10 Effective Tips On How To Manage A Project

effective tips manage a project efficiently pm

Being a project manager is an exciting opportunity but there is also a lot of pressure. Pressure from the people you are managing to lead them in the right direction, and pressure from the boss or client who is investing their time and money in the project. 

The buck stops with you as the project management professional (PMP). With the right strategy and the help of salesforce consulting companies, you can rise to the challenges of project management, and put your best foot forward both for your employer and the people you are working with. 

In this article, we look at ten highly effective tips that will help you manage your workplace projects more productively. 

1. Grasp The Scope Of The Project

This is a good step for a project manager (PM) to take before any of the heavy lifting has been done. How much work is this project going to take? You don’t necessarily need to understand every step of the process ahead of you. However, it will help to have a rough outline of what will happen, how long it will take, how hard it will be, what specific aspects of the project will pose the biggest challenges, and so on. 

The more you know, the easier it will be to set yourself, and your team up for success on all projects. 

2. Recognize Your Team Members' Skills 

Everyone on your team will have something they do really well. By recognizing your team member’s unique skills you will be able to maximize the efficiency of your efforts. Maybe Hannah is really good at X. Henry is excellent at Y. Rachel can take on C and B, and Nick will thrive if you let him focus most of his attention on A. 

By recognizing and facilitating this, you not only ensure that everyone gets to do something they find rewarding, but you also improve the trajectory of the project by making sure everything is done as well as possible. 

3. Learn How To Listen 

Active listening is a more elusive skill than many people at first assume. It is not just about hearing what a person says, but processing it. Absorbing the information, taking it seriously. At work, this can be hard, particularly for someone in a leadership role. You probably got to where you were on the strength of your own ideas. 

Running with other people’s suggestions may make you uncomfortable. Here is the deal: opinion diversity strengthens projects. Take advantage of your team member’s ideas because they could be game-changers. 

4. Select A Realistic Timeline 

It is better to make a conservative estimate and finish early than it is to make a bold one and finish late. For one thing, your team members will work better with a comfortable timeline, secure in the knowledge that they have as much time as they need to complete their work. 

The client — or whoever commissioned the project — will similarly prefer that you complete your project when you say you will, even if that estimated completion date is later than they would prefer. 

5. Monitor Progress Of Projects

Routinely take stock of your progress. This can help you to catch errors before they spiral, but it also just helps to ensure that you are staