Project Management Tip number 108 - Update that Plan

OK, so you slaved over it for weeks and you produced a perfect plan but then what do you do as the project progresses - you forget to update it - Duh !!

There is absolutely no point in having a plan if you do not update it regularly. The Project Plan is a living, breathing document which directly represents reality. If the project is 6 month long you need to be updating that plan on a weekly basis at least.

Another thing - any slippages in timescale need to be reflected in that plan. If you can then pull things back on track by re-scheduling or changing priorities that's great but make sure you reflect these changes in the plan.

The plan should mirror reality not fantasy.

Project Management Tip number 107 - teams

Getting the Team balance right is essential in order to deliver a successful project. Too many extroverts challenging for leadership will cause disruption and too many introverted intellectuals will lead to lots of clever ideas with little action. The key is to get the mix right. This can be achieved by measuring individual characteristics using psychometric tools but the best results will be obtained by a manager who knows her team members well and picks the best combination.
The project manager needs to balance the personalities and skills of her team to match the task at hand.

Project Management Tip No 105 - Risk Management

Managing Risk is a key part of project management. In order to manage risks effectively it is essential to prioritize action. We suggest the following approach.

1. Identify the severity of each risk and give it a score between 1 and 10.

2. Assess the urgency of action and score 10 immediate to 1 not urgent.

3. Assess the financial impact of the risk and score 10 Major to 1 minor.
4. Calculate overall score = severity x urgency x cost

5. Use these scores to prioritize Action starting with the highest.

6. For each risk identify a mitigation which will minimise risk whilst allowing you to fix the root cause.

7. For each risk identify the root cause and an appropriate corrective action which should then be built into your overall plan.

8. Build all this into a spreadsheet to help track progress.

9. Review on a regular basis.

Need more help ? Contact me - chris@amberhill.biz

Project Management Tip No 104

Project Management Tip No 104

The Project Manager should spend 70% of their effort planning the project and 30% executing it.

Think about it. This may appear counter intuitive at first but the more effort put in to planning the project at the start the easier the execution will be. It is always tempting to run with the project before the planning is completed but this will only end in disaster. If the project is not thoroughly planned out the team will waste a massive amount of effort going down dead ends.

70% planning, 30% execution.