Manage projects in the right way

They sometimes forget that the main resource they work with is people. And humans are human beings, with feelings, thoughts, opportunities, qualities and shortcomings. And most of all, they want to be treated like human beings. Therefore, stop calling your team a "resource." Yes, you manage projects and assign tasks, but you don't have to use people to do them. You need to ask them to solve the challenges that each project faces.

How to plan projects?

The main challenge for project management is to make sure that each member of your team has enough tasks and that they work on their implementation, while not being overburdened with too many responsibilities.

This balance is difficult to achieve - especially when projects require different skills at different times.

The first and most basic thing you need to do is set up a system to track projects and the time your team members have. Your main goal is to meet deadlines, knowing that your team will be able to complete all tasks. This may seem like a simple task, but it is often quite difficult to implement as projects change, your people's personal schedules change, new responsibilities come, etc .. But nevertheless, this is not an impossible challenge. In fact, even a single spreadsheet in Excel may be enough, especially if you run a small team. It may contain the following information:

• Name and brief description of the project.
• The names of all the people you work with.
• Expected time for project implementation and individual tasks.

What should you consider when planning the tasks of each team member?

• The schedule should be made week by week to avoid confusion.
• Always take into account other daily responsibilities of your team members, such as meetings, internal tasks, etc.
• Remember that hours should not exceed the standard working week of 40 working hours. 32 hours a week is a good goal.
• Ask your team members if they agree with your predictions - ie. whether they will be able to complete the tasks on time.

Matching skills and projects

To make sure that your team will work to its full potential on the project, you need to understand what motivates each of its members. Here are some things to consider:

Interests : If one of your team loves beer, for example, why not include him in the project for the new beer site? Of course, you will not always be able to put interests first, as you have to do things that are good for the company and the budget, but it is a good starting point.

Skills : You need to get acquainted with the work of each member of your team, its qualities and strengths. Someone may love beer a lot, but does it have the necessary skills to make a website?

Changing schedules : Projects are always changing. This week you know that you are working on a set deadline, while next week things have changed due to the client's decision, the needs of the project or some other reason. It is difficult to predict when such a change will occur, but when it does, you need to know how to fill someone's time with extra responsibilities.

Holidays : Usually people take extra weekends around the holidays. Keep that in mind!

Vacations : It's great to know about vacations in advance. But by no means do you allow yourself to become a project manager who says, "You know the deadline is." . Therefore, you can't go on vacation at that time. "

Sick : Your employees are human, which means that one day they feel good and the next they don't. You should always have a backup plan.

Don't forget about the customers!

Keep in mind that customers do not always have all the necessary qualities. Usually, the problems are related to organizational skills and time management skills. To avoid such obstacles, you need to plan the following:

• Meetings. You will have an initial meeting, subsequent meetings, reviews.
• Schedule. You need to get the customer to bring in the right people at the right time.
• Feedback. You need to gather the views of all stakeholders to make sure there are no conflicting opinions.
• Implementation of decisions. You need to make sure that the necessary decisions are made so that the project can continue.
• Daily emails, meetings. Questions and requests will constantly arise, and you will need to provide timely answers.

If you work with a client who does not have good project management skills, you should help him plan his time - for example, with emails or reports. Remember that customers are busy people and want the project to go smoothly. Help them get what they want. 

Conclusion

Project management is a difficult task. To make it easier, follow the advice we gave you, and you will complete your projects on time and without major shocks.

Source: alistapart.com.