Showing posts with label Project Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Project Management. Show all posts

A Glossary of Useful Terminology for Microsoft Project Management

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The purpose of this article is to go through the main components and terms used in Microsoft Project and make them easier to understand. Project planners speak in a short hand that often excludes even computer literate individuals.
Project software and project management is very jargon laden this article will attempt to simply key project jargon for a new user. I for one have seen a dozen people sitting around a project plan discussing whether the new WBS might help the variance between the baseline plan and the project actual only the project planner who was talking really knew what was going on.

What is a Project?
A project is any discrete set of interconnecting task with a defined start and end date. For example moving an office from location A to B would have a defined start date and a finish date culminating in a final launch party.
What are Tasks?
A task is any piece of work requiring effort. For example moving offices might require 4 hours of work effort.
Durations
Work and duration is not always the same thing. Monday to Friday I may have a five day task in duration writing a report but my intention is too only spend 50% of my time (work effort) on it.
Milestones
Some tasks have no duration. Mile stone tasks have zero duration. Let's say that during a project moving an office from A to B a decision needs to be made between two similar sites. This meeting to decide the location would be described as a stage or milestone. Milestone tasks are displayed by default in MS Project with a diamond shape.
Linking Tasks
Everyone understands the concept that one task finishes; let's say distributing boxes and the next one begins packing files. This is a linear of the world. The reverse is also true one task cannot finish until another has begun. For example the canary down the coal mine cannot retire until the new air monitoring system is up and running. It is also possible that two tasks could start at the same time. In the new offices one tradesman could be laying carpet tiles in the same room at the same time as a painter tackling the ceiling. Similarly two tasks could have a finish to finish relationship packing the furniture and computer might have a finish to finish relationship with each other in readiness for the next task of moving everything to the new office. A final possibility might be that two tasks have no logical relationship with each other but just need to be independently completed before the project is completed.
Format Time-scale
If a hospital was creating a template for the perfect heart bypass operation they would be working in hours and minutes but if London Underground were replacing an escalator they would be working in day, weeks and months.
Network Diagram
It is possible to view your project plan in many ways one is a network diagram which is a flow diagram to show how the tasks relate to each other
Gantt chart
This few shows the task names on the left hand side of the screen and displays the tasks as bars on the right hand side underneath a time scale. Gantt charts were initially named after a planner called Henry Laurence Gantt who worked as a mechanical engineer famous for his highly visual scheduling and monitoring diagram. Gantt Charts are drawn to display planned and actual project progress. A commonly accepted project management instrument these days, it was an innovation of world-wide significance in created while ship building during World War 1. Gantt charts were subsequently used to monitor large construction projects like the Hoover Dam started in 1931 and Terminal 5 at Heathrow in London.
Critical Path
The shortest route through a series of interrelated tasks. Should a task on the critical path slip then the end date of the project would be jeopardized.
Critical Path
Most projects contain a large number of tasks. The critical path is the order of tasks that must be finished for the project to be considered complete. This path dictates the final finish date of your project plan.
The critical path is not primarily a list of vital tasks. It is a specific sequence of tasks, each task depending on the last.
As the project progresses, different sequences might be named as critical. Consider a project with two vital task sequences which we'll call selecting the new office site and Moving in to new offices. At the onset, the first task is projected to take 9 months and the second is projected to take 6 months. Since the first task will take longer and is deemed as being on the critical path.
