Here are 3 quick and effective tips for successful projects based on my experience in handling projects. These tips are applicable for almost all type of projects irrespective of whether they are small, medium or large. What can vary is the level and magnitude to which you apply these tips.
- Alignment to the vision:
Most of the time, I have observed that project managers merely adhere to their role and end up being implementers. This is not bad looking at the huge amount of activities that the project managers end up doing. But, it pays off a lot when the project manager looks at the big picture and understands the vision of the project. For this, it is imperative for the project manager to align with the management, sponsors and the customers at best. Having a good perspective of what the project would finally look like would help the project manager to plan better and provide insights on improvising processes.
- Communication:
This is the crux. Communicate! Communicate! Communicate! This is like a guru mantra or you can call it a success secret. It is important to communicate with the sponsors, management, the team and the customers as and when needed. Many times, I have realized that the team gives insights to the delays, risks, key concerns. However, for this to work, it is important to link communication with attitude. It is very important to collaborate with the team with the right positive attitude. This helps create a positive environment conducive for effective communication.
- Flexibility and Prioritization:
Often, I have observed that project managers put in lot of efforts in planning, scheduling, monitoring and controlling the tasks, executing the project activities and in project closures. However, in the process of scheduling the project end to end, they tend to get rigid in terms of following processes, tracking tasks, following schedules etc. This still looks fine in the waterfall approach, but this very trait turns out to be a bane while working on agile scrum model. Yes, following processes and schedules is a good practice, and should be adhered to a great extent. But, the project manager should realize that the whole purpose is to ensure getting the project delivered and that following processes and schedules should not be at the cost of losing out on the big picture. One should be flexible and constantly prioritize the project activities to meet the end results. Like in Agile Scrum, the stories are constantly groomed and re-prioritized prior to the beginning of the sprint. Once the sprint starts on a specific set of stories planned, it is equally important to track the progress on a daily basis and take decisions on the stories, resource assignments and priorities.
So, in a nutshell, be visionary, communicate effectively and be flexible to get success in your projects.