Project Success Tip: Improve Time Management Skills and Discipline

Time is a priceless asset. There is no way that you can add some more hours in your day for completing your scheduled tasks. Hence, without managing time properly, it is quite impossible for a project manager to manage all the tasks successfully.

Time management is analogous to self-management. We need to manage ourselves and our daily activities in order to make the most of our time. Proper emphasis is always given on this matter, more specifically in project management.
Today, time management is considered as something which is absolutely crucial for planning effectively and ensuring that all the deadlines are met. As a project manager, practicing perfect time management will surely assist you in enhancing overall productivity.

The overall idea behind time management is that, you need to prioritize your scheduled tasks and give more emphasis and time on those tasks that are more important. Taking prompt decisions in these matters is absolutely vital. You have to analyse the pros and cons of all the matters and should try your level best to decide quickly and correctly. If you can do it successfully, you will surely be able to excel in the corporate world and be a happier person.

Efficiency and effectiveness are two matters that must be taken care of while managing time. In the former case, you need to ensure that you are planning and scheduling your activities in a logical, intelligent and efficient manner. In the latter case, you have to guarantee that the activities are done in accordance with the plan. When these two things are ensured, you will be able to manage time lot more easily and perfectly.

Recognizing the poor use of time is not a difficult task at all. Without managing time properly, you will have to rush, feel exhausted and definitely miss the deadlines. Inevitably, you will not be able to give sufficient time in rest and sleep. As a result, your overall health and well-being will get jeopardized. For reaching the goal of being truly productive, you have to learn the art of managing time in a proper manner.

Again, in the project management process, all sorts of activities related to the project are always associated with specific deadlines. That’s why, if the project manager do not give proper value on time management techniques, the project will inevitably fail in the long run.

For ensuring the proper utilization of time, you need to possess some special qualities. For example, you have to know how to become more organized, so that you get what you want within the shortest possible time. You also need to be more focused. Always make sure that you are not wasting your valuable time by simply loitering or gossiping with others. Being more hard-working and resilient is also necessary. You need to give the proper value of time so that this valuable asset is not wasted at all.

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Professional Development: Project Management Seminars

As professional project managers, have you ever considered furthering your professional development in project management? If not, all project managers, regardless of how much experience he or she has, should consider furthering their knowledge and expertise in project management (thereby decreasing costly project mistakes) by taking advantage of project management seminars.

The ease, convenience, and flexibility of technology and the Internet these days make taking online classes and webinars all that much easier. Many sites offer webinars on project management for free or for a small fee. The Project Management Institute (PMI) is one of them they offer a wide range of webinars based on interest, topic, and experience. Many of the webinars are even on-demand so you can sign on at a time that is most convenient to you rather than driving or traveling a significant distance to attend a live seminar.

Live seminars, however, are still an available option to those who prefer to attend them rather than sitting on a computer. In addition, many project managers utilize the time attending a live seminar to network and meet other people in various or similar industries. Others may be old-fashioned and just prefer attending the classroom or lecture style seminar where they can listen to a live person speak. This is also a great way to meet new people and learn some new insights that affect the project management role.

Choosing what kind of seminar style is best for you is really based on preference and your learning style. Many live seminars are also set up in face-to-face group settings where you can learn and interact with other live group members on certain topics. In addition, as mentioned above, there are many e-learning tools and on demand learning tools and seminars available today than ever before. Many project managers and professional choose these as they can participate in them and listen to them in the comfort of their own homes, on the go, and off site as needed.

Most organizations will pay for the courses or at least pay a portion. For those project managers who are sole proprietors or independent contractors, purchasing courses for professional development are considered business expenses and therefore are typically tax deductible. However, some seminars and webinars may even be free of cost. All in all, if you haven’t considered advancing your knowledge of project management, consider some courses or seminars/webinars as professional development.

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The Four Categories of Risk Management

As professional project managers, we all know that each project comes with its own set of risks. Those risks depend on the project specifications and scope, and no two projects are alike. Each project’s risks can be categorized into specific risk response categories in order for project managers to effectively address and respond to each of these risks and track their progress accordingly.

Avoidance – Avoidance doesn’t necessarily mean that project managers should avoid or ignore the risk, but that the risk itself should be avoided at all costs. Examples of such risks to a project that absolutely must be avoided clearly depends on the organization, but can include late product delivery to the customer, or the severe injury or even death of a customer.

Mitigation – This is one of the most popular risk response methods in project management. Although it can be an expensive measure, it is extremely effective and a popular approach. Mitigation is the category that risks fall into but aren’t extremely critical. All risks are critical and should be dealt with, but mitigation allows for project managers to address the risk and reduce the probability or impact of a risk actually occurring.