After three months work, should the first task perform ahead of schedule with a new estimate of 5 additional months more while the second has been delayed by three moths the latter task would now be on the critical path?
What is a Critical Task
The definition of a critical task is any task that with a change of duration may positively or negatively affect the end date of the project if delayed
Tracking the Critical Path
The Gantt chart and network diagram two classic views in MS Project will display critical tasks and links in red automatically to make these tasks easier to observe and report.
Slack Time
Total slack is the amount of time that lies off the critical path. In other words changes to the duration of these tasks may or may not affect the critical path.
Slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed and still be on schedule. A 5 day task with a 10 day deadline has 5 days of slack. A task with no slack is automatically critical. Imagine two tasks due to finish at the same time. Packing computer equipment with one day of duration and packing files with four days duration. If they both started at the same time the pack equipment tasks would have three days of slack.
Project Calendar
At its simplest this means remember to put in the bank holidays. Otherwise at a meeting when someone notices a task that may be should have happened on a Monday slips to the
Task Constraints
There are two main types of constraint in project called soft constraints and hard constraints. An example of a cost constraint would be when moving an office from A to B disconnect the computers as late as possible so people can still send and receive emails. No specific date in mind. As an example of a hard constraint imagine that when the office has moved the computers need setting up and you need to book in a network engineer. This would be an example of a hard constraint the work must be executed on that booked day.
Splitting Large Tasks
Some times a task name might be too general to manage. You might have a task called Selecting the site (duration 20 days). However, this could by split down into smaller tasks known as subtasks i.e. within the larger task Plan the move there might be smaller task to talk to a solicitor, draw up site layouts for prospective sites, check transport links etc. When linked din this way the major task is referred to as a summary bar.
Project Resources
These are the people, rooms, equipment, Materials that will be used or consumed by the project. These resources can be prioritized so that if for example a solicitor was over allocated work and expected to complete to reports each taking ( 8 hours) on the.
It would be possible to use different techniques to level out their workloads 
Resources also have calendars which can be used to enter their holidays and also any delays in their schedule caused by sickness for example.
Lags leads and Delays
When moving an office from A to B half way through the task of distributing boxes presumably some one has a box therefore packing could begin. Or you could say 1 hour into the task distributing boxes the task of packing could begin.
An alternative could be the new office is being painted so a lap or gap of 2 days might be left for the paint to dry before the new carpets are laid.
A delay is different to a lag. Imagine the painter were due to start painting on the Monday but didn't arrive on site to scheduling error until Tuesday this would be an unforeseen delay
Resource Driven v Fixed Duration
If it takes 1 day for a driver to get from London to Glasgow how long would it take two driver? Of course the answer is the same maybe longer if they chat. However, if two people are packing files instead of one you would expect the task to be complete quickly, the first example is fixed duration and the other is resource driven
Tracking & Baseline Plans
If you imagine your project plan is a boat race between Oxford and Cambridge. Your Boat is Oxford (the schedule what you have told your colleagues will happen) tracking allows you to create a second boat Cambridge which is what actually happened. Every task in your schedule is a boat with an alter ego boat to track what actually happened. You can see which tasks started and finished earlier or later than expected. This is called tracking the variance between the base line plan (the schedule you have set or announced and the actual outcome
Project Costings
It is also possible add cost information to both tasks and resources. It could be that distributing boxes as a task has a fixed cost of £1000 but the
WBS
Work breakdown structure is just a notation eg 1.1, 1.2 a number sequence next to the tasks to make it easier to understand.

