10 Things I Know About... Project Management
David Kassel is principal of Accountable Strategies Consulting LLC in Harvard. He can be reached at dkassel@earthlink.net.
10. Question Everything
Make sure your project addresses a real problem and is the right solution. Regularly question your presumptions about those issues.
9. Plan Adequately
Don’t be in such a big hurry to get results that you shortchange the planning process. Enduring the pain of adequate project planning will save more pain later on.
8. Be Realistic
Avoid the almost universal tendency to be overly optimistic about the cost and timeline of your project. You will save yourself much embarrassment down the line.
7. Know The Law
Consult regularly with your legal staff about your project. Complying with legal requirements is painful, but evading requirements will cause more difficulty later on.
6. Communicate
Maintain the support of the project’s stakeholders by keeping them informed and seeking their consent throughout the project. Hiding bad news doesn’t work in the long run.
5. Build A Team
Don’t let personal friendships or political considerations drive the process of selecting project team members, contractors or consultants. A competitive selection process for personnel will get you the best results.
4. Have Integrity
Train your project team in ethical business practices and encourage information-sharing from the bottom of your organization to the top. Corrupt practices and secrecy go hand-in-hand.
3. Measure
Measure your project’s progress consistently against the budget and schedule. Don’t panic when variances occur. They happen on all projects. Make the corrections thoughtfully.
2. Maintain Quality
Avoid the temptation to reduce systems testing and other quality processes in order to meet schedule or cost goals. Reducing quality will just make matters worse.
1. Think Longterm
Long-term maintenance of infrastructure and other assets created by projects is a major area of neglect in this country. Proper maintenance will save major costs down the road.
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