Transference – Transference is the method in which project manager can take a risk—or the consequences of a risk—in a project and transfer it to a third party or a party outside of the organization. A common example is when an organization works with insurers, such as warranties on particular products or machinery, subcontractors, or vendors. Transference is also known as “deflection” in project management.

Acceptance – Finally, acceptance is the risk response category in which project managers have addressed certain risks and have accepted the consequences of those risks. For example, if a project is submitted late and ultimately will incur late product delivery. Typically the customer is informed of this ahead of time and everyone accepts that the risk will most likely occur.

In addition, there are two types of acceptance: passive and active. Passive acceptance is when project managers don’t take any action in managing the particular risk. On the other hand, active is when project managers do in fact take action in preventing a risk for occurring or even developing fallback plans or contingency plans for if the risk occurs.

So what are some basic actions project managers can take when developing risk response plans? Communication is one of the biggest areas where project managers can identify each of the risks, develop risk response plans, and address each of the risks. Some communication methods can include holding planning or team meetings on a regular basis, or develop a project risk register to document each of the risks, the plans of attack, and address each of them with the team members.

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The Best Ways to Make Sure Projects Go Smoothly

As professional project managers we’ve worked on a number of different projects all with different specifications and unique cases. We’ve also seen our fair share of challenges, risks, and inadvertent schedule delays. As project managers, we’ve seen it all. Here are some of the best ways to make sure projects go smoothly.

• Know Your Clients and Customers. Knowing and establishing relationships with clients and customers is half the battle. This can help you immensely in determining schedules, budgets, and deliverables. This may be more difficult for less experienced project managers to grasp at first, but each detail-oriented project manager should be able to get to know the organization’s clients or customers after some time, or at least understand what their goals are. Knowing these goals can make all the difference in how effectively you project manage that particular client’s projects.

• Recruit a Great Team. The other key are in effective project management has to do with the team. Recruiting and managing a good team can make all the difference in how a project is managed and carried out. Team members should all be working to one common goal: serving the client. Remember that a team is only as strong as its weakest link. In addition, project managers should keep in mind that they aren’t “managers” but rather “leaders”. This is vital to remember when leading teams and projects. The difference between a manager and a leader lies with the project manager. He or she should encourage team member success rather than solely delegating tasks.

• Identify Risks and Establish Risk Response Plans. One of the most crucial points in project management is identifying project risks. Each project has its own set of challenges and risks that come along with it. A project manager should spend time at the beginning and identify any and all certain and uncertain risks and the probability and impact levels for each. Then, the project manager should design risk response plans for each of the risks. This way if and when each risk comes about the project manager and team can address them according to the plan that was put into place. Some of the best ways to address these as a group is hold planning meetings on a regular basis and keep all team members informed as to the project status and progress of each risk and how each is being addressed.

• Archiving and Documentation. Another key area of project management—before, during, and even after the project life cycle—is documenting each step and archiving the project properly so that other project managers or team members can resurrect the documentation or information on a particular project should it be needed for future projects. One of the great benefits to doing this is a lot of time and effort can be saved on the part of the project manager if he or she has another similar project to reference to, to see how the completed project was carried out.

Project Management Documentation Techniques

As project managers we all know how crucial documentation can be. It is crucial in any project phase, regardless of the project specifications, deadlines, or life cycle. Documentation is important to monitor and track for record keeping, filing, and archiving purposes. So what documentation techniques are best for your team and project?

Some of the typical documentation techniques include the following:

Meeting minutes. One of the most common documentation techniques could be as simple as someone taking detailed and thorough meeting notes. Meetings could range from weekly development or project status update meetings, planning meetings, post mortem meetings, or even expert interview meetings, as a means to gather data.

Meeting minutes should be either written down or typed electronically using a laptop or tablet during a meeting. They then should be saved in a universal location where other team members can access them, such as a designated area in a project folder on a server, or uploaded to a project management software or platform.

Risk Registers. One documentation technique that focuses heavily on risks is the risk register. Risk registers are repositories that include all project data, probability, impact, and risk level as well as other crucial, detailed project information. A risk register can be detailed in project management software or platform, a spreadsheet, or even in word processing format.

The outputs for risk registers can also either be maintained in hard copy or electronic copy format. Similar to meeting minutes, risk registers should be kept in a centralized location, such as uploaded into software or on a common server, for all team members to access at any point during the life cycle of a project.

Work and Risk Breakdown Structures (WBS, RBS). Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) include specifications, analyses, and projections in a documented plan. The documented plan itself can be designed in various formats and techniques, such as diagramming techniques, which often involve the visual representation of the WBS in a variety of flow charts or visual aides.

The Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) is similar to the WBS in which is a documented plan identifying and categorizing the risks in a documented plan. Diagramming and similar visual aides can be utilized in the creation of the RBS to what we saw in the WBS. The purpose of the RBS is to identify the risks associated with the project, whether they are certain or uncertain, and what the probability and impact levels are.

Finally, documentation is definitely a crucial area in the large realm of project management. Not only is it important for the overall communication and function of a project, it is also extremely essential for archiving purposes. Archiving is not only a smart, and standard procedure that should implemented in any organization, it is also a crucial reference point. Future projects can depend on prior, archived projects for information, data that was previously collected, and as reference or sources for current or future projects.

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The Most Common Mistakes in Project Management

Project managers know that in the realm of project management, projects can encounter many risks. Most risks range from internal and external risks, technical risks, and even legal risks, depending on the project and organization, of course. However, project management in itself is considered a risk.

Here are some of the most common mistakes in project management.

1.)  Lack of project management experience. Many projects today are assigned to project managers of various levels. Some of the less experienced project managers may be forced to take on projects that have higher level or complexities that he or she may not be familiar with. As a result, this becomes a major risk. The project manager may not understand how to properly allocate resources or schedule in an effective manner.

Solution: So what can project managers do to mitigate this risk? One of the best ways to address this is to document project steps and even create checklists for less experienced PMs to follow. This will ensure that typical project steps and/or risks will be addressed.

2.)  Miscommunication in project scope or specifications. This is something that most of if not all project managers have experienced at one point or another in their roles. Often times project managers receive instructions that may be vague or incomplete or are perhaps interpreted incorrectly.

Solution: Although this may be an area that is difficult to mitigate, project managers should be prepared or have a process in place in the event that scopes change mid project. This will help the change take place more effectively and successfully without further risks to the project. The object here is not to anticipate every possible scenario, but to anticipate the obvious risks and the risks that are most evident and probable.

3.)  Don’t be a boss, be a team leader. Some project managers can go on a power trip when they are assigned to projects, especially those that are complex or that are worth high revenue. However, if projects are managed and recognized as team efforts, this mitigates the risk and the power struggle.

Solution: It is important for project managers to keep in mind that eve though project managers are at the forefront of the project and there to align all project milestones and deadlines along the way, that doesn’t mean that one person is better than the other. Each functional area that grabs hold of the project throughout its life cycle is a crucial team member that is just as important as the next.

Project managers certainly encounter different risk and mistake areas in various projects and their life cycles. These are some of the top risk areas that occur in the project management risk category. However, it is important to take each step in project management seriously in order to recognize and mitigate each area of risk in order to avoid errors or compromise the project integrity, quality, and delivery.

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Project Management: What’s Your Methodology?

Each project has its own specifications, complexities, and risks. As a result, each project needs its own methodology, or plan of attack. Methodologies can certainly vary from project to project and even from project manager to project manager. So what is your methodology for your project?

Project management methodologies are the plans of attack that a project manager would go about the project scope or specifications and how he or she would identify and respond to project risks. Methodologies can involve creating flowcharts or outlines addressing the project steps, risks, and the planned responses to those risks. Methodologies should also include project entrance and exit plans.

While methodologies certainly aren’t identical from project to project, there should be some consistency, however, throughout the organization. This basically means that the tools used in project management roles should be consistent across an organization and the documentation or archiving methods should also be consistent. This will only help when project managers work on similar, future projects, as they will have documented archived projects to refer to for reference, if necessary.

Another benefit to working with consistent organizational methodologies is that projects can easily be handed off to other project managers should reassignments occur. Not only will this make the newly assigned project manager ease into the project scope and responsibilities easier, it will also reduce the risk level involved in the hand off, as one of the key areas of risk in project management is the hand off phases.

For example, let’s say a particular project involves the publishing of a textbook. A project manager may have his or her own style in developing the product or putting together the manuscript, but the end result—in how the book is printed—is the same. However, an organizational policy may be that projects with certain grades or specifications are outsourced by specific, assigned vendors. This is the area in which organizational consistency is key. Another project manager could step in at any point and know that, that particular project is or needs to be handled by one particular vendor due to the certain scope.

Regardless of which methodology a project manager chooses to execute his or her project, it should be documented, outlined, and even include steps and practices in order to ensure that all risks were addressed and are being responded to and that they remain compliant and consistent with the organization.

All in all, all projects should have certain methodologies specified at the beginning. Not only will this help the project manager analyze and get a grasp of what is needed in the project but it will also help him or her identify the risks involved. By spending time doing this up front it will ensure proper documentation of the project for archival purposes, consistency with organizational procedures or policies, and even ensuring the project’s overall success.