Improving Project Outcomes: 4 Keys to Managing Success

How do we get better? That is a question good Project Management Organizations (PMOs) ask themselves on a regular basis. Even if your company does not have a formal PMO, if you have a team that manages projects, the same question applies. From your smoothest projects to your most challenging, the following reminders are sure to resonate.

Keep it simple

The moment that you over-engineer a project is the moment that risks pop up left and right. Don’t overcomplicate the project. Ideally, at the start of the project, the goals are defined. While most organizations have a grand plan for what they would like to achieve and have a sense of what the results will be.  There will inevitably be at least minor post go-live modifications that were not identified during the planning and testing. User adoption is also that much stronger when there are fewer complexities introduced. By maintaining simplicity throughout the project, risks and overall failures are significantly mitigated.

Make a plan

How does your plan tie back to the project goals? If you don’t already have a plan, stop now, and create one. Project plans do not have to be overly complicated; they simply need to define how to get from the starting point to the endpoint. While a plan should be created upfront, it should also not be set aside and forgotten. When changes come up mid-project, make a plan for those; don’t throw them in and expect that they will have no impact on the project as a whole. While you may get lucky on occasion and changes or scope creep don’t create a mountain of challenges, it’s not worth the risk. Making and sticking to a plan allows a clear line of sight for the project and how the critical components, schedule, budget, resources, and scope are progressing. Your plan should always be the location from which you pivot.

Set expectations

Upon execution of the plan, ensure that team members understand their role in the project. Clearly define what each participant will be doing, including when, and that any ambiguity has been addressed upfront. When working with a team who may be expected to dedicate a large portion of their time for a period of the project, let them know this. Perhaps it may be worth creating a matrix indicating when participants are expected to dedicate more time vs. less time throughout the project. Setting expectations allows the team members to adequately plan their time to best support the project and execute the plan.

Communicate

Whether it be verbal or written, communication cannot be ignored and must be done on a regular basis. Without communication, requirements are apt to be misconstrued, deadlines are likely to be missed, and satisfaction is sure to tank. As part of the plan, determine the best and most effective communication strategy for the project team. Weekly calls and status reports are two common and standard methods for ensuring a smooth and successful project. Both ways allow for early identification and discussion of risks and mitigation plans and share successes and progress, which will likely keep a team motivated and on track. Don’t forget the end-users. By communicating progress and expectations to those impacted by the project, user engagement and adoption is likely to be higher.

Have a look back at some of your recently completed projects and ask a few questions.

• Did you incorporate the principles above into these projects?
• How did the successful projects vs. more challenging projects compare?
• What were the project’s goals and how did each of the above principles help in those achievements versus how were they missed?

Ask yourself what can be learned for next time and how you can do better.

Top Step can provide the guidance you need to project manage and guide you through a complex OpenAir implementation or integration project.  Contact us to discuss how we can help.