Top Ten Tips to Motivate Your Project Team

In difficult economic times it is really important to keep your project team motivated especially when budgets for bonuses and staff parties are not as large as they used to be. So here are some simple and effective tips to keep your team motivated…

1. Get to know your project team. Take the time to really understand what motivates and interests them, what concerns they may have and what ideas they have to make the project more effective. If people feel that their project managers are really interested in them they will return the interest in the work they are doing and the project as a whole.
2. Praise your people. When your team members do good work, put the extra hours in, come up with a brilliant idea or help a colleague – make sure that you give them praise and a thank you. Praising your people will encourage them to do more of the same in the future.
3. Enhance your people’s creativity. Allow your project team to express their ideas and be sure to listen to them and explore those ideas with them – they could come up with the next best thing for the project. Also in brainstorming sessions use a variety of ways i.e. mind mapping/Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats to stimulate creativity and use coloured pens, toys and music to enhance the creative atmosphere.
4. Empower your people. Your role as a project manager is to get things done through your people and you can do this by effectively empowering your team. Where appropriate involve them in the decision making process, communicate key information with them and ask for their feedback. Coach them to do some areas of your job that they would find stimulating and motivating and this will give you more time to do strategic thinking and planning.
5. Be consistent with your management and leadership style. Ensure that you are consistent with your style, if you are empowering and motivating one day but secretive and moody the next your project team will get confused, paranoid and you will lose their trust. Remember every single second you are with your team you are having an impact on them, so make sure it is a positive one.

Similarly, keeping consistent with the processes you use is equally important. If for example, you adopt a PRINCE2 method, it must be used throughout the project and one of the benefits of a system like PRINCE2 is that everyone knows what to expect at each stage.

6. Be motivated yourself. The more positive and motivated you are the more likely it is that your team will be as they will follow your example. Take time to understand what it is that motivates you personally and assertively communicate that to your superiors. As a project manager it is vitally important that you take time for your own learning and development to learn new skills but also to take the time to reflect on what you need to do differently and how you are going to do it.  So see learning and development as vital part of your role and an investment.
7. Reward your staff. Even if you don’t have much of a budget to spare, you can still do small things to reward your project team when they have met targets, added value etc. Chocolates, cakes and wine always go down well as a thank-you. Or you can be creative and look at other ways in which you can reward them, for example, introducing flexi hours or writing them a handwritten personal note of thanks and praise.
8. Have a social get-together. Organising the occasional social get together is a great way to boost morale and enable your team to get to know one another better.  You can organize a social committee that takes responsibility for organizing such events.
9. Celebrate your successes. It is important to celebrate and communicate your successes on the project. Have a success board that is visually appealing and accessible for all the project team to see. You could also have a ‘team hour’ once a week in which all members of the team are invited to have some wine/nibbles or tea/cake and learn about what successes the  project has had and what the current priorities are. This is an excellent way to communicate directly with them.
10. Put your people first. Your people are your greatest asset so make sure that every single member of your project team is made to feel valued – talk to them, listen to them, invest in their learning and always put them at the top of your agenda.

[Source]

The Best Templates to Use in Project Management

As professional project managers, we probably work heavily with templates…either using them or creating them. Templates can be a series of Word files, Excel files, Powerpoint files, or even PDF files. Templates are most often used for expense reports, budgets, letters and emails, project instructions, and schedules…you name it. But what are the best templates to use in project management?

Why do we use templates?

Templates make the life and role of a project manager easier. They save time and they practice consistency across team members, departments and functional areas, and even among other project managers. So much time and effort can be dedicated to creating internal as well as external documents. After all, why reinvent the wheel?

If you are a new project manager to the organization or role itself, it may be your job to create some new templates for you and your team prior to beginning a new project. Where do you start? You can always start from scratch. Get some feedback from your team on what should be in the documents and how to create them. You can also look to some project management software that provides reports as well as templates. But how do you know you are creating or are using the best templates?

What should the best templates include?

