10 STEPS TO CREATING A PROJECT PLAN

I think having a well developed project plan can save a lot of time and headache for the entire team involved in a project. With well defined steps and guidelines team members can stay more focused on their individual task and accomplish more in less time.

As I was trying to figure out what my second post should be about, I turned to our lecture topic from October 17th. Developing a project plan sounded like a perfect subject to focus on. I wanted to read and learn more about this topic as I hope to be managing projects in the near future.

I came across this great article written by Elizabeth and Richard Larson, titled “10 Steps to Creating a Project Plan”. What caught my attention is the article’s first sentence “One of the critical factors for project success is having a well-developed project plan”. I agree with the authors 100%. Without a well developed project plan lots can go wrong and the entire team may suffer unwanted consequences.

Authors of the article describe 10 steps to creating a project plan:

  1. Explain the project plan to key stakeholders and discuss its key components.
  2. Define roles and responsibilities.
  3. Hold a kickoff meeting.
  4. Develop a Scope Statement.
  5. Develop scope baseline
  6. Develop the schedule and cost baselines.
  7. Create baseline management plans.
  8. Develop the staffing plan.
  9. Analyze project quality and risks.
  10. Communicate!

I decided to pick three steps that I consider to be the most important. I find all these steps to be vital, but explaining the project plan, defining responsibilities, and communicating rank the highest on my list.

In my opinion, explaining the project plan is crucial to a project’s success. Most project components will change over the life of a project. The delivery date may change, the team may get smaller or larger, and the budget may change as well. Project manager has to be prepared and create/adjust the project plan as needed.

Defining responsibilities and often re-assigning earlier assigned responsibilities from one team member to a different team member is essential. As project’s requirements may change, the team has to adapt to changes, and project manager has to plan accordingly. The project manager should be the one to determine who on the project is responsible for what part.

Communication, communication, communication!!! Without an effective communication project’s success will be in jeopardy. Team member should be well informed about not only who on the team is responsible for what, but also how team members can assist when challenges arise. I think communication is a key to a successful project.

 

To read more about the remaining 7 steps to creating a project plan click the link below.

http://www.projecttimes.com/articles/10-steps-to-creating-a-project-plan.html

 

In your opinion, what are the three most important steps in creating a project plan?

Managing a Project in a Global Market

MANAGIND A PROJECT IN A GLOBAL MARKET

I have never managed a project before. The only thing I can recall from memory is that the Project Life Cycle has four stages:

  1. Defining
  2. Planning
  3. Executing
  4. Closing

Before I go any further I want to start with the basics. I want to know what a project is and what are some of the major characteristics of a project? Once I have the basic understanding of a project, I can explore the idea of how projects leads manage projects on a global scale.

Larson and Gray, authors of our textbook “project management the managerial process” define a project as a “temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result”. Some of the major characteristics of a project that Larson and Gray talk about are:

  1. A defined objective.
  2. Each project has a beginning and an end date.
  3. Usually, several people and departments are involved.
  4. Typically, doing something that has never been done before.

In my opinion, managing a project has to be very stressful and time consuming. So, how do managers manage a project on a global scale? To answer this question I turned to Neil Stolovitsky’s article “Strategic Project Management in a Global Economy:

Best Practices in Managing Geographically Dispersed Project Teams”

http://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/PMWJ-Sep2012-STOLOVITSKY-StrategicPMinGlobalEconomy-AdvisoryArticle.pdf

According to Stolovitskly communications across borders, oceans, and time zones have been eliminated due to technological advances. As customers become more demanding and impatient, businesses face the challenge of delivering superior product and services faster than ever. Stolovitsky explains the challenges that project leaders face while managing projects on a global scale.

These challenges are:

  • Cultural diversity, people in different countries speak different language, probability of miscommunication.
  • Remote team members don’t have regular contact with their project lead. This makes communication challenging.
  • Application of traditional project management techniques to their global reality (planning, adhering to timelines, specifications, and costs). Own styles of communications are often implemented.

What should organizations do to improve the communication between team members located thousands of miles away? Stolovitsky proposes few solutions;

  1. Distance: “Nothing can replace real human interactions”; organizations should make a conscious effort and allow for occasional face-to-face interaction.
  2. Language: “Appoint a lead resource to address translation”; multi-lingual companies will benefit when there is an appointed translator translating all correspondence. This will decrease the probability of inaccurate information being communicated between tea members.
  3. Business Culture: different work styles should be recognized in order to avoid issues.
  4. Time Zones: project leads should schedule meeting so the team members from different time zones are available.
  5. Access to Information: information on any project related matter should be made available 24/7.

Stolotiskly suggested few solutions to better manage geographically dispersed project teams. Having a better understanding of what a project is, and what are some of its main characteristics, what are some other solutions you can think of, to make managing project on a global scale more efficient?