whom to reach out in case of emergencies,
can collaborate on a common medium and keep all information exchange centralized and
easily accessible with minimum to no red tape.
Thus, the team is well equipped to proactively handle delays, anticipate any risks and course
correct as soon as possible.
Monitor, Measure & Optimize
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5. Project progress tracking and reporting is critical to streamlined execution. It is a
continuous process.
You are well-off when any outliers are quickly identified and addressed.
More importantly, unless you track progress regularly you wouldn’t know if the execution is
in sync with the deadlines. .
Identify what works best for your teams in terms of status update meetings and reports.
Some very effective ways of enabling collaboration, resolving issues faster and staying on-
course with the deadline include
daily stand-up meetings- 15-30mins depending on team size
automated check-ins- preferably daily
real time task status reports
overdue tasks report
planned vs. actual hours spent report
resource allocation report
resource availability report
@mentions for task posts and replies
Understanding the nature of the project and identifying issue trends goes a long way in
delivering quality outcomes.
You not only know where you are headed, but can identify growth opportunities, balance
workloads, reprioritize tasks and provide feedback before it’s too late!
Conclusion
As complex as it may sound, a holistic approach can help your team ensure they meet
deadlines without much of a hassle.
To that effect:
Streamline project communication
Enable and welcome feedbacks
Be available for your team
Keep your team motivated
Provide 360 visibility of the project requirements and goals
Use a project management tool
Using a centralized task, time and resource management team ensures
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6. collaboration and communication is streamlined
roles based access control ensures data confidentiality & integrity
information is accessible anytime, anywhere
remote team management is simplified
overall project management is easy and smooth
What’s your plan for deadline management and delivering project on time in 2021?
Looking for a trusted project management tool. Get started today!
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