The best templates should include the following:

• Company Branding – It is always important to consistently use the company branding on all documents, especially when creating external documents for clients, customers, and quotes. This will maintain a high level of professionalism for all team members and project managers.

• Fields and Headers – When you or a member of your team opens the document, the document should automatically pre-fill information needed (i.e. the PMs name, the date, vendors, project ID, etc.) This will save the team member and/or PM time in filling out the same information over and over, especially if he or she does this several times per day. This will also minimize the risk for error and typos, which could be costly down the line.

• Charts and Other Data – When working in spreadsheet programs such as Excel, it may be helpful to have charts, graphs, or other figures already created. That way when the project manager, team lead, or other team member needs to add data, it will update the chart or graph automatically. Not only will this make it easy for others to use them, but the margin for error and risk will decrease since the charts are already properly designed.

• Comments and Notes – Regardless of which templates you create for what purpose, you should add in notes and comments to different fields, especially to those sections and areas that are meant to draw others’ attention to, such as instructions on how to fill out a certain area, input or feedback, or even an area that is most common left out or missed. You can also include comments and notes on a particular document for training purposes so the new project manager or team member knows how to fill out the document properly and its overall purpose and function.

While setting up and creating templates in the beginning may seem like a daunting and time-consuming task, it will save bundles of time during the height of projects and during peak business time. Templates also help improve efficiency and consistency across all team members and departments. Make sure the templates you create include the points above.

[Source]

Useful Questions Project Managers Should Ask

When projects are first assigned, or when hot leads then turn into contracted projects, there are some questions that project managers should analyze and ask themselves at the beginning of a project. This will help fully assess project specifications, identify risks, budget, resources, etc. and put together a plan of action.

• What are the deadlines and what does the schedule look like? Obviously this depends on the projects that you manage or the organization or clients that you are associated with, but ultimately one of the first things project managers should assess are the deadlines. Often times this may involve reviewing and analyzing the specs before committing to a deadline or setting up a schedule.

• What does the budget look like? The second crucial item in a project to analyze and review is the budget. What materials or resources or time does the budget allow for? Is there a little or a lot of room in the budget? Will a risk response plan need to be put in place should project specs change late in the game? Project managers, unfortunately, often have to work with condensed or limited budgets…especially today. It is important to fully assess these constraints and put together a risk response plan for any changes or issues that come up.

• What are the risks involved? In identifying schedules, deadlines, budgets, and project specs, it’s also absolutely crucial to identify project risks. No project should be handed off to team members or vendors until all risks have been identified and addressed and documented. Putting together a risk response plan to address the risks is also a pertinent step. This should outline what the risk category, the risk facet, and the probability that risk will occur, the impact, and what a reasonable response would be. It’s also a good idea to hold regular risk planning meetings to go over these with team members, particularly prior to hand off phases and other milestones.

• What are the customer’s needs? While it’s easy to get wrapped up in data and the details such as schedules, budgets, resources, etc., it’s always important to remember what and for whom the project is for. What is the purpose of this project? What benefits does it serve for the client? What is the client looking to get out of it?Sometimes having this frame of mind will help us to deliver successful projects to clients. It’s also a good idea that when identifying project specs and other data to question anything that doesn’t make sense. For instance, if a particular client asks for a spec that seems odd, it may be worth questioning, or at least trying to understand what he or she is looking for, and then offering a possible or easier solution that may save everyone time and money.

• How can we contribute to the project’s overall success? In addition to the previous point, it’s also important to take a step back and think of how your team can contribute to the project’s overall success. What skills do you and your team have that would benefit this project? What can you bring to the project table that would really ensure its success? Each project manager and team has their own personality and ways of doing things that stand apart from others. While this isn’t a competition, a team should be aware and proud of their skills and put them to use in a project.

These are just several questions that project managers should ask themselves when being assigned or taking on a new project. Some of these are typical questions that we have to identify all the time, however, sometimes we may forget what and for whom the project is for. It’s easy to get stuck on the details and forget the big picture. Taking a step back and truly thinking about these items will no doubt ensure the project’s success.