What is the Value of Having PMP®​ Certification?

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Just what is a PMP certification and why does it add so much value to the people who hold it? The reason is mostly due to the fact that the Project Management Institute issues the certification. The Project Management Institute, or PMI, is a global organization, with chapters in all but about four countries throughout the world. PMI has a rigorous criteria and a very difficult - many might say mentally abusive exam, which potential PMPs must pass before they can become certified.

There are two categories of people who can pursue PMP certification. The first category is for those who have college degrees. People in this category must have 4,500 hours of continuous, non-overlapping project management experience for 36 consecutive months within the past five years. The second category includes those project managers who have not attended college. People in this category must have 7,500 hours of continuous, non-overlapping project management experience for 60 months over an eight-year period. Both categories must also prove that they have participated in 35 hours of project management training within the past ten years.

Project Managers who meet either category must file an eligibility application with PMI. Once PMI reviews an application and determines if a candidate is eligible, they release an eligibility letter. A candidate then receives the eligibility letter to take the PMP certification exam.

The certification exam is a difficult one. The industry standard pass rate is rumored at 60%.

Presently there are in excess of 100,000 PMI members, with many others joining PMI to pursue the PMP certification.

Based on the salary increases experienced by IT professionals with the PMP, this credential carries some clout and is capturing great interest. Membership statistics from PMI indicate that the Computers/Software/DP and IT industries are the top two industry areas among PMI members, with about 15,000 and 12,000 members respectively in each industry category (estimated in 2005).

In whatever way people prepare to become certified Project Managers, the benefits are immeasurable to both the employee and the employer. Employees are rewarded with increased salaries, job promotions, and in general, better job prospects. Employers who use PMPs are assured that they have hired Project Managers who have a core competency in Project Management and the requisite experience to perform as a project manager. Studies have shown that projects managed by people who are not certified Project Managers have only a 25% chance of success, whereas projects run by those who are knowledgeable in Modern Project Management tools and techniques - as are people with the PMP certification - have a 75% success rate.

We offer 184 Project Management Templates to Download & Free Samples. Visit the Offer Here

How Does & Why Does a Project Fail?

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Generally the projects taken up by IT industries that are not as well established as the banking and insurance industries fail due to certain reasons. And in general the project manager is to blame for this failure of the project. The PM who may be in charge of the project may be responsible in one or the other way, but the whole blame cannot be put on the PM. There are other reasons too for an Information Technology sectors project failure. Moreover every project has its pros and cons, the PM has to take up the project that is allotted to him by his superiors, if the actual base of the project is not good and the project fails, then how is the PM who is under the orders of his superior to be responsible for the whole failure. The PM can do everything in his power to avoid failure by taking care of a certain steps and keep the project safe.

These few steps that should be taken care by the manager are as follows; the PM should take care that there is proper user involvement in the project, because in general if there is no user involvement in the project then the management lacks the commitment toward the project, in this case the PM can be blamed. If the project has long or unrealistic time lines then the management has to see to that the project does not become obsolete or unusable for the company or the client. The PM's main aim should be to finish the possible as early as possible.

If the client does not specify any requirements then the project management just assumes what are the necessities of the project and also of the client and do something of their own, in such cases the client will reject the project as it may have not been what he expected. Under this kind of circumstances the PM and the management together should put various ideas in front of the client, make several brain storming sessions along with them, then select the ideal that is better for the client and implement that idea so that when the end result comes the both the management of project and the client are satisfied by the outcome of the project.

The project fails if the management cannot accept change and cannot implement the change. The PM has to see to that the project has a proper change management system that will allow the project to make changes according to the will and wish of the client. The testing group in the project or the developers should make a lot of testing on the process of the project, or the market reach of the project, to ensure that the project once it is in the market will be readily acceptable and will make the right impression that it was supposed to make. If the PM does not implement these simple rules then the project is sure to be a failure.

How to Speed Up Your Project

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Project Handling in not an easy task especially if the project is a big one. You might try to keep yourself organized but there are chances when you can get messed up. However, there is an easy and efficient way to keep your work well updated and organized and that is using project management templates. Project templates can ease your burden of keeping a regular check on every small single detail of the project. It is a symbol of advance and intelligent planning and organization. Your project management work will seem to be very simple and you will be able to handle it in the right way with the help of templates.

Planning is the most important aspect of any work or project. Lack of planning can lead to many problems which might ruin the whole project. Some people simply overlook or ignore the whole planning process which leads to problems like incomplete project or their project work exceeds the estimated budget. Thus, it is important that you plan your work well in advance before starting any project. Take a piece of paper and make a list of all the important things you have to implement in the project. You might come across some problems while planning however, you will figure out some way to deal with them later. Planning will also help you save your resources and work in your budget which will eventually lead to a successful completion.

