Management Tools for Advertising Agencies

Managing projects effectively determines the success of any business. While project management tools were once thought important only for production and delivery projects, today an entire gamut of industries has begun using them. One of the industries that have begun using them on a large scale is advertising agencies.

Various types of project management tools are available for advertising agencies. With computers becoming the mainstay for advertising agencies, different tools for the different needs of an advertising agency have become available. The basic departments in any advertising agency are its creative, client servicing, media and public relations departments. Each of these departments has a need for some common and some special project management tools.

The project management tool that your operating system provides is one very important tool that anyone can have is. Both Microsoft and Apple have their own project management tools that let you organize tasks based on priority, date, time etc. Both allow an individual to use them for his/her own tasks and at the same time remain in sync with the rest of the team.

There are calendars, network diagrams, graphs, reports, timelines, organizers, portfolio managers, updaters, estimation graphs, and other invaluable tools that help you manage your project effectively in a phased manner.

These tools also facilitate working in a team, as a team manager or leader can make the sheets, assign tasks to individuals and pass them on for changes. The changes are noted and preserved using a track change option, which becomes invaluable in a large team.

Apart from the basic software, there is a highly specialized software available for specific needs. Those that need to communicate with clients can opt for specialized software with built-in email features to help send personalized or even anonymous emails to the contact lists. Others can organize letters, faxes and emails from clients and others. Some software offer features such as contact management, correspondence and invoicing.

Most of the project management tools for advertising agencies are available on the Internet, on a try-before-you-buy basis. You can download the basic package and use it for a trial period to see if it suits your needs. You may buy it, when you are convinced that it meets your needs.

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

Three Basic Project Management Tools

The three basic tools we have as Project Managers to accomplish our project time, cost and objectives are Planning, Scheduling and Controlling.

While all are used in each phase of the Project Management Lifecycle, there are different degrees of intensity of each tool in each phase.

Project Planning begins the moment someone has a vision of your project. This could be yesterday by someone you know, or a team five years ago you have never met.

This then makes project management planning a touchy subject in many circles. Some say it's all about the task management after you get the project, and some say it's about how you go about your project management business.

I say all of the above, but let's also add that project planning has to include the documentation, communication and organization of how you need to manage a project within the culture of your organization.

It seems every organization has a business process that is considered a project management process by the senior management, but in fact, it's a business process that is designed as a vehicle for senior management to make decisions and follow your project's status.

That means that when the project is assigned to the Project Manager, the job is to implement the decisions of management within the time and cost given.

I have no problem with this kind of assignment, as long as management allows the Project Manager to take a few steps back and understand what had been decided and how the decisions were made. Fat chance though, if committees and matrix are part of the organization - and which organizations today are exempt from these resident evils to all projects!

Ok then Project Managers, we have to realize that a ton of planning has been done to our project prior to us getting it and we simply are not privy to all of the information. This then makes it imperative that our project management planning includes discovering what has been planned, who has planned it, why decisions were made and (with any luck) what politics were involved.

The first thing we must do is define who our Project Customer is, and as you know, that is the person (singular) who is accountable to the organization for our project and agrees with us to all time cost and objective issues.

This makes the Project Customer the owner of our project so that we can own the work of managing their project.

Now we must plan and execute an "understanding" meeting with our Project Customer to unearth all we can about the project.

Some questions to ask and get answered:

- Who's vision was the project? 

- Who's objectives are the project? 

- Is the time strategic, or has it been well defined? 

- Is the budget strategic, or has it been well defined? 

- Which of the three scope constraints (time, cost, objectives) is considered a variable? 

- What is the re-agreement process as objectives change? 

- Etc.

All these questions (and anything else you can think of) are fair game to the Project Customer as you strategically plan your Phase One - Concept/Feasibility.

After you get a better "understanding" of the project, your planning needs to move toward the functional team you have been assigned.

One-on-one meetings with all team members are mandatory because you will need to begin building a relationship of some trust with each member. Don't just rely on the fact that they have been assigned to your team to insure they will follow through with their tasks.

Plan on asking each of them the follow questions:

- Do you have time to be on this project? 

- Are you able to prioritize this project as asked? 

- Do you feel you have the skills necessary to accomplish your tasks? 

- Are you willing to be honest to your progress on your tasks? 

- Will you let me know immediately if your commitment to this project changes?

As a Project Manager, we must realize that our team members are more important than their tasks. Simply, if they don't do the task, for any reason, the task won't get done and the project will be late. The time you spend up front individually with each of the team members, involves each member into the decision making process and in turn creates commitment.

Now our planning calls for some objective definition.

Set a meeting with your Project Customer and your Project Team together and begin the discussion that will lead to your project's deliverables.

Poor communication is the number one reason projects fail, and can be the number one reason projects succeed. This is where it all begins, long before we start the execution phase.

What we have discussed today is how project planning has to include how we are going about our project management business. Many people argue that project planning is only about the tasks. I absolutely disagree.

A solid project management foundation will steer the project through a process that includes documentation, communication and organization that compliments any organizational business process.

It just takes a bit more planning on the Project Managers part to make it all work together.

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

How to Speed Up Your Project

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.

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

Top Ten Tips For Project Managers

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.

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

What Are The Good Things of Being a Good Project Manager

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.

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

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

Project Planning

Planning vs. Action

What is your bias today? To spend time planning can take away from getting work accomplished. But taking action without planning sufficiently leads to unwanted results such as cost overruns, late delivery, and the like.

Furthermore, planning once and not adjusting to reality can cause disjointed results. Project planning is not a one time event; it requires attention to a living project plan.

Do you need to revise your planning document(s)? Try these tests:

Slippage Recasting 

 All schedules slip (or the maintainer is lying, some would say). As the "actual" strays from the "planned" schedule, you use up buffer time, or compress events that now need to happen faster. Perhaps it is time to recast the schedule in light of the cumulative slippages, changes, and new information on progress (positive and negative).

Updated Risk Assessment

It is very hard to imagine yourself and your team in the future - weeks or months out - and think of all of the risks you will face at that moment in the project's lifecycle. Do you feel comfortable - and does your team - with the risk management and mitigation plans in place, or has it been a while since they were revisited?

Big Chunks vs. Little Chunks

Have you broken down your project - "chunking" to durations of one- or two-week periods? If not, then outside of a long multi-year project, you should work on breaking down your chunks into smaller units that are planned in smaller time increments.

Time since latest plan revision, or status meeting

How long has it been since you revised your schedule in terms of the length of the project? If over 10% of the project duration has lapsed, have a review of the plan - include knowledgable team members if appropriate. If your project timeline has advanced 10% since your last status meeting, make sure that your plan is still valid. Base your assessment on the expected accomplishments, and also on feedback from the team regarding new details information on progress and on unexpected events. Revising a plan without reaching out to the team can be similar to walking in a dark field using the memory of your last daytime walk-through.

The project manager has three main areas to plan: Time, Scope, and Cost (financial). Maintain updates to your planning - keeping current between these main areas - to keep plans balanced, realistic, and in sync. Remember that each project is unique, and tailor your planning and frequency of updates based on the needs of the task at hand.
We offer 184 Project Management Templates to Download & Free Samples. Visit the Offer Here