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10 tips for efficient project management
How to manage projects effectively?
1. Implement the project management performance standard in your company
There are many popular methodologies to choose from that we can adapt to our needs. These are for example:
- Scrum
- Agile
- Prince2
- Lean
Most companies carry out dozens of smaller projects that last from a few weeks to several months, rarely longer. The most important thing is not to force the project team into a corner of bureaucracy and unnecessary paperwork, but to focus on the target.
Excessive bureaucracy and complexity demotivate teams, and this significantly affects the failure of a number of projects. It is necessary to implement the correct methodology before starting the project, so that the team can adapt to proposed solution and move to work more efficiently.
2. Clearly defined project’s purpose
The project itself must be presented in such a way that you and your team can fully understand it as well as understand the goals that lie ahead of you. In order to efficiently and reliably convey to your team what needs to be done, you need to know what the sponsor's expectations are and what effect the campaign is to have.
Each project participant must know what tasks belong to him and what issues he or she will be dealing with. This is the foundation of good cooperation.
In addition, it is important that all project participants understand the projects’ goal we strive to achieve together. Otherwise, everyone will focus solely on their own tasks and there will be no teamwork.
3. Choose projects you want to implement in an objective way
Each project implementation involves resources and time and these cost money and time. Another aspect that is worth paying attention to is that each company can implement a limited number of projects at a time. Finally, note that companies have a lot of design ideas.
All this means that each company should be very careful when choosing the projects it wants to implement. Otherwise, it may happen that we overestimate our capabilities, which can result in the lack of the desired effect - project implementation.
4. Check if your team has the appropriate competences to implement the project
Competent people must be selected for appropriate tasks. People in the project team should present such a set of features and skills that will allow the project to be carried out well. If we involve an inexperienced employee in an important project and give him goals that he is unable to achieve, it is difficult to make up for this lost time later.
Success at this planning stage will allow us to look calmly at the next challenges that will stand in our way.
5. Priorities determined by the company's strategy and projects
Projects must be an integral part of the company's strategy. In this way, the company will be able to focus on priorities and ensure that it can achieve its stated goals. It is especially important when we have limited human and financial resources.
6. Project team communication
It is important that participants at each stage of the project not only know what their project role is, but also are able to communicate freely with each other. The project team should be open to any questions, even those that seem trivial at first.
Don't wait passively for someone to ask you something. If the project is implemented remotely, or most of the communication takes place online, you can use a tool that will allow you to conduct all correspondence in one place and allow you to review the entire history of the project. You will find it all in our Flowgres project management system.
7. If there is communication - there must also be motivation!
During the project it is important to maintain a high level of motivation of the entire team. An important aspect in this is, first of all, finances, which allow for the comfort of the activities performed and the atmosphere without which it is impossible to achieve the set goals. An example of a motivator increasing the willingness to work may be a possibility to work at a non-fixed time or allowing some tasks to be performed remotely. The level of motivation affects the duration of our project as well as the quality of the progress made.
8. Project supervision
Every project task needs to be controlled and its progress checked. If the tasks are not carried out properly, the Project Manager should intervene and instruct the responsible persons.
Even constructive criticism should be appropriately communicated and the purpose of instruction clearly shown. All the information must be delivered in an understandable way.
The instructed person must know that the remarks he or she receives are intended to improve their work in the future projects.
9. Report every project stage
During the project, it is important to report on even the smallest stage. When we have created such a report, we can return to it at any time, analyze its process and then use it in the future if similar processes are carried out. In addition, in the event of irregularities, we are able to quickly check what happened and where the mistake was made.
10. Use the tools that will help in the implementation of the project
Project implementation requires providing the team with a project management tool. This tool must fulfill the functions that will allow for the efficient development of the project team as well as facilitate everyday work on tasks.
One such tool is Flowgres.
The Flowgres system is a comprehensive project management platform that has virtually everything you need to manage a project in one place.
The advantage of Flowgres is the online platform. The ability to keep the program in the cloud allows for quiet work and continuous technical support. At the same time, we have access to the application from any device: Windows, Android and MacOS.
The system is comprehensive and intuitive at the same time. If you want your customer to always be informed about the progress of the project, you can let them log in to Flowgres and view the selected areas. You will quickly learn to use it fully.
I think these 10 tips will help you to operate more efficiently and perform your duties better. I hope you are able to manage your projects better with this article.