There are many ways to create a plan for the project like creating diagrams or flow charts. However, it can become very hectic as there are many aspects you have to plan for. Instead you can use ready made project templates where you just have to fill in the information just like you fill a form and distribute copies amongst your staff or members. These templates will help you in planning out important aspects of the project like completion of the project before the deadline, delegation of work and coming up with solutions in case you have any problems. There are several websites who offer these templates. You have to find out which template suits your requirements the best.

There are many advantages of project templates. They give a strong base and a good structure to your planning process. It is better to prepare it in a simple format so that everyone understands it. A well prepared template will boost the confidence level of the staff and members and also enable decision making. It will maintain your focus on the project and guide you the next level if you have lost track of what you were doing. It will also speed up the entire process which will save a lot of time. The templates will also help in ensuring that there is proper communication between the members and the staff as lack of communication can affect the project adversely.

Top Ten Tips For Project Managers

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A project manager is the person responsible for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key project management techniques include creating and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraints for projects, which cost time, money and quality. A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client based on the knowledge the firm they are representing. The term ‘project manager’ has come to be used generically to describe anyone given responsibility to complete a project. However it is used more aptly to describe a person with full responsibility and having the level of authority that is required to complete a project. Here we look into some tips for the project managers. These tips are designed to provide them with an insight how to handle projects and a project team. This articles throws light on to how best to handle a project team and the best methods to illicit the best result from them.


Know your role: 
Project managers must understand truly what their role in the group is. Even though you may be the leader of the group, your primary concern must be the group itself.
Understanding the value of your employees: 
Project manager must realize that you are not a one man team, but that all of the employees must work as a group to create a successful project. Try to provide all the requirements that your employees need. Remove the obstacles they might be facing. So all in all work hard to help your employees complete their jobs.
Keep fairness in mind: 
Avoid playing favorites to certain people of your group or even putting your ambitions above that of the group. It is very important to keep up the morale of the group. If not, it will destroy the project management completely.
Respect your employees: 
Give due respect to your employees. Treating them badly or even criticizing in public is enough to undermine respect and confidence in them. In project management mistakes will occur, but you have to be tactful in handling these mistakes.
Utilization of your employee’s potential: 
Evaluate your employee’s potential and the areas in which he is strong in. Project managers utilize them in such a way that their strengths are used more, so that not only does your team benefit from this but also your employee’s confidence sky rockets.
Encourage success: 
When any member of your team achieves a very tough task, make sure that you appreciate it. Let the others know of this achievement so that it will be an incentive for them to achieve such accomplishments.
Give prompt feedbacks: 
Project managers must always be in touch with the progress that your employees make and respond to their work. This will blood better communication and productivity.
Make small changes: 
In a group, disparities between members are expected. Don’t expect people to change overnight. Change small things here and there, and you will achieve long term solutions.
Make mistakes as a stepping stone: 
When your team makes mistakes, support them and rectify it. Also take effort in pointing out where and how the mistake occurred. Make sure they learn how to recognize the mistake in the future.
Pull down your ego: 
If someone is better than you in your group, it is not a reason for jealousy. Project managers must understand that it is more helpful for your team. Ego and insecurities could shred apart your entire team and project apart.

What Are The Good Things of Being a Good Project Manager

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If you want to be a good PM then there are certain good rules that you must follow to be one. First of all if your company has its own project management techniques then follow it effectively, if not, read upon the latest advancements and choose the management technique that has been tried and successful in similar projects like the one you are working on. It is better that you have a person as your mentor who will be able to guide you in tricky situations, it is not weak to ask for help, on the other hand it is really beneficial to your project and your team. You should make ready every element like the necessary software systems ready so as to make your work better. You must not go in search of these elements when you are concentrating on the project. Templates can be useful too if you have already worked on such projects.

A project manager is a really high post where many people suffer because of the lack of leadership skills and also because they have a very bad team who will not listen to one word they are saying. PMs also have another problem, bosses who think they are superior and do not consider the PM or the project experts. In such cases the project management becomes weak and this leads to the failure of the project. In other cases when there is a good PM he will think of new ways to make his way with his team and also deal with the bosses in such a way which is beneficial for both of them. Being a PM comes with a very high social responsibility and it also comes with a level of dignity and respect among the team members. The leadership skills of a good PM spreads in the market like wildfire and his market value is constantly on the rise giving him a competitive edge over other competitors.

