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Project Management

Unlock the 10+ Secret Tips for Successful Project Management

As per the report by KPMG, 70% of organisations experienced at least one project failure in the previous 12 months. Furthermore, half of those polled said their project ultimately fell short of expectations. Without going into all of the reasons why projects fail, it’s clear that project managers face some challenges.

The good news is that you can beat the seemingly insurmountable odds if you know how to work and who to work with. No project manager ever works alone. However, a project is only as successful as the people who work on it.

So, if you are looking for effective strategies, I have just that for you. Read on.

Understand the project’s scope

Never embark on a new project blindly. Doing so will only lead to failure. Instead, before diving in, dissect the entire project scope and go over every detail.

While you may be overjoyed to start a new project, unexpected costs can be costly, affecting both the project and your reputation. On the other hand, preparation time will pay off in the form of meeting goals and making fewer pivots.

Maintain transparent communication

Curating information you share is one way to improve communication. Project management tools can often be of great assistance in disseminating information to large groups.

However, there is little reason for your data analysts in New York to be aware of what your product marketing team is doing in Hong Kong.

Even if the outcome is the same. Too much information can be overwhelming. And can make it difficult for your various teams to find the information required to complete their tasks.

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Make a task list every day

Without a doubt, highly productive project managers focus on the most important tasks and activities from the moment they arrive in the morning. Having such an undivided focus is only possible because they created a prioritised list at the end of the previous work day.

It will take longer to regain momentum if you wait until the morning to capture your top priorities. Furthermore, you’ll be easily distracted by incoming emails and other less important requests.

Making a task list before you leave for the day will help you prioritise the important over the urgent from the start.

Identify the real issues

If you can have difficult conversations and identify the real issues, without a doubt, your project is going to work smoothly.

In fact, effective project managers are not afraid to bring up risks and issues. They understand that it’s the only way to gain senior management support for the project and build trust in their leadership.

To move issues forward, make every effort to inform stakeholders about the project’s real risks and provide recommendations for addressing each item.

You must also provide an impact analysis of each option to support your recommendations and provide the senior management with enough information to make a decision.

Organise effective project meetings

Another secret of highly productive project managers is to take charge of meetings and make the most of it by clearly defining the outcomes.

Setting and sticking to a clear agenda, as well as writing up actions and agreements with individual owners within 24 hours of the meeting, can help you hold effective project meetings.

Allow the team to assist

The sixth secret is to distribute the workload in such a way that it engages the team and allows the project manager to lead rather than being involved in all of the details.

You can accomplish this by involving the team in the project’s definition and launch, as well as through collaborative project planning. This is by far the most effective method of gaining people’s support and commitment to the project.

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This means delegating work that motivates and challenges team members while freeing you up to focus on the 20% of activities that contribute to the remaining 80% of your project’s results.

Treat symptoms instead of diagnosing them

New project managers often focus on the consequences rather than the root cause of a problem.

However, that approach is short-sighted because you will likely repeat the same issues. Hence, to avoid recurring problems, focus on eliminating the root cause.

For example, instead of listing problems and handing them over to the supervisor, sit with your team and discuss solutions.

In fact, you can come up with a solution and then ask your team to gather more ideas. This way, you will have multiple backups as well.

Know the status of the project’s progress

Project managers are the lynchpin of project organisations. And they must be aware of what is going on at all times.

Hence, always be aware of the day-to-day and overall project progress, and be prepared to report on it.

While a project manager is frequently removed or shifted from the production work of a project, this does not imply that they are simply sitting back and waiting for things to happen.

You must establish an appropriate network for communicating with key stakeholders. This allows you to identify potential issues for future work, determine potential solutions, and set up work for the next phase of a project.

Note that unexpected delays are caused by the unknown; a proactive check-in can help reduce them.

Don’t indulge perfectionism

Even though this trick sounds absurd, the more you rush after perfectionism, the more it spoils your motivation.

The point here is that striving for perfection only slows project progress. Bringing 100% uniqueness is impossible in any work. Hence, what you can do best is learn to be satisfied with a good enough result.

But what you can do to bring the perfect score is maintain consistency in the quality of teamwork.

Avoid multi-tasking

If you believe that focussing on too many tasks can increase your work speed, you are wrong!

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In fact, both attention and labour are wasted.

Concurrent participation in multiple projects dilutes concentration and prevents you from doing anything completely.

Thus, it is beneficial to distribute the workload evenly and work on different projects in stages.

In fact, for a smarter approach to working, you can introduce tools like Monday, ProofHub, Celoxis, etc., to increase efficiency in your project management.

Invest in risk management

The term “risk management” sounds much simpler than it is in practice. This is not surprising given that many external factors influence, but do not rely on, our will in both commercial and non-commercial projects.

However, it is critical to try to predict the desired results and contingency plans for responding if things go wrong.

Use booking and planning Software

How would you manage a project team without a hierarchical structure? No, you don’t!

Asset planning software will help you define your team’s projects, track progress, and identify potential issues.

If you choose electronic software, your team can access it from any device, and any changes you make to the arrangements will be felt the next time you make them. You’ll also have a better understanding of what your teams do.

Appreciate your team members

As a team lead or a project manager, you must provide due credits to each of your team members. The appreciation works as motivation and can inspire them to provide similar results in the coming days.

You can also arrange get-togethers, as a celebration of the success, so that the team members become more comfortable with you and also with the job.

Evaluate your performance

When your task is finished, you must be honest with yourself. Examine every aspect of your project management performance. The more you know about what worked and what didn’t, the better prepared you’ll be for your next project.

You should be proud of your accomplishments and give yourself a pat on the back and a high-five.

Concluding words,

Being a team lead, one has to fulfil a lot of responsibilities. But the achievement does not come with the number of targets you have filled. Instead, it’s how effectively you have managed your project team.

Hence, save this package of the detailed tips and tricks, and apply them accordingly.

Author Bio: Raymond M. Fernandez is a business counsellor from New York, USA. She is also associated with the academic brand MyAssignmenthelp.com where she works as a homework helper. In her free time, you will find Michele reading a book or gardening.