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| This White Paper, the third in our series on this topic, covers project start-up; the project’s stakeholders – including understanding their power and influence, analysing them and communicating with them; and planning a project – for example, assumptions, project stages, project milestones and contingency. |
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Getting started
Often, the most important bit is the project start-up! Never, ever just rush headlong into it. Unfortunately, some organisations seem to run their projects this way: the project manager is given a budget and an unrealistic deadline and told to “Just get on with it ....” As a result, detailed planning, well-judged estimating and good risk analysis fly out of the window.
In fairness, at the other extreme are organisations that have a very small appetite for risk and where people will spend forever reaching a decision to proceed – only to find that a previously reasonable deadline is rushing towards them too fast.
Try to find a balance between the extremes. It has been said more than once that, in the case of most projects, ultimate success or failure has already been determined by the time the project starts!
At the start of a project, a project manager may face a number of questions:
- What stage is the project at?
It is vitally important to know what stage a project is at when you join it. If you’ve been with it all the way, that’s fine. But if you are newly arrived, don’t always believe that there is a strong mandate and a good business case. Check for yourself and, if they are weak or, worse still, absent, you will have to go back and put them in place.
- Am I joining it after it’s already approved?
If not, you’ll have to get it approved, which means working up a persuasive business case, submitting it, and making sure that the plan and budget are approved and the project authorised.
- How do I know the objective is achievable?
This inevitably requires your judgement. Look again at the budget, timescales and quality expectations and satisfy yourself that they are okay. Does the plan look reasonable and achievable? If you doubt this or suspect that the necessary skills are not available, look at bringing in external help (but recognise the budget implications). If you believe the objective is too ambitious or that the technology is not available, you will have to do some research and talk to industry or subject matter experts.
Read the full article >>
Find out about other operations improvement skills here. For tailored advice on this topic – or others such as business strategy, disaster recovery and business continuity and doing business internationally – call us on 020 7099 2621 or send us a message. |
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