Create a plan that will be better for your project. This plan must be creative and also efficient in the same way. If you are making a plan it must not be superficial make it to believable terms. The next step is to communicate your plan to the stakeholders of the project like the clients, government, the management etc. Once these stakeholders give their consent for the project your job as the PM is to carefully manage and track the progress of the project. In case there is any problem in the project it should be reported to the project management immediately.

As the project manager one of your most important duties is to manage all risks and issues correctly. If you are fretting in the wrong moment with a problem it would destroy the whole project. The next step is that you should maintain the progress report of the project process carefully and constantly and submit it to the project management from time to time. This serves as evidence. The final and the most important thing is deliver the project on time and also just the way they like it.

Why a Manager is too much Worried about Losing his Job or Professional Career in Management

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We made mistake in management and we learn from them. If we don’t learn from mistakes then we become worried about losing the job or failing of our project. A lots of management mistakes should be discussed here but we always believe in urgent and important. So I am just discussing five management mistakes that I think that most worst. If you are a People Manager or Project Manager and still making these five mistakes in management then you must be worried about losing your job. So avoid them and don’t worry.
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Why a Manager is too much Worried about Losing his Job or Professional Career in Management


We offer 184 Project Management Templates to Download & Free Samples. Visit the Offer Here

Project Management Knowledge Areas

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As you know projects are short-term endeavors to create a unique product or service. Projects are out of the normal duties you do as part of your operations.Projects are constrained by time, cost, and scope -- and other constraints such as regulations, resources, or even vendors.
The Iron Triangle of project management posits that all projects are constrained by time, cost, and scope. If one angle of the project is out whack the whole project suffers in the field of project management.

Remember 20 Points to Get Success in Management

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1. You will receive opportunities. You must prepare for them. They will continue to come as long as you are ready.Some may not look like opportunities at the time, and some will be better than others. You cannot take care of all of them properly, so you must carefully choose the best and forget about the rest.
2. There are no mistakes, only lessons.
3. A lesson is repeated until learned. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson. Learning lessons does not end.
4. There is never enough time.
5. There is never enough information.
6. There will always be a better way, but there is never a better time than now.
7. Ask always: "Is there a better way to do this?"
8. Project confidence. Soon, you may even feel confident.
9. Never embarrass your boss.
10. Tell your people to tell you about problems before they embarrass you.
11. Deliver bad news as soon as possible.
12. Your credibility is made up of requests and promises. Learn to make and keep both, and don't waste either.
13. Getting it done is what it is all about.
14. Taking care of your customers (clients) and your staff is good business.
15. Avoid surprises, except those that are pleasant surprises for your customers (clients).
16. Your customers (clients) needs come first, your staff's needs are next, and your needs rarely matter.
17. Keep the big picture in focus.
18. That which is measured is improved.
19. Your expectations of others become true.
20. Your answers lie with you. You get to make all the important choices.

Three Tools for Project Managaers

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Project manager can not work well without project management tools. There is a long list of project management tools. I am giving overview for three which are  very useful. I Hope It would help you to be more efficient at projects.
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Three Tools for Project Managaers

What are the basic principles of IT project management?

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Traditional project management, as it’s used in construction or manufacturing, deals with solid, tangible elements. Instead, IT project management is complicated by shifting business needs and demanding stakeholders. Because good IT project management is difficult to execute, we’ve come up with a list of common questions and answers to explain its importance and make it easier to master.

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What are the basic principles of IT project management?


