Manage Project;- Are you in charge of a project and you are finding the whole process challenging? Here are a few ways to get you up to speed as we take you through steps and stages of how to successfully manage your first project.
Manage Project – Stages of the Project Process
- Initiation
- Planning
- Execution
- Managing and controlling
- Closing
The flowing outlined steps are the same for every project.
Basic Steps for Project Newbies
As the project gets initiated, the project is created and a charter was drawn up which authorizes you to be the program manager and establish a reporting chain. This where you will have to;
Define the Scope
This is the first and most crucial step in any project. Questions like what are you supposed to accomplish or create? what is the project objective, defining what is not included in the scope of your project should be clearly answered here? If your boss did not give you enough clarification, ensure you clarify the scope yourself and send it back for confirmation.
Analyze the Resources Available
Start by analyzing what people, equipment, and money will be at your disposal to achieve the said project objectives. Note, that as a project manager, you won’t have direct control of these resources, but will have to manage them via matrix management.
Matrix management refers to the use of the set hierarchy within the company in accomplishing what you want to be done.
Have an understanding of the Timetable
Know the deadline for the project, so as to develop your project plan, and have some flexibility in how you use time during the project. If you need to use overtime hours to meet the schedule, then you have to weigh that against the limitations of your budget.
Detail the Work
Analyze the major pieces of components that have to be created to complete the project.
Work with your team members to spell out the details needed to achieve each major item
List out the smaller steps in each of the larger steps, and x-ray how many levels deep you go in detailing steps will depend on the size and complexity of your project.
WorkOut a Primary Plan
Gather all your steps into a plan, by using a precedence table that identifies what items must precede other items. Sequence the activities in the right order, and then allocate resources to the activities.
Map out questions like;
- What happens first?
- What is the next step?
- What steps can go on at the same time with different resources?
- Who is in charge of each step?
- What duration will it take?.
CarveOut Your Baseline Plan
Gather feedback on your preliminary plan from your team and from any other stakeholders. Then adjust your timelines and work schedules to fit the project into the allotted time. Also, make necessary adjustments to the preliminary plan to produce a baseline plan.
Ask for Project Adjustments
If the limits placed on the project are unrealistic, you need to make your case and present the same to your boss requesting that the unrealistic limits be changed. It is best to ask for adjustments at the beginning of the Project.
Assemble Your Project Team
If you have started acquiring resources and procuring necessary materials, then you are in the execution phase, where you have to get the people on your team together and begin a dialog. They are the technical experts, which you have been assigned to manage.
Execute Your Plan
If there are necessary changes to be made, on the plans you have earlier spelled out, change them as required, but bear in mind to always keep the scope and resources in mind.
Once your plan unfolds and the work is accomplished, you enter the monitoring and controlling phase, where you work to control costs, resources, and quality.
Keep Your Team Under Surveillance
Monitor what everyone is doing, to enable you to get a head start on issues before they escalate into problems.
Keep Every Process Documented
Keep records, every time you change your baseline plan and write down what the change was as well as what necessitated the change. Write down every new requirement for the project, where the requirement came from and how the timeline or budget was adjusted because of it.
Bring Everyone Up to Speed
Update all the project stakeholders of the progress all along the way. Intimate them of every success as you complete each milestone, and also keep them informed of every problem as they arise.
Your team also needs to stay abreast of any changes that are being considered. Inform them as far ahead as you can, and ensure everyone on the team is aware of what everyone else is doing.
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