[Source]

How to Ensure Risk Management Success

We’ve talked many times before in this blog about projects and risk management. We’ve talked about identify and analyzing risks, the most common risks and the most common mistakes in risk management, the facets and categories of risk management, and even project management and risk management methodologies. So how do project managers tie all these together to make sure they really capture and ensure successful risk management?

This takes some experience and practice. Project managers are constantly on the go and often times doing several tasks at once. While multitasking is an excellent skill—and one that many project managers perfect over time—this can also have a negative impact.

• Identify Risks – As Early and as Often as Possible While we are busy multitasking, we may be forgetting to pay attention to crucial areas at crucial times, such as identifying risks. Identifying risks should occur at the very, VERY beginning of a project…even if the project isn’t technically a project yet, or is still only a lead or in the bidding stage. While it may seem like this takes more time overall, it can save project managers headaches throughout the project’s life cycle. In addition, it’s true that much of the identifying and analyzing risks should occur as early on in the project as possible, that doesn’t mean you don’t see them through. Depending on the probability and impact of the risk, it may be worth having regular risk or planning meetings with your team to monitor and analyze them through each project phase.

• Prioritize and Analyze Once project risks have been identified, and then re-identified, it is then important to assign tasks to team members as applicable. Each risk can come with its own set of responsibilities and tasks associated with it. In addition to the project manager, of course, each team member can be responsible for a risk or tasks. These tasks will need to be prioritized, analyzed, and then re-prioritized and reanalyzed through the life of the project. Again, this can be done at weekly risk or planning meetings, through documentation methods (such as checklists), or whichever method works best for the team as a whole.

• Communication and Project Management Communication is another big element that we’ve discussed in this blog on more than one occasion. Communication and project management, and communication and risk management go hand in hand…always. Projects will never be successful without implementing proper and open communication. Communication doesn’t even have to mean talking or conversing with one another about what’s going on, it’s about communicating risks, specifications, schedule changes, etc. Everyone should be on the same page at all times. This is of course a challenge for many teams, especially for those teams that work together on an off site or virtual basis, but closing the gap in communication will make everyone’s job easier and will ensure overall project success.

• Engage Team Members At All Times This is somewhat of a spin off of the point on communication listed above. All team members working on any project need to be privy of the specifications, correspondence, schedules, timelines, and especially the risks. Not only will this open the doors of communication and keep everyone on the same page, but it also lets team members know they are valued in every stage of the project.

Again, the challenges teams face today is that most team members work off site, virtually, and even in different time zones. When we all rely on email technology and electronic communication today, it is very easy to miss a detail here and there. Moral of the story? Project managers should do whatever necessary in order to keep ALL team members up to date and practice open communication, no matter where they are.

All in all, while dealing with risks many not be the most exciting part about being a project manager—some may argue that it is the most challenging—it is certainly not an area that should be taken lightly. Practicing the items outlined above will ensure that the proper measures are taken to identify and deal with risks, as well as develop and design risk response plans. This will help ensure that projects transition and are completed smoothly.

[Source]

Project Management and Communication

Most project managers would agree that one of the most important elements in projects and in project management as a whole is communication. The overall success and efficiency of a project is only as strong as the communication put into it.

Much like communication is an important part of a relationship. Project managers should treat each project like a “relationship”. While projects or work are nothing like a personal relationship, there are similarities here. Think of how you treat your family members, friends, or children on a personal level. Each person has his or her own individual personality characteristics, or something that makes one unique from the other.

Project managers would agree that it seems like no two projects are alike. This is essentially the case with relationships. Each project has its own unique specs, attributes, and risks associated with them that a good and efficient project manager needs to be mindful of and pay attention to.

Furthermore, one of the most important elements in managing a successful project is communication. Communication needs to be smooth in all areas of a project. This includes to and from the customer or client, team members—particularly if your project involves working with team members that are off site—other departments or functional areas, and vendors. The specs, attributes, and risks should be effectively communicated across these units.

