How to Kick Start Your Project

Most Projects Managers get tired at some point in their project. After all, managing people, money and time is exhausting. But if you’re not at the top of your game for the whole length of the project, then your team can get stressed and timeframes can start slipping. So here are 5 tips for kick starting your project to rejuvenate it and give it a new lease of life…

Tip 1: Stop and get a grip
Projects are always ahead in some areas and behind in others. Stop and take the time to get a firm handle on the project progress. Make a list of all of the areas that you’re behind in. Then prioritize the list and calculate the amount of effort needed to get them back on track. Are there any tasks that can be completed by others outside your team? If there are non-critical tasks that you can outsource, then now is the time to consider it. Use whatever resources you can find to complete these late tasks as soon as possible.

Tip 2: Rework the plan
Once you’ve caught up, revisit your Project Plan. Update every task in the plan and recreate your schedule ahead. You need to revitalize your team and to do this, you need a newly worked project plan that shows how you’re going to deliver the rest of the project on time. This will boost motivation and enthusiasm for completing the revitalized plan. Especially if your team can see that it’s actually achievable.

Tip 3: The Road Ahead
Now that you have a crystal clear plan ahead, you’re ready to get the team behind it. Take your team out for lunch. Walk them through the remaining challenges and the timeframes in which they must be achieved. Try not to talk about the prior period or any failures to date. Instead, be positive and focus on the road ahead to gather their support. If possible, ask a customer to come along, to impress on your staff what it is that they need to deliver and by when. Tell them you’re proud of them and what they’re capable of achieving.

Tip 4: Individualization
The trick now is to make each person feel like they are a critical cog in the wheel. Meet them individually, reward their successes and recognize achievement whenever you see it.

Tip 5: Quick wins
A winning team like to know they are winning right from the start. Focus on delivering a couple of critical tasks early, then shout about the success. Then get more quick wins under your belt and shout out about your successes again. This creates the feeling of achievement and it creates momentum in the team. Sure, the project may not be finished until you’ve crossed the finishing line, but half the fun should be in getting there.

By taking these 5 tips, you can kick start your projects to boost motivation to an all time high.
To invigorate your team, use these refreshing new Project Management Templates.
They include all of the documents you need to help your team deliver the project on time. Download from Method123.com

The Role of a Project Manager

The role of a Project Manager is to “Deliver the project on time, within budget and to specification”. So in other words, you need to specify clearly upfront what must be delivered by the project, and then you need to produce it within the schedule and budget assigned.
But it’s not that simple. You might meet this objective but totally fail as a “top notch Project Manager”. We believe your role is much more than that. It is also…
1: To recruit the best
Great projects are delivered by a great team. Your role is to recruit the best people you can find and make sure that their skill sets are perfectly complimentary so that you have all of the experience you need to deliver the project successfully.
You need to document a detailed Job Description for every person in your team so that they all know what is expected of them, at every step in the journey. Only with a great team and everyone knowing what is expected of them, will you deliver a great result.
2: To motivate and lead
You need to be the one “cracking the whip” so that everyone knows what is to be done and by when. You need to be strict and make sure that every task is done on time and doesn’t slip. If it does slip, then you need to identify the slippage immediately and have contingency plans so you can get back on track.
As well as cracking the whip, you need to be positive and supportive towards your team so they know you also care. You need to lead by example and motivate others to do the same. If you want others to work hard, then you need to work harder than they do.
Lead by giving them direction, motivating them to work hard and showing you care along the way.
3: To manage the finances
Every project has a budget, whether it’s clearly defined or not. You need to ensure that you don’t spend more than you’re entitled to, or your sponsor / client will be dissatisfied with the end result. Manage finances carefully by listing every expense and ensuring that they are budgeted upfront. If unbudgeted expenditure takes place, tell your client as soon as possible to avoid complications down the track. If you need more budget, then don’t be afraid to ask for it!
4: To control change
You need to be the one who controls all change to the project scope, tightly. “Scope creep” kills projects. Define the scope of the project upfront and then review it each week to make sure that you’re not doing un-authorized work at any time. Your customer will ask for change throughout the project. Don’t always give in. Stay your ground and when this happens, ask for more time or budget to cater for it. Remember—no matter how many changes they ask you for, they will still beat you up if you’re late or over budget. So control change when you see it.
5: Communicate
It’s your job as a Project Manager to communicate the status of the project regularly. If people know it’s on track it will motivate them. If they know it’s late it will motivate them even more. But they will only know if it’s on time or late if you communicate this to them.
You need to communicate the project status to your team, project sponsor and client every week of the project life cycle. Never miss a week. Always document the status accurately. Never exaggerate. Communicate the right messages t the right people at the right time.

Project manager at site

There you have it! If you want a Job Description template to learn more about the role of a Project Manager then go to www.Method123.com
Or get the Project Management Kit of templates. It includes all of the templates you need to perform your role as a Project Manager, and more…

A Project Management Reality TV Show?

