7 Principles of Successful Business Project
Management
By definition, a project doesn't encompass
customary, daily tasks, but is a separate activity that will produce a
new product or service. Hopefully, with each project there will be a draft
of written requirements, a budget, a timeline, and a team, or group of
colleagues who will complete various aspects of the project work. Project
Management is the undertaking of coordinating the various aspects of the
project, giving leadership to the team and usually also acting as a liaison
between the team and the project sponsor.
Most employees are involved in some aspect
of project work, many in a leadership capacity, but very few are specifically
trained to manage a project. They may be experts in their own function,
or general managers - leaders of people - and with a little luck and trial
and error, you've still got a finished project. Sound productive? Um...
no. Sound cost effective? Well... In most cases, there is a significant
potential source of savings - by training your project manager, you can
reduce your business costs and also improve customer satisfaction.
Every project begins as a business function;
either a new function or one that requires improved methods to obtain the
desired results. The basic principles of project management are applicable
at all levels of a project hierarchy, from an individual's contribution
by managing his or her task, through the team leader or manager's responsibility
to coordinate and lead all tasks for the complete project. Follow this
basic process to vastly improve your odds for success.
1. Understand the Business Requirements
This isn't a reactive, "we can
do that" run through of the written requirements from the business
community; this must be a thorough understanding, not just of the documented
requirements, but also of the work process flow. Mapping the business functions
visually, usually with flow charts or a similar tool, gives a broad view
and deeper understanding of the final result that the business community
would like to see. Does it match what the business requirements charted
as the project? Usually not. An objective, outside observation can give
new perspective. Approximately 60% of all projects are transactional business
processes - every business process is a candidate for automation and should
be analyzed!
2. Identify Process Bottlenecks
And you will. With a thorough analysis
of the work process flow, if you don't see an area that needs improvement,
what is the project? Now determine whether modifying the business process
will resolve the issue, or if additional resources are needed. If the process
is changed, and/or resources are added, does that affect the project scope?
All changes should undergo regression analysis - a thorough beginning-to-end
analysis of the complete project taking into account the proposed process
or resource changes.
3. Who, What, Where and When
Will the process or application be used
remotely, at another location? Is project completion incremental, or will
there be one final delivery? Another variable that is often overlooked
is the expected lifetime of the proposed process or application - when
will it be obsolete?
4. Review the complete scope of the project
Keep an updated cost projection - including
time, materials and resources. Take another look at the client budget and
timeline. Now you've got a detailed breakdown of the project, does your
cost projection still fit the original restraints? Adjust the scope if
necessary.
5. Sign-off
Yes, the business community has to agree
that you possess an understanding of the requirements that they need. This
is your reputation - if there are questions or disagreements about the
scope or complexity of the project at this stage, state the details of
your position and be clear about the work you are undertaking. In other
words, you and the project sponsor must agree on the terms of the success
and completion of the project - anything else will lead to failure.
6. Begin
Break the project into manageable and
distinct tasks, assigning each task appropriately to a team member and
giving a deadline. The project manager is liaison with the business community,
and as work progresses, talk is not cheap: the manager listens and reacts
to any shift in priority and communicates effectively what effect any scope
adjustments will have on the project timeline and budget. Even in cases
where the original analysis is complete and communication with the business
community is comprehensive, there is usually some fine-tuning. Document,
document, document. Complete documentation is necessary and sweet for success,
and makes any cost overrun or increase in timeline easier to explain.
7. Product delivery
The most satisfying part of the project?
Yes, if the initial analysis was thorough and the terms of the completion
of the project were agreed upon. Now the final step is natural - demonstrate
the quality and functionality of the new product or service.
Satisfaction. Congratulations! On to the
next project...
© 2006 Karen Thurston
Karen Thurston
The Prism Solutions
(603) 465-2867
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