Project Smart ~ Exploring trends and developments in project management today

Calendar iconNot recorded
Adobe PDF icon

Step-by-Step Beginners Guide to Project Management

~ By Lee Iwan

Spiral bound document

In my experience, projects must; actively involve all the group members, have excellent communication and access to project information, have a shared desired outcome, have specific dates for completion of tasks, and have all the required tools (when needed) in order to finish.

If there is no enthusiasm in the group, your project is dead or doomed to be incredibly dull and tedious.

It's all about very simple questions; what, where, who, how, when, how much, and fixing specific dates and commitments from the group members. The key to success is the leadership and maintaining the level of enthusiasm of the group members, mixed with the correct resources and tools available on time, and a shared sense of urgency in order to bring the project to completion.

Here is a simple outline that may help in organising the project and the participants:

  1. Determine the objective and specific desired outcome. Write it down.
  2. Identify and organise the people who might be interested or are required in order to bring the project to completion. Ask them to participate, and comment on their level of enthusiasm or belief that the project can or will be successful.
  3. Identify a project leader and co-ordinator, this should be accepted by all involved in the project. No consensus, keep trying.
  4. Begin "brainstorming" and create scenarios on how to achieve the desired outcome (this may have be broken down into sub-tasks). Make a date when all this creative thinking will be finished and a written draft can be printed and shared.
  5. Identify factors that influence or limit the project that are beyond your control (global economic forces, natural disasters, competition, etc.) and factors that are in your control (capital invested, personnel, prices, etc.). Identify the risks or warning flags that might surface. Write this down.
  6. Determine and identify the tools (capital, equipment, machinery), the people (administration, sales, suppliers, customers), and the time required to complete the objectives. Write this down.
  7. Organise the people involved in the project. Review the proposed project, the factors of influence, the tools, people and time. Determine the best path, tools, time frame, and write it down.
  8. Organise the tasks and sub-tasks in chronological order. Write it down.
  9. Ask each participant if they are committed to participating in the project, completing their tasks on time and reaching the final outcome. If there is no commitment, find out why and resolve.
  10. Develop a list of initial actions and outcomes that must be started and completed. Identify the responsible parties and dates. Write it down.
  11. Request specific (realistic) dates for the completion of tasks, sub-tasks and objectives. Write it down.
  12. The leader must follow-up on all dates and compromises. Make this information public to all others involved in the project. Communicate all deliveries of sub-tasks, or lack of delivery with the group.
  13. Make certain that the group knows the status of the project at all times, everyone should either be waiting for information or the outcome of an ongoing activity, or actively working on obtaining information or finalising an activity.
  14. If a group member is unable or unwilling to finish tasks on time, discover why and take immediate action to support or replace the member.
  15. For any major problems or setbacks, get the group together to work out new scenarios and dates of completion.
  16. Celebrate the big milestones and victories.

Lee Iwan is an accomplished bilingual, bi-cultural executive with broad based domestic and extensive international experience in business discovery and development; sales, marketing and operations. Results oriented decisive leader, new market identification, strategic thinking and pragmatic problem solving. Lee's blog can be found at Lee Iwan Accumulated Experience

Comments (1)

Topic: Step-by-Step Beginners Guide to Project Management
5/5 (1)
Gravatar
Full StarFull StarFull StarFull StarFull Star
13th November 2015 6:45am
KenGuy (Romford) says...
I am new to formal project management, but I manage like most people all sorts of projects big and small quite regularly. I am currently embarking on a major project involving many elements with short, medium and extended long-term objectives and outcomes.

To keep me focused and motivated I needed some indication of the best practices, tools and methods employed professionally because so much is hinging on the success of these projects.

This article has perfectly and concisely laid out the most basic foundational principles involved in starting maintaining and completing a successful project. It's given me a baseline checklist to guide and point me in the right direction. In short, very useful and encouraging.
Reply

Add a comment



(never displayed)



 
2000
What is the month after February?
Notify me of new comments via email.
Remember my form inputs on this computer.

The Risky Business of Project Management

Three red dice reading: Manage your risk

It is important at the beginning of any project to go through the risk identification process. Not all project risks are obvious, so here's how.

The 8-Step Guide to Creating a Quality Project Schedule

Businessman with a Gantt chart

This article looks at a simple, practical approach to creating project schedules. After reading this article, you will have a sound approach to creating schedules that you can use for future projects.

Resourcing Project Managers

Project manager jobs advert in a newspaper

Ironically, although resourcing production team members is a significant part of a Project Manager's role, very little focus is placed on resourcing the Project Managers themselves.

Effort Estimating: A Primer

Effort time money blue dice representing the ingredients for business

Good estimating is a skill like any other, it can be developed with practice to the point where it may seem like magic to the uninformed.

PROJECT SMART is the project management resource that helps managers at all levels improve their performance. We provide an important knowledge base for those involved in managing projects of all kinds. With weekly exclusive updates, we keep you in touch with the latest project management thinking.

WE ARE CONNECTED ~ Follow us on social media to get regular updates and opinion on what's happening in the world of project management.

Latest Comments

Paula commented on…
How to Deal with the People Factor of Change Management
- Thu 16 May 2:52am

Billy Rane commented on…
6 Success Factors for Managing Project Quality
- Tue 14 May 4:30am

Duncan Haughey commented on…
When is a Project Manager not a Project Manager
- Fri 10 May 3:10pm

Latest tweets

In his short, but insightful article, A Thought-Provoking Idea on the Dangers of 'Nouns', Vishen Lakhiani looks at… https://t.co/PZ7MgdRqzw about 2 hours ago

General Project Management • Some advice on software https://t.co/VX5cy3IdLb about 5 days ago

General Project Management • Advice for Best Complimentary Qualification https://t.co/djava71tDD about 7 days ago

Project Smart. All rights reserved.