We offer 184 Project Management Templates to Download & Free Samples. Visit the Offer Here

10 Signs of Project Failure

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10 Signs of Project Failure

We offer 184 Project Management Templates to Download & Free Samples. Visit the Offer Here

Ten Tips for Monitoring and Reviewing Your Project

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1. Have a clear project management monitoring and reviewing process – agreed by senior managers - the project sponsor and the project Board, if you have one.
2. Ensure your organisation’s corporate governance structure and your project management monitoring and control structure are compatible. If you do not know whether this is the case then seek senior management involvement.
3. Be aware early in the project what will be monitored, how they will be monitored and the frequency.
4. Keep accurate records of your project not only for audit purposes but to ensure you have documents which enable you to monitor changes.
5. Use a Planned v. Actual form.  It is easy to create – it allows you to monitor how you are progressing with specific tasks – time and money. Link these forms into milestone reviews.
6. Identify with your sponsor the type of control that is needed – loose or tight or a variation of these, e.g. tight at the start, loose in the middle, tight at the end.  Ensure the system you develop reflects the type of control intended.
7. Agree a system for project changes – have an agreed system for monitoring and approving changes.  Use change control forms and obtain formal sign off (agreement) by the sponsor, before action a change.  Look for the impact of the change on the project scope as well as the “key driver” - quality, and cost and time.
8. Appoint someone to be responsible for project quality especially in larger projects.  Review quality formally with the client at agreed milestone dates.
9. Make certain you have agreed who can sanction changes in the absence of your sponsor. If you haven’t agreed this, what will you do in their absence?
10. Set a time limit for project meetings to review progress. Have an agenda with times against each item and summarise after each item at the end of the meeting.
We offer 184 Project Management Templates to Download & Free Samples. Visit the Offer Here

Complete Your Project in 7 Steps | Best Helping Tips For New Managers

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Management of the thing is not reserved only for highly mentally gifted.A manager should have a system for how to work through problems, which they may or may not be conscious of. Once you learn the system,you can use it to solve the all management problems the way manager do.The difference between them and you is that they've simply used their system longer than you have.
Here are the 7 steps to complete a project from start to end.
1. Identification
A geniuses manager spend a large portion of  time in identifying the true problem. They understand that a problem can be resolved once and for all if they can identify its causes. When the root causes of a problem are found, all of the symptoms of that problem also vanish. It's the equivalent of killing 10 birds with one stone.Plan on spending a lot of time and thought on finding the real problem. If you begin with a symptom, ask yourself what causes it to be a problem for you. When you find an answer, ask yourself again what cause it to be a problem for you. Somewhere between 5 and 10 "why's" deep, you'll find the root cause of the problem.
2. Mindset
When we have a "big" problem in our lives, we sometimes become overwhelmed by it. We see it as insurmountable. We don't believe we can get passed it and it becomes a major source of stress and worry. Since we can't see life without this problem, it seems unsolvable. Our thoughts repeat on the phrase, "it's impossible". Our mindset is that this problem has us in its grasps. Geniuses believe that all problems are temporary and solvable.
3. Vision
In "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," Stephen Covey lists one habit as "begin with the end in mind". This is what a geniuses manager do, and you can do it too. Know where you are going before you try to get there. Knowing the end state, and keeping it in mind until the problem(s) is/are solved is a major contributor towards resolution.
4. Brainstorm
When someone begins to think of solutions to a problem, they tend to think about problems in their past and how they solved them. Sometimes there are great clues there. Other times, the current problem is unique enough to require a fresh perspective. Also, fixing the real problem may require a multi-layered solution verses a standard one-action reaction.
5. Plan
Most of us never plan our solutions out. We keep throwing stuff at our problems until something sticks, we go with it, and we hope for the best.Geniuses plan. Armed with the vision of the end state, and a solution or a group of solutions, they create a plan to implement those solutions. They determine what they need, help they need to request from others, the timeline it needs to be done within, and they move forward.
Many of us have no problem planning out a vacation, a birthday party or a night out on the town. Those are the same skills you'll use here. The difference is that instead of a fun evening, you'll successfully eliminate
a major problem from your life permanently. Isn't that worth taking some time to plan for?
6. Act
Procrastination, perfectionism, and denial are the enemies of action. When we know there is something major we must do, many of us all of a sudden find 10 other things that we think we need to do right now. We spend the time on things that can wait and ignore the major problem we could resolve right now. Also, we often stop our own progress because we don't think we have everything perfect. We'd rather not act and wait until we have everything perfectly laid out than to begin making strides towards resolution.
7. Adjust
There are some folks that are going to do what they want to do, even when they know their plan has a flaw. Rather than change course along the way when necessary, they move forward as if their plan was written in concrete and they have no other options.
Adjust the things accordingly.
Project Management Software 
The most important thing is that you must have proper tools to start and complete your projects. So make search for project management softwares and Gantt charts etc. So don't waste time download and study the proper software for your project. I hope you will be successful.
We offer 184 Project Management Templates to Download & Free Samples. Visit the Offer Here