One of the greatest areas of risk in a project is the hand off stages or essential project milestones where projects cross from one area to another, or from one department to another. It is at this point that if instructions and project specs aren’t clearly defined or communicated to other functional areas or team members where the risk for error is the greatest.

If project managers are unsure of how to effectively communicate project essentials to other team members, departments, or functional areas, one of the most effective methods of communication is document control. All specs should be documented and documented again in order to make sure they make it across to all areas of a project, all project milestones, and all team member in all forms and lines of communication.

Experienced and professional project managers recognize how important communication is in any project. As a result, project managers should treat each project like its own original and unique entity. Project managers should establish a “relationship” with that project and treat it as such. One of the most effective ways to do this is to practice effective communication throughout the life of the “relationship” or life cycle of a project.

[Source]

Online Teams and Online Team Members

With the development of Internet and mobile technology, more people prefer to work from home or telecommute. Number of online projects is fast growing and now almost all businesses in almost all industries make use of them. Especially, such projects are a frequent choice for start-ups with limited resources, but large companies are no exception.

Are online projects any different from traditional ones? If yes, how different is the work of an online team member?

There are widely different points of views about distance projects. Some managers are still of the opinion that managing online teams is much more difficult and freelancers could be used only for certain well defined tasks, but not for more complicated ones that require close monitoring and supervision.

However, some others find a lot of advantages to managing a freelance team working at geographically different locations in different time zones. They provide clear examples to prove long term success of online projects and that even difficult projects that require much communication between team members and close collaboration are quite suitable for online platform. Indeed, working with online team provides an opportunity to select the best manpower from a diverse range of specialties and criteria.

In fact some people are not able to work without boss under their shoulders and even they are good specialists they will not be effective online workers.

The first freelance work is not fit for everyone. Sometimes people want to be freelancers because of some individual circumstances. They may think they don’t need to go to work and it saves a lot of time. But there are some people, more often extroverts, who are not able to stay and work alone all time. They need people around and working online will be hell for them. This kind of people can’t adapt and may feel quite uncomfortable with working online only connected virtually.

But ability to work alone is not enough to be a good freelancer and an effective member of an online team. Online work requires high level of responsibility because it is easier to hide “in the cloud” than in the real work place. Psychologically, the online worker considers, as less serious fault, if he goes offline without explanation. Moreover, problems with connection could be a smart excuse in case of missing work or delays. But if such things happen often it will affect the team negatively in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Good online worker always tells in advance that he will not be online or find way to inform team that he has problem with connection.

Team members should be interested in the project in the first place and open for communication; he should be enthusiastic and take active part in discussions and, problems and solutions.

Freelance work is much more result oriented. If you work in an office you have much more freedom to pretend that you are working. Online workplace does not give such opportunity. Moreover, approach to work with remote workers is tougher. Employer can easily fire an ineffective freelancer than office worker. Personal relationships play a more important role when people have physical contacts. There is a kind of people who build the career based on good terms with the boss. People who choose to work online mostly are not interested in such methods or don’t have ability to manipulate people. They prefer to prove their efficiency with hard work and an achievement of valuable results.

A member of online team should be more self-sufficient. Often the duties of online worker are various and ability to get skills fast is very important. In the physical office, people communicate and ability to learn partly could be replaced with ability to communicate.

Very often freelancer works at several online projects at the same time and good online worker is curious, good learner and the person who has excellent ability to switch between works does well.

It is a fact that online project success greatly depends on the right team. The next question is where to find such people and how to manage an online team.

Usually people who are working or prepared to work online have online history. He could have been hired before through freelance sites have feedback tools; probably he may have their own blog site or active in forums. It is quite risky to hire a person who has never worked online for a responsible position. That is why people who are serious about freelance future often agree to lower position and lower money to prove that they are able to work online.

A project manager of an online team has very small chance to control what people are doing. Most freelance sites like oDesk have advanced software to control freelancers but it is boring and time consuming task to look screenshots one by one. So the only measure of people’s work is the result.

