Powerful Business Skills: Project Management

The difference between Project, Programme and Portfolio Management often causes confusion in organisations. Poor execution of each discipline, and a failure to understand how they work together, seriously undermines an organisation's ability to deliver change at pace.

In our experience, operational managers are increasingly asked to run projects off the side of their desks. There's more to Project Management than slavishly following a methodology.

Good project managers need a simple toolkit that’s easy to apply, easy to follow, and above all easily shared with colleagues. Here are some quick hints and tips to help you towards project success, no matter what your role is: 

Project management is the process and activity of planning, organising, motivating, and controlling resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Program management or programme management is the process of managing several related projects, often with the intention of improving an organisation's performance.

Portfolio Management is the centralised management of the processes, methods, and technologies used by Project Managers and Project Management Offices (PMOs) to analyse and collectively manage current or proposed projects based on numerous key characteristics.

To measure is to know

Poor estimating is a major cause of project failure, keep data and records to help improve over time, as the Dutch say ‘meten es weten’ - to measure is to know.

IF and WHEN

Change is the only constant, it’s not IF things change, but WHEN things change. Plan for it and have change management processes in place before it happens.

Forecast

A plan is not set in concrete, because we are dealing with the future and no one ‘knows’ what will happen tomorrow. It’s a forecast and, like a weather forecast, it’s most accurate when it is short term, the longer term is a series of educated guesses.

Think, Plan and Do

All project methodologies are based on the cycle Think, Plan, Do. Research (and bitter experience) shows ‘Think’ adds way more value, followed by ‘Plan’. ‘Do’ costs time and money. Spend a bit of time on quality thinking to save time and money.

Manage risk

Managing risk is not a document or a procedure it’s a state of mind – take time to hone your ‘risk radar’.

You can’t, however, stay in a heightened state of risk awareness for long, so make time to switch on your ‘risk radar’ for short, regular spells.

Nothing beats experience

If you don’t have relevant experience, ask around, someone in your network has – they will be pleased as punch if you ask their advice – even if you do not take it!

Manage your sponsor

As the number of people involved in the project increases, the ‘complexity’ goes exponential, get a powerful sponsor and train him or her well – it is like having a turbo-booster on your progress.

Manage stakeholders more effectively

A stakeholder can be an individual, a group – internal or external to your organisation; or another organisation that has an interest in, can be affected by, or affect your project or programme.

Our managing stakeholders hints and tips page will be critical to your success when prioritising, communicating with and managing any stakeholder.

Learning practical project management tips

Professional qualifications provide you with recognised ‘perfect world’ ideas and academic theory. Practical training provides a step-by-step guide, and useable solutions for everyone involved in projects. Take a look at the Project Management Survival Guide™ for more information.

Learn through simulation

Wouldn't it be sensible to have some form of ‘driving lesson’ to help you or your people to project manage more effectively?