Basic Project Management Rules

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Project managers must focus on three dimensions of project success, time within the budget at a level of quality. Top management for project must actively set priorities. Project sponsors and stakeholders must be active participants, not passive customers.


Project managers should acquire the best people they can and then do whatever it takes to keep the garbage out of their way.
Project managers must fight for time to do the things right.
 Planning is everything 
Project manager responsibility must be matched by equivalent authority.  Project managers must feel, and transmit to their team members, a sense of urgency. Successful projects should be time-tested.
All project should be deliverables and all project activities must be visualized and communicated in vivid detail.
Deliverables projects must be evolved gradually, in successive approximations. Projects require clear approvals and sign-off by sponsors. Project success should be correlated with thorough analyses of the need for project deliverables.
We offer 184 Project Management Templates to Download & Free Samples. Visit the Offer Here

Top Five Tips for Project Management

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What is a project?  Why worry whether something is a project?  Why not use some of the project management processes, e.g. stakeholder analysis or use of traffic lights to manage your work?  They key principle is to deliver the piece of work using the appropriate tools. We use the term project based working to describe this approach.
1# Get trained!  Research points out that only 61% of people have received any project management training.
2# Ensure you have the buy-in of senior managers for your project.  You will need to work hard to influence upwards and get their support.
3# What about the day job? Projects get in the way and the day job gets in the way of projects! Many people have found that by applying project based working to day to day activities and by being more rigorous on project work, more is achieved.
4# Identify early on in the life of the project the priority of your projects.  Inevitably there will be a clash with another project or another task.  Use your project management skills to deliver and your senior management contacts to check out the real priority of the project.
5# Discover how project management software can help.  But, you will need to develop the business case, produce a project definition alongside planning what will go into the software.  Many project managers use simple Excel spreadsheets or charts in word to help deliver their project.
We offer 184 Project Management Templates to Download & Free Samples. Visit the Offer Here

Closedown and Review of Project Management

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1# Agree well in advance a date to hold a post project review meeting. Put this onto the Gantt chart.
2# Invite key stakeholders, sponsor, and project team to the post project review. If the date is in their diary well in advance it should make it easier for them to attend

3# Focus your meeting on learning – identifying what you can use on the next project.  Share the learning with others in the organisation.
4# Check whether you have delivered the original project objectives and benefits and not gone out of scope.
5# Make sure that you have delivered against budget, quality requirements and the end deadline.
6# Understand how well you managed risks and your key stakeholders. Use questionnaires to obtain feedback.
7# Prepare a list of unfinished items.  Identify who will complete these after the project and circulate to any stakeholders. 
8# Hand over the project formally to another group (it is now their day job) - if appropriate. You may need to build this into the project plan and involve them early in the plan and at different stages throughout the project.
9# Write an end of project report and circulate.  Identify in the report key learning points.
10# Close the project formally.  Inform others you have done this and who is now responsible for dealing with day to day issues.
11# Celebrate success with your team! Recognise achievement, there is nothing more motivating.
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Monitoring and Reviewing Your Project (Project Governance)

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11. Produce action points against each item on the agenda and circulate within 24 hours of the meeting.  Use these action points to help in the creation of your next agenda.
12. Review the items on the critical path checking they are on schedule.  Review risks, review yours stakeholders and your communication plans and whether you are still on track to deliver on time, to budget and to the required quality standard.

