Overseeing the initiation, execution, and completion of a project successfully is no easy feat. It requires coordination, proactive management, and collaboration with all concerned stakeholders. Challenging as it is, it’s natural to worry about how to improve project management skills. Well, today, we’re representing up to 5 project improvement ideas that you can use to achieve better outcomes :
Defining clear outcomes is easier said than done. You must get down to the nitty-gritty and define clear project requirements. Spending a bit more extra time defining the problem statement is worthwhile in the end. Each stakeholder should have a say about what should be achieved and the reasons why.
Clear expectations allow you to come up with smart goals. The goals need to be broken down further into action points, milestones, and deliverables. It's also important to regularly assess the project outcomes to see if they have changed and make overreaching corrections.
Coming up with a project scope, assessing risks, and creating contingency plans, doesn’t guarantee success. Often, projects don't go exactly the way you plan them. You must remain flexible and adaptable to various challenges. It should be next to second nature to come up with new solutions, and even find ways to improve the final outcome or deliver faster.
Selecting the right tools for project management is critical and advised. The tool you select should be easily accessible to all concerned stakeholders. It must have all the features required to create, plan, organise, and track key project tasks.
You should ideally utilise your regular meetings and stand-ups to visualise tasks and milestones. You'll also need to think of collaboration tools, and while asynchronous messaging is great, it's important to have face-to-face discussions at regular intervals.
There is the added risk of selecting too many tools, which complicates the project. A software bloat can introduce inefficiencies and create distractions. Using a remote workflow tool such as WorkPilot can help with streamlining processes and task management.
Your team will comprise of direct and indirect stakeholders each assigned specific roles that they need to perform for the ultimate completion and success of the project.
Right after the kickoff meeting, your group channel or phone may be a buzz with interactions. Over time, the interactions may dwindle down. It's essential to reignite conversations to ensure that everyone is communicating effectively.
You will need to continuously remind the stakeholders of what's at stake. It is paramount to emphasise the benefits of the project, and the reason why all the work and sacrifice are justified.
The right team will get you to the finish line, but in most cases, you may not have a say about who will be on the team as you'll be working with the available human resources. It’s fine, but it is important to assign the right tasks to the right people. You must also recognise each person's strengths and weaknesses and assign responsibilities accordingly.
When you require expertise that is not available amongst the project members, you can look into the possibility of hiring new people or working with freelancers.
Last but not least, you must stick to the plan you spent countless hours creating. Keep reviewing and revising it as new events, outcomes, and challenges occur.