The role of project manager in online projects is much more informal. He needs to support constant communication with his team with a purpose of controlling and teaching people. Project manager is responsible for creating an atmosphere where every freelancer feels that the result of the project depends on how he works.

[Source]

Dealing with Programmatic Risks…Such as Hurricanes

Every project has its own certain levels of certain risks; risks that are analyzed and identified from the beginning of a project or during the development and submission phases. However, each project also comes with a number of uncertain risks, or even risks that project managers have no control over. Some of these uncontrollable and uncertain risks are related to weather. How many projects do you think are now suffering from a decrease in productivity due to Hurricane Sandy?

Dealing with risk management is a crucial step in every project. Project managers could spend all day putting together a risk management plan for risks that are both certain and uncertain. The truth is, project managers can’t devise a risk management plan for every risk that could occur. However, they can identify where these risks could occur. For example, each project has its own set of programmatic risks, which are basically those risks that affect project direction, but also fall outside of the project manager’s control.

Furthermore, programmatic risks also deal a lot with uncertain risks, or risks that involve environmental impacts. These could include breakdowns in communication, labor strikes, or severe, inclement weather. For example, Hurricane Sandy was a programmatic risk that many project managers face right now. Of course project managers at the start of their projects probably did not bet that a category three hurricane would put a halt to productivity or maybe even risk deadlines or project completion. This is a clear example of a risk that is out of the project manager’s, and even the organization’s, level of control.

So what can project managers do about uncertain programmatic risks?

Of course project managers at the start of their projects could not predict earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, or blizzards that could result in closed offices or interruptions in communication. However, if project managers could be aware of the possibility of these environmental impacts, then perhaps schedule adjustments could be made in advance in order to accommodate the drop in productivity or the breach in deadlines. This could be as simple as messaging or emailing team members to have a back up plan in order in the event inclement weather is predicted. This will give team members the chance to tie up any loose ends, adjust schedules and deadlines as necessary and as possible, and just be ready for the impact.

Again, project managers should not waste valuable time in drafting risk management plans at the beginning of each project to include the likelihood of a hurricane. A big part of designing a risk management plan not only includes identifying the risk, but also analyzing the impact or probability of a particular risk occurring. For example, project managers that took on new projects a week ago could easily factor in the hurricane as a certain risk to the project, because it was a real possibility at the time.

[Source]

Are You Project Managing Your Own Life?

Project manager by day…and night? As a professional project manager, do you find that you project manage your own personal life, even when you aren’t at work? Are you multitasking, creating schedules, spreadsheets, or even using a database or software to track and organize your own personal tasks? If you’ve said, “yes” to any of these, you could be project managing your own life.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Keeping detailed records, schedules, and spreadsheets to track budgets, finances, kids’ sports schedules and other activities, and other daily to-dos isn’t unheard of…especially in our busy lives where most of us balance work, school, families, etc. simultaneously. With our lives on the go all the time, it’s hard not to remain in the role as project manager when you leave the office and when you step in the door at home.

What can you do to become more organized?

The work – life balance is tough. No argument there. Being organized and detail-oriented can help you stay on top of finances, work out or diet goals, sports and activities schedules, and even managing grocery lists. You may have even perfected the art of multitasking by doing multiple household chores at one time, or exercising and doing work on your smartphone at the same time, or even scheduling weekend tasks by the day, or even by the hour! It’s all about coordination.

In addition to spending your time project managing your own life, you can also put that energy towards new ideas and even spark creativity. This doesn’t even have to do with your career as a project manager, but could also pertain to your own personal life. Maybe you need to think of a creative interior decorating idea, or help your child with his or her science project, or even plan your family’s next holiday or family reunion. We know what you’re thinking: spreadsheets, Powerpoints, and maybe even Pinterest…

Not all things in life can be project managed.

