WHAT DO IMPROVING a business process, designing the space shuttle, constructing a new home, and launching a new product have in common? Well, they are all projects, and because they are projects, whether they are large or small, simple or complex, you can improve their outcomes by applying some basic project principles.
1. Never Begin a Project Without a Charter. A charter defines the basic direction for the project and outlines any constraints that will be imposed on the project, such as limits on time, effort, or money. The sponsor is supposed to create a charter, but if you don’t get one from your sponsor, create one with your team, and get the sponsor to review it and sign it. Never start a project without clear direction from your sponsor.
2. Investing In Planning Saves Time In Execution. This basic total quality principle applies to projects as well. Investing in planning saves time in execution by reducing rework and confusion. More importantly, taking time in planning will help ensure you’re doing the right things on the project—creating the deliverable that the customer really needs. Since planning takes fewer resources and less time than execution, spending a little more time upfront will provide a good rate of return on project cycle times and customer satisfaction scores.
3. Involving the Team In Planning and Monitoring Creates Understanding and Commitment. Team participation increases each team member’s understanding of how the pieces of the project fit together and how each team member contributes to the overall project outcome. Participation also creates ownership and a commitment to the project. And don’t make the mistake of taking back ownership of the project when you get to the execution phase. Let the team members do the tracking and monitoring, and when the project starts to veer off track, ask the team members what they’re going to do to get it back on track. This maintains the message that they still own the project.
Paula Martin and Karen Tate, PMP, are co-founders of Martin Tate, a project management training and consulting firm. They are the authors of the Project Management Memory Jogger™. For more information, visit their website at www.projectresults.com. Direct comments on this column to [email protected]
4. The Project Leader Should Lead the Team Through the Project Process and the Team Process. It used to be that the project leader got input from the team and then made the project decisions. He or she did the planning and then delegated tasks to team members. The new role of the project leader is to lead the team through the planning, execution, and closeout processes, providing tools that allow team members to make decisions and assign their own tasks.
5. Using a Standard Method Across Projects Increases Project Efficiency. Pick a method and use it for all projects. This will reduce the learning curve for team members as they move from one project to another. It also makes it easier to capture learning and share it across projects.
6. Every Project Has Two Basic Objectives: To Satisfy the Customer and To Do So as Efficiently as Possible. Focus on effectiveness first and efficiency second. Efficiency means working without waste—waste of time, effort, or money.
7. Prevent Problems Before They Occur. Prevention take a little more time upfront but saves time later on. Do a risk assessment for every project, even very small ones. After you’ve identified the risks, brainstorm counter-measures—ways in which you can prevent problems from occurring.
8. Taking Time For Closeout Saves Time in Future Projects. Investing in closeout is like investing in planning, it saves time down the road. Closeout is where the project is evaluated and the learning of the project is formalized and made available to other project teams.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO MASTER the fundamentals of project management if you want to be a successful project leader. Apply these eight simple core principles to the next project you do, and let us know if you don’t produce a more successful project. ■