6 tips for better project management

Project management presents many challenges, and it can be very overwhelming at times. So here are 6 project management tips to ensure your project will move along smoothly:

Create a Task List, Select team members, and assign responsibilities carefully

With non-stop project emails, cc’s, bcc’s it is easy to get distracted from your work. Creating a daily task list and assigning these tasks to the right team member ensures that everyone is focused on achieving the objective at hand. Be sure to make it clear what is expected of each team member and when completion of their work is required. Most importantly encourage team members to ask questions when something is unclear.

Meet for more than just a routine “status update”

Meetings which provide status updates waste time and have little to no value; these meetings should be focused on issues, brainstorming, and ideas to better engage everyone working on the project. Keep the meetings short and to the point, so everyone leaves the meeting with a clear objective in sight and can get back to doing what they do best.

Create the Plan

Plan a clear path to get to your project goal, involve the team in the process and make sure your team understands the plan and their responsibilities. A clear plan will help save time that would otherwise be spent on clarifying any miscommunication and preventable plan adjustments that could have been addressed in the initial planning stages.

Establish measurable criteria for success

Set multiple interim milestones for the project, they will not only help you keep the project on track but it will also prevent the group from straying away from the goal. Setting measurable criteria will help to eliminate project risks and will define continuing problems in the project as well.

Communication, communicate and then some more

Nothing is more critical to the success of a  project than open communication between the team. and this Open communication between team members will keep everyone up to date with what’s happening with the project and ensure that everyone is aware of what is expected of one another.

Lead the team from the front

A project needs a team, and a team needs a leader to lead them to the finish line. This is a critical position and being in this position will require you to establish a positive team dynamics, gather inputs from the team and other stakeholders, as well as getting their buy-in.  As a leader, you will need to inspire your team to follow you through turbulent waters as well as calm waters throughout the span of a project.

Free Collaborative Project Management Tool

If you’re thinking of implementing collaborative project management software, try Slenke for free.  Invite your team to Slenke, work on and complete a short project together using the software, and see how we can help your team work better.