Project managers find the slightest inefficiencies and make them efficient. But remember, while life can be a project, it’s not as easily managed as some of the projects that may fall across your desk or appear in your inbox. There are challenges, hardships, and unforeseen events in life that just can’t be managed with a spreadsheet. This isn’t an attack on your efficiency, experience level, or performance as a project manager, it’s just a fact. Life is just messy and we all have to learn to roll with the punches. There come points in life when we have to stop being the job and be human beings.

How do you find a happy medium?

So now that we’ve talked about how project managing your own life is a good thing, and about where the line is between career and home, how does a project manager find a happy medium? There are simple ways that project managers function on a daily basis that aren’t over the top but can still make you a better person, personally.

1. Coordination. Coordination always takes effort, whether it be at home or work or even in your own business. However, if you learn to balance home and work and recognize where the line between the two is, when to cross it, and when not to cross it, this will help you in your coordination efforts. This will help you to remain organized and keep tasks, projects, and everything else in check and categorize them between work and play.
2. Communication. Project managers should know it’s all about communication. This item goes beyond the office, email, and the smartphone. This can be used in all relationships, whether personal or professional. Communication among spouses, friendships, and even families is huge in life. Practicing good, effective communication will make you a better person all around.

Finally, project managers can certainly benefit from implementing their own professional tactics into their personal lives. In fact, most professionals often do! However, it’s important as human beings to remember how vital it is not to let this cross over and take over your life negatively. Project management comes with excellent knowledge and skills to utilize in both your personal and professional life.

[Source]

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.

[Source]

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.

[Source]

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.

[Source]

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.

[Source]

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.

[Source]

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.

Risk Management: How to Identify Project Risks

One of the most important tasks in project management is the ability to identify risks. Identifying the probability and impact of project risks as well as potential risks is crucial. Identifying risks in the beginning of a project can impact – either positively or negatively – in the overall process and outcome quality right down to customer deliverables. At the beginning of each project, project managers should analyze each project for the certain and uncertain risks, the impact and probability of each, as well as risk plans for each.

Typical risks include budgets, scheduling and timing, resource availability, and data resources and availability. Budgets are an area where many companies and organizations struggle with today. Many project managers feel the pressure to put projects together and make them happen on small budgets. Unfortunately, projects that have limited budgets are also the high risk projects since it typically means that resources will be limited throughout the duration of that project. Limited resources can range from personnel to physical project materials.

Scheduling and timing is another common risk area. In addition to limited budgets, project managers often find themselves trying to make projects work in what seems like an impossible amount of time. This could be directly related to the budget risk. Tight project milestones and deadlines can be extremely problematic. This may mean risking the project’s overall outcome quality as well as delivery time to the customer or client. It is always a good idea to risk plan this portion up front that way team members and/or resources are aware of tight delivery times and project milestones.

Resource availability is another risk area that requires thorough analysis and planning. As mentioned briefly above, resources can relate to personnel, physical project materials, technology, or even project documentation. Resource availability is another area that can also tie into limited scheduling and budgets. For example, if you have a rush project that you need to recruit staff for, availability may pose a risk if you are unable to find resources available to meet tight deadlines. In addition, limited budgets may also hinder project managers from hiring resources and the ability to pay rush fees.

Data resources and availability can pose another risk. Sometimes project managers are faced with projects where experience, knowledge, or data is lacking. For example, a construction company that specializes in building houses or office buildings may not have any knowledge or experience in constructing a ski complex. In these cases it may be necessary to consult expert interviews in order to gain knowledge on how to go about the project efficiently. Furthermore, it is important that once a new project is complete to properly document and archive the project so that should another similar project come up in the future the project manager will have something to reference.

It is true that project managers encounter many risks when managing various projects. Most of the risks can be categorized in one or several of the areas mentioned above. Once a project manager has identified where the project’s risks fall under, he or she must then calculate the probability of the risk as well as the impact that it can have on the particular project. Finally, the project manager will need to analyze the risks and put together a plan of action as well as discuss them with essential team members. Risk planning is a portion of risk management that should not be overlooked.

[Source]