7 Project Management Tips

1. Begin at the end 2. Get collaborating 3. Be agile 4. Update. Engage 5. Go Kanban-style 6. Access whenever, wherever 7. Stop administering, start doing Whitepaper 7 Project Management Tips Manage projects within a fragmented workforce 7 tips: How to manage projects within a fragmented workforce Is it any wonder that pressure in the modern work place had become a health issue in some markets? Just look at what you’re facing today: results-oriented projects with tight deadlines, 24/7 working mentality and tight budgets. There’s no surprise that managers and teams are under a lot of stress. With more and more wide-scale projects involving multiple teams across many countries and time-zones, cloud-hosted management tools are becoming essential to effectively assign tasks and resources. To benefit from the advantages that these tools can provide, here are some top tips and best practices that can help stressed managers drive achievement in a fragmented workforce. 1. Begin at the end Poor planning leads to an inefficient allocation of time and resources, which can effectively doom a project before it gets off the ground. To ensure success in project management, establish an end goal and work back from there. Get managers to plot key milestones on a timeline, so they can see how they are progressing toward a defined goal. There are tools and techniques that give both managers and their teams full visibility over the complete plan, and allow all concerned to add their thoughts and priorities into the project lifespan. Now imagine how much more effective that plan will be if it is hosted online in the cloud where all involved can access it through their smartphones or tablets. Embracing collaboration will help to merge well-established experience with fresh and innovative talent. 2. Get collaborating Generation and skills gaps between teams and individuals can lead to different levels of quality in the completion of key project tasks. Collaboration is the key here. Embracing collaboration will help to merge well-established experience with fresh and innovative talent. This will provide the opportunity to develop new ideas and processes that will drive efficiency and success within a project. To achieve such an outcome, project managers need to introduce collaboration at all stages of a project. An accessible, centralized planning and management hub gives full visibility of current and upcoming tasks to help different teams with varied skills work more closely together. 3. Be agile The status of projects changes continuously. So you should adopt an agile approach to your project management. At all times, be flexible and fine-tune your plans as you go. There are numerous tools available to help you achieve this, and technology is a great enabler. Don’t forget, though, that this is more of a cultural shift. 5. Go Kanban-style Long lists of duties and key jobs can be difficult to digest, leading to confusion about which team is assigned to each task. Presenting the key milestones of a project in a very visual fashion makes information much easier to process and understand at a glance. The use of Kanban boards, originally adopted by Toyota, can give a very clear overview of a project’s workflow and indicate what each person or team is working on. The effectiveness of these boards can be further enhanced if they are hosted online, allowing everyone involved to see where additional assistance or extra resources are required. 4. Update. Engage Keeping a team updated on project status would normally involve sending out multiple emails to different teams informing them about the status of tasks relevant to their duties. Or trying to reach them all by phone. Or even trying to pull together regular meetings. Difficult. And certainly time- consuming and stressful for project managers. Cloud-hosted management tools with a strong social focus make it easy to communicate among employees, stakeholders and other interested parties. Different teams and individuals can seamlessly update and discuss the tasks they are working on with everyone involved in the project – even if they are on different continents. This will reduce the time project managers spend on administration. It will also help encourage people to be more engaged with the project as they can be kept informed at all times of its overall progress. The use of Kanban boards gives a clear overview of what each person or team is working on. 6. Access whenever, wherever Mobility in business is a key trend, with many people accessing servers and downloading documents remotely when they are out of the office or travelling between destinations. Integrating remote access into project management systems makes it easier for teams to carry out their tasks. This will help make communications between teams in different countries more effective too, as updates and feedback are recorded instantly on a project’s virtual action board – so no more having to rely on email communication. By harnessing the potential of cloud technology in conjunction with best practices, managers can achieve results that reach beyond expectation. 7. Stop administering, start doing With the right fully-transparent, open work culture you can cut right back on the need for touch-base meetings. You do this by making sure your management is supported by collaborative tools that allow an overall perspective of the project’s status, and by having tools that facilitate the team’s self-organization and ability to prioritize. From now on you can monitor, rather than participate in, detailed planning and free up time to focus on shaping positive project behaviour as you lead the team toward its goal. © 2015 Planview, Inc., All Rights Reserved.523 About Planview Planview is a global leader in portfolio management and project collaboration. From small teams to large enterprises, leaders in every industry rely on the company's cloud solutions to empower organizations to reach their goals and drive results by optimizing the capacity of their people and financial resources. Planview's singular focus fuels a deep commitment to innovation and customer success. For more information, visit Planview.com and Projectplace.com.