DISCLAIMER *** Yesterday’s Project Management Best Practices Checklist posting

DISCLAIMER *** Yesterday’s Project Management Best Practices Checklist posting

Just so I don’t get in trouble, I didn’t author the checklist that appeared on the blog yesterday.  I found it buried in the reams of documentation, templates, and various Project Management documents that I have in my possession.  While virtually all of the postings on this blog were written by me, I will always credit sources when available.  I am unsure of the source of yesterday’s posting.

Thanks

Stephen F. Seay, PMP

Project Management Best Practices Checklist

Identify the participants and their roles.
Identify potential project team members as well as the major players in the user community that will test and except the final product or service.

Assign an experienced project manager early
This Project Manager will make or break a project. Be sure the individual has the expertise to manage the project and works well with others. Don't hesitate to look at outside sources if there is no one on staff that qualifies.

Assess the qualifications and experience of the planned project team members
Along with the project manager, assess carefully the qualifications and experience of each team member as they pertain to the specifics of this project. Keep in mind the importance of team players, and the ability to get along with others.

Complete a detailed workplan
A preliminary workplan with major milestones should have been completed while developing the PIJ. Now is the time to work with the project manager in identifying the tasks involved for each milestone. The workplan should list the tasks for each milestone with the estimated hours, start and stop dates, costs and responsible parties. Sample workplans and templates are available through GITA upon request.

Establish an issues control tracking system
Establish a method by which, all issues pertaining to the project are recorded and can be reviewed regularly and tracked by the project team. All issues should eventually have a documented resolution. Software to perform these functions may be available through GITA upon request.

Establish a regular project team review meeting schedule
Regularly scheduled project review meetings should be incorporated into the workplan. These meetings are to review the current progress of the project including the percentage of completeness of workplan tasks.

Establish a participant update meeting schedule
Periodic participant update meetings should be incorporated into the workplan. These meetings are to present the current progress of the project to upper management and major participants in the user community.

Conduct a project kickoff meeting
Officially start the project with a meeting of all parties involved. The project team should be introduced, the milestones reviewed with estimated completion dates, and expectations as to the level of participation, should be outlined.

Keep IT Simple

There was a popular survey some time ago that asked leaders in several mid-sized companies about their success. One of the main reasons that many were successful is they focused on simplicity in everything they did. The study concluded that simple, focused companies were more profitable.

The Pareto or 80/20 Principle can help us realize the power of keeping things simple.

Some popular statistics that relate to the Pareto Principle are below:

80% of beer is consumed by 20% of the beer drinkers

80% of classroom participation comes from 20% of the students

80% of traffic jams occur on 20% of roads

20% of your clothes will be worn 80% of the time

80% of sales are generated by 20% of the sales staff

80% of problems are generated by 20% of the employees

80% of problems come from 20% of the customer base

Now that we know this, how do we make things simpler? The answer is "simple". We need to analyze the data. We cannot guess where the problems are. We cannot just use emotion. As I have stated in previous posts, it is important to look at your business processes to eliminate waste and complexity.

Questions to ask yourself and your organization when seeking to simplify your business processes:

What are our processes?

Who are our customers?

What systems do we use? Do we have the right systems in place to support our business?

What services do we offer internally and externally? Are they still valuable today?

Look for the 20% that adds value and eliminate or redesign the rest. Keep in mind that we are looking to automate, minimize, isolate, reduce, redesign, or reallocate those things that are not helping us to achieve simplicity.

Keep it Simple!!!