Start with a clear project scope
Some people can get pretty excited when working on a new project and can get carried away with the ideas flow. Although we as a company believe in adapting plans as we go, starting a project without a clear vision can lead to unexpected difficulties. You and your team should invest your time in gathering information, assigning tasks to specific people and having a good overview of your resources. The end result should be a well-rounded project plan with a clear scope, steps, implementation process and a well-defined target.
Prepare to keep planning
As I said above, changes happen all the time. However, you can always have a basic plan for managing these changes. You have to set some expectations on how the team should manage unexpected issues, scope change, risks, quality, communication and so on. Sometimes projects are smooth and easy to manage and sometimes they are a complete nightmare that wakes you up at 3 a.m. and give you bad flashbacks.
Implement while keeping an eye on the metrics
Once the project has been planned accordingly to its scope and goals, the implementation phase can begin. In theory, since you have already agreed on your project scope and you have a basic backup plan if something doesn’t work, the only thing remaining is to implement your plan and processes efficiently. As a manager, there are a few things you should keep an eye on.
- Check the project timeline on a regular basis in order to determine how your team is progressing.
- Keep your timeline updated and make sure that you and your team are still focused on the plan. Determine whether the project will be completed within the original effort, cost, and duration estimates. If the situation has changed, you should determine the critical path for continuing and look for ways to accelerate the activities to get you back on track.
- Monitor your resources. You should look at the amount of money and time your project has actually consumed and determine whether you have spent more than you have originally estimated, based on the work that has been completed. If so, be proactive, and take smart business decisions that could potentially make the project more effective.
It is also important to look for signs showing that the project may be in trouble. Some of them could be:
- Team morale starts to decline.
- Deliverable quality starts to deteriorate.
- Lack of communication.
Keeping an eye on the quality
Getting a project done on time and under budget is not enough. You need to make sure that you deliver a quality product on top of everything else. Quality means making sure that you build what you said you would and that you do it as efficiently as you can. And that means trying not to make too many mistakes and always keeping your project on track to deliver the expected results.
Ο τομέας εφαρμογής μας παρέχει μια σειρά λύσεων, βασισμένων στον προϋπολογισμό σας, για να εξασφαλίσετε βιώσιμη αλλαγή και συνεχόμενη βελτίωση στην επιχείρησή σας.
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