13. Set a tolerance figure and monitor e.g. a tolerance figure of ±5% means as long as you are within the 5% limit you do not have to formally report.  If  exceed the 5% limit (cost or time) then you need to report this to the agreed person – probably your sponsor 
14. Report progress against an end of a stage – are you on schedule?  Time, cost or quality?  Ensure that if something is off schedule the person responsible for delivering it suggests ways to bring it back on time, within budget or to hit the right quality standard.
15. Develop an issues log to record items that may be causing concern.  Review at your project meetings.
16. See whether you are still delivering the original project benefits when reviewing your project.  If not, consider re-scoping or if appropriate abandoning the project.  Do not be afraid of abandoning a project. Better to abandon now rather than waste valuable time, money, and resources working on something no longer required.  If you close a project early – hold a project review meeting to identify learning.
17. Produce one-page reports highlighting key issues.  Agree the areas to include with the Sponsor before writing a report.
18. Use a series of templates to support the monitoring process, e.g. milestone reporting, change control, log, planned v. actual.
19. Apply traffic lights to illustrate how you are progressing – red, amber and green. Use these in conjunction with milestone reports.
20. Engender honest reporting against specific deliverables, milestones, or a critical path activity. If you do not have honest reporting imagine the consequences.
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Monitoring and Reviewing Your Project

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1. Have a clear project management monitoring and reviewing process – agreed by senior managers - the project sponsor and the project Board, if you have one.
2. Ensure your organisation’s corporate governance structure and your project management monitoring and control structure are compatible. If you do not know whether this is the case then seek senior management involvement.
3. Be aware early in the project what will be monitored, how they will be monitored and the frequency.
4. Keep accurate records of your project not only for audit purposes but to ensure you have documents which enable you to monitor changes.
5. Use a Planned v. Actual form.  It is easy to create – it allows you to monitor how you are progressing with specific tasks – time and money. Link these forms into milestone reviews.
6. Identify with your sponsor the type of control that is needed – loose or tight or a variation of these, e.g. tight at the start, loose in the middle, tight at the end.  Ensure the system you develop reflects the type of control intended.
7. Agree a system for project changes – have an agreed system for monitoring and approving changes.  Use change control forms and obtain formal sign off (agreement) by the sponsor, before action a change.  Look for the impact of the change on the project scope as well as the “key driver” - quality, and cost and time.
8. Appoint someone to be responsible for project quality especially in larger projects.  Review quality formally with the client at agreed milestone dates.
9. Make certain you have agreed who can sanction changes in the absence of your sponsor. If you haven’t agreed this, what will you do in their absence?
10. Set a time limit for project meetings to review progress. Have an agenda with times against each item and summarise after each item at the end of the meeting.
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Project Scheduling

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A project manager should identify the critical path for the project.  The critical path identifies those activities which have to be completed by the due date in order to complete the project on time.
Communicate, communicate, communicate!  
Delivering a project effectively means you need to spend time communicating with a wide range of individuals.  Build a communication plan and review it regularly and include it in your Gantt chart.
Are you involved in a major change project? If you are, think through the implications of this on key stakeholders and how you may need to influence and communicate with them.
Conduct Risk Assessment – carry out a full risk analysis and document it in a risk register.  Regularly review each risk to ensure you are managing them, rather than them managing you. 
Appoint a person to manage each risk.
Develop a Gantt chart and use it to monitor progress against the plan and to involve key stakeholders in the communications process.
Draw up a milestone plan. These are stages in the project. You can use the milestone dates to check the project is where it should be.  Review whether activities have been delivered against the milestone dates and take a look forward at what needs to be achieved to deliver the next milestone.
Always use relevant software to master your planning.


We offer 184 Project Management Templates to Download & Free Samples. Visit the Offer Here
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