I am wondering how many of you guys like watching reality TV series? Likes The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, The Apprentice, Majide, to name a few…

Interesting enough, I notice that many episodes in The Apprentice have requires the contestants to push their skills on project management. Pause, I am thinking that it would be so nice if we could have a local reality TV show on project management. Yeah,,a Project Management reality TV show on contestants managing different tasks of renovation, Mechanical & Electrical and Civil & Structural works etc.

Some real squabbles that I could think of are:-

Scenario 1

Derick (Project Manager): Why are you cutting the ceiling at this late site progress stage?

James (Electrical contractor): I need to high level the conduit on top the ceiling.

Derick (Project Manager): Why not you did this earlier?

James (Electrical contractor):  The positioning of the new points not being confirm until recently.

Michael (House owner): Phone conversation: Derick, I cannot risk not having my house warming party by this month end.

Derick (Project Manager): Ok,Mr. Michael. I will make sure you do.

Derick (Project Manager) to James: I will make sure you paid for this. Fxxk….

 Scenario 2

Henry (Door access contractor): Mr. Bob, we got a bit of problem here, I have to punch an opening into your slab to enable my wiring to come out from level below.

Bob (Project Manager): You crazy!..your action will damage the waterproof underneath the slab. Are you going to pay for the warranty?

Henry (Door access contractor): Any suggestions?

Bob (Project Manager): I don`t know,,you tell me!

Both parted ways without any solution yet

 Scenario 3

Ray (Project Manager): How many times I need to tell you to clear the debris after you finished hacking the brick walls?

Melvin (Electrical Contractor): A few times maybe. (Pretend to listen and continue working)

Ray (Project Manager): Hey, seriously! I am reminding you again and again and again!

Scarlett Johansson

Haha,,what do you think? I wanna know…these scenarios are quite common to happen as my experience of seeing it.

Oh,,not to forget,,,,this show need to have a host…and I dream that the gorgeous Scarlett Johansson could just be the one!

Project Management Indiscipline or Discipline

One year ago, I wrote an article about project management indiscipline. It has been the most read article in my blog.I feel like wanna write little about my project management indiscipline part 2,,,,or perhaps discipline events.

Ever since I was a teenager, I had encounter strangers who like to share their thought with me. One event happenned somewhere in 2003 while I was just finished a job interview ( been to quite a number prior to that but not successful in nailing any) and sat on a bench outside McDonald Ampark Park, when one working salaryman on lunch time sat next to me while we started a conversation. He told me that “It doesn`t matter about your qualification and working experience, the most important is how do you perform during an interview”.  Since then, I achieved many successful job interviews but this is not what I am going to blog right now,,maybe I will blog about the secret to nail a job during  interview in my next post.

When I apply this to project management; this could be mean that it doesn`t matter about adopting real project management discipline or indiscipline, the most important is how do you smoothly manage the project during the implementation.

Some project manager work very hard just to make sure everything is on order, some rely others to do the job, some focus on real teamworks, some are forcing the contractors to follow every his commands(often being hated), some are rational (but this type of PM are always being taken for granted), and many more.

My project management at Bukit Kiara

The project manager should use varieties of attitude and approach when dealing against each different type of person or party. The is no right or wrong in situation like this, just think of your best option and do the execution. Other might think you did the wrong decision but you must be sure you do the right thing in the end.

Relax living at East 12 @ Kiara Heaven

Project management indiscipline

I always wonder what the important of project management and why people keep implementing it in a project. What are the advantages or disadvantages of it? I came across many books, thesis, and articles about the useful of project management. What are the disadvantages? Project management loopholes or people involved with it do not master the skills yet by doing the wrong implementation. I do not know much too or else I could be researching a university thesis now.

Project Management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. A project is a finite endeavor of having specific start and completion dates undertaken to create a unique product or service which brings about beneficial change or added value.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while adhering to classic project constraints—usually scope, quality, time and budget. The secondary and more ambitious challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives.
A project is a carefully defined set of activities that use resources (money, people, materials, energy, space, provisions, communication, motivation, etc.) to achieve the project goals and objectives. Regardless of the methodology used, the project development process will have the same major stages: initiation, planning or development, production or execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

I wonder if any delay or shortages of the above said resources could trigger the delay of executing the project. Or maybe the project manager has the skills to make sure it progress amid of the missing resources? hmm..or maybe,, some party may end up the winners and some will be the losers in order to balance the project shortages.

Interestingly, monitoring and controlling stage consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. I found this very important stage is lacking in our society project management.

Monitoring and Controlling cycle

My view on project management is that it can be very useful and effective if being implemented correctly and everyone is playing on the rules and regulations. Otherwise, some people will try to manipulate it in order to gain advantages.