Project managers need to understand the product life cycle, the scope of the project and who the stakeholders are, as well as being able to create business and communications plans. But that’s not all. There will also be team members involved, so whether you manage the team members directly or not, you need to be able to communicate plans and win cooperation to keep your project on track.
Here are some useful tips for effective project management:
Stakeholder analysis – Decide who are the stakeholders, what do they each bring to the project, how do they like to be communicated with?
Project action minutes – Following any meeting, note what actions have been decided, and who is responsible
The project triangle (Time, Cost, Quality) – Consider what is included. Keep track of changes and understand the impact on the overall project (the law of diminishing returns)
The scope box – Understand the boundaries. What is necessary and what is outside the scope of the project?
Detailed project definitions – Know what you mean and be clear when sharing information
Work breakdown structures – Think about how to partition the project for easier distribution of the work
Network diagrams – Use visual aids to help translate the project
Gantt and milestone charts – Develop these to help measure progress; find the gaps and keep on track
Progress report charts – Share the knowledge! People need to know if they are behind and what the impact is on other parts of the project
Learning logs – Think through and discuss what went well, what didn’t, and what was learnt from doing things right (– or wrong)