Project managers pride themselves on past successes, and rightly so. However, sometimes that causes issues – we can’t expect all projects to deliver in the same way. The key element of every project is its uniqueness! Just like in life, taking different paths and witnessing different stories or experiences leads us to new and exciting places, filled with uncertainty.
Project managers may find themselves managing a project that is unlike anything they’ve worked on before. I myself have been involved in construction projects without any prior construction experience; my background was in hotel events and conferences, which then expanded to project management roles in advertising! Planning, construction, resources, materials, health & safety were all new to me – yet, I worked with and learned from my team, and together we rose to the challenge.
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Ultimately, every project is different— that’s what makes them unique and challenging. It adds to the unknown and makes each day exciting. That said, we may find ourselves in situations like I did, feeling completely out of touch with the topic and struggling to visualize the goals, never mind achieving them. That’s when we need to consider what skills we use in our projects, and which we need to expand upon.
One thing I learned quickly is that if you don’t have technical skills, you may struggle to manage your team or gain their respect. But if you own up to your shortcomings, stress your capabilities (a proven history of delivering projects) and ask your team to step up and work with you, your chances will improve greatly. I realized that communication was key to working together successfully. Using my previous project management experience, I guided my team on what to focus on and which areas they needed to provide me with guidance or information. Here are nine steps that were key:
9 Steps to Successful Project Management
1. Clearly Define Project Goals and Objectives
Every project should start with a project business case, project charter, or contract. It may even be a scope statement, but it’s the only place to start! Take time to work with the sponsor to understand the key areas – they should include project goals, high-level deliverables, constraints, recorded assumptions, high-level risks, stakeholders, and who will be working with you in the project team and in what capacity.
2. Gather Requirements
Clients may think they have provided well-defined goals, but often they are wooly. Take time to clarify all aspects of the project briefing document and consider what the project will look like on delivery and how it will be tested to be accepted. This effort will reap dividends as you go through the project.
3. Identify Team Capabilities and Areas of Competence
Every project manager dreams of working with a team of fully qualified, experienced, and competent people. Oftentimes, a contract may stipulate a particular type of working event must take place. Identify if any training is required and organize or find potential team members who have the required skills.
4. Identify and Engage with Stakeholders
Your project stakeholders can make or break your project. Take time to identify who they may be. Sometimes it’s easy to know who and how to engage with them; other times they will be unique to a particular project. Research and understand where they stand in relation to your project and how much power or influence they have. Never ignore anyone because you feel they’re not important. Lack of communication leads to trouble. The best way to manage potential surprises is by educating and providing communication that presents your project positively and makes it hard to disprove or block.
5. Manage Risks and Issues Proactively
It’s a recognized fact that projects have risks—some known and some unexpected. Proactive project managers prepare by identifying risks from various sources and considering mitigation solutions where possible. Though it may be costly and time-consuming, being prepared allows the team to focus on unanticipated issues because they already have plan Bs ready to respond. Remember, it’s more expensive to crisis manage than to risk manage—it affects time, cost, and reputation!
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6. Use a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Some people jump right in and start developing and delivering projects without proper planning. They usually end up with failed projects. Understanding the project scope in detail allows you to identify packages of work and activities to plan for, estimate against, and allocate to appropriate personnel. This approach helps during planning and monitoring & controlling.
7. Respect and Develop Your Team
Some project managers focus so much on the project tasks that they forget to work with the team members. While someone like Bobby may not mind handling numerous work packages diligently, he might feel overworked and undervalued if there’s no challenge. This could lead to him being “busy” when the next project comes around. Take time to identify your team members’ strengths and interests, and allocate work that will interest and develop them. Consider Task, Team, and Individuals equally for a happy, fulfilled, and successful project team.
8. Use Appropriate Tools
There’s no point in creating individual tools for each project. It makes sense to have organization-wide approved tools or templates that can be used on all projects. These can range from simple spreadsheets to fully-loaded interactive templates. Think about what you need those tools to do, and what training personnel may need in using them. Work with your PMO if you have one; they probably deliver training.
9. Track and Monitor
All projects should be planned before they are executed. It makes sense to refer to the plans consistently throughout the project and measure progress against them in terms of spend and progress. We wish to measure and reward success, but if we don’t measure, we may be rewarding failure!
Following these nine steps doesn’t guarantee that your project will be a success or that you’ll gain the respect you desire from your team. However, the structure demonstrates your preparedness to deliver a project and gives it every opportunity for success. Guess what? We delivered on time, within budget, met all quality requirements, and had a happy project team who felt valued!
Enroll today and take advantage of the benefits of our “Bootcamp for Project Management Professionals.“
