Every project manager has a specific set of tools at their disposal. These systems help them maintain complete control of the project from beginning to end. If you struggle to keep information within easy reach, it may be time to examine and add a few new project management resources to your toolbox. Here are some ways to be more effective.
Use Technology for Storage
Source: techrepublic.com
Secured document sharing helps you build your project template. They are a dynamic tool if you are an independent consultant or if you manage remote employees. You can store and share files from a desktop or any mobile device. These documents are then stored on a secure cloud network, and you can always access them. Document sharing allows you to move communications, design layouts, or product specifications to a centralized location. Team members or clients can be granted access to upload or modify files. Everyone on the team has access to current information.
Communicate Clearly
Communication is the key to successful project management. Gather as much detailed information about a project before you begin your timeline. The more information your manager provides, the better you will manage the project. Consider asking the following questions during the initial assessment:
- What are the names and contact information for all primary stakeholders?
- Who provides the final authority for change orders?
- What is the scope of the final project?
- What teams have been assigned to this project?
- How much is the budget?
- When is the final deliverable date?
Define the Important Stuff
Write down all the information about the project, such as timelines, budgets, and clients. Most project managers like to work from the due date backward. Review your team and their current workload. You and the employee need to know the priority of your project compared to their existing responsibilities. This allows you to assign attainable deadlines that do not impact other assignments.
Have a Contingency Plan
Source: corporatefinanceinstitute.com
Have a pre-project meeting. Ask everyone to think of things that may impact the ability to meet a deadline. Consider short- and long-term factors. Hurricanes or severe snowstorms can shut a city down for several days. Even with remote work, power outages can affect how frequently employees can access their work. A team member may need to take an extended leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Manage Expectations
Timely communication helps you manage the expectations of your manager and team members. Make sure you understand how often managers prefer to receive updates. Take the time to meet that need so you can answer questions. Don’t forget to keep an open line of communication with your team members. Maintain an open-door policy so that employees ask any questions or bring you their concerns. Open communication means your staff will feel comfortable bringing challenges to you as early as possible.
Perform a Post-Mortem
Source: invisionapp.com
When the project is complete, perform a post-mortem with management and the team. The final objective of these meetings is to discuss the success. In addition, you must consider the challenges that you experienced and the alternative solutions. A thorough post-mortem includes the following:
- Send a preliminary survey to all participants asking what went well, what challenges were faced, and what improvements could have been made.
- Schedule the meeting less than a week after the completion date.
- Provide an agenda, assign a note-taker, and identify a moderator.
- Establish rules and encourage productive conversation during the session.
- Follow up with notes for all meeting attendees and management.
Agile and Lean Project Management Techniques
Source: corporatefinanceinstitute.com
Agile and Lean project management techniques have gained significant popularity in recent years due to their effectiveness in managing projects with changing requirements and delivering value to customers in a faster and more efficient manner. Both approaches emphasize collaboration, adaptability, and continuous improvement throughout the project lifecycle. Here, we will explore the key principles and techniques of Agile and Lean project management.
Agile Project Management:
- Iterative and Incremental Development: Agile projects are divided into small iterations or sprints, where each iteration delivers a working product increment. This allows for early feedback and frequent adjustments based on customer needs.
- Scrum Methodology: Scrum is a widely used Agile framework that involves cross-functional teams working in short, time-boxed iterations called sprints. It promotes daily stand-up meetings, backlog refinement, and sprint reviews to ensure transparency and alignment.
- Kanban Methodology: Kanban focuses on visualizing the workflow using a board with columns representing different stages of work. It limits work in progress (WIP) to improve flow and encourages continuous delivery.
- User Stories and Backlog Management: Agile projects utilize user stories to capture specific customer requirements. These stories are managed in a backlog, prioritized, and broken down into smaller tasks for implementation.
Lean Project Management:
- Eliminating Waste: Lean focuses on identifying and eliminating activities that do not add value to the project. It aims to optimize the flow of work by reducing unnecessary tasks, excessive inventory, and delays.
- Value Stream Mapping: Lean projects employ value stream mapping to visualize the end-to-end process, identify bottlenecks, and optimize the value delivery chain.
- Continuous Improvement: Lean promotes a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging teams to regularly review processes, identify inefficiencies, and implement changes to increase efficiency and customer value.
- Just-in-Time (JIT): Lean projects strive to deliver work just in time, reducing inventory and waste. JIT ensures that tasks are completed when they are needed, avoiding unnecessary delays and resource utilization.
Agile and Lean Synergies:
- Agile-Lean Hybrid Approach: Many organizations adopt a combination of Agile and Lean principles to benefit from their synergies. The hybrid approach allows for flexibility in project execution while focusing on waste reduction and continuous improvement.
- Cross-functional Collaboration: Both Agile and Lean emphasize collaboration among team members and stakeholders, fostering open communication, and empowering teams to make decisions.
- Empirical Process Control: Agile and Lean project management techniques rely on empirical process control, which emphasizes real-time feedback, inspection, and adaptation to optimize project outcomes.
Keep Learning
Source: forbes.com
The best project managers continually expand their knowledge. Build a portfolio of notes and files from your projects. With that, develop a personalized list of tools to help you work more efficiently. Ask managers directly for honest feedback regarding your work. Join a professional organization to learn about new strategies in project management. Follow other project managers on social media to learn new tips and tricks to boost your productivity. Attend online and in-person training sessions to grow.
With these tools, you will quickly become a more effective project manager. Take the time to analyze previous and current projects. Make a note of the successes and challenges you experienced. Then use that information as a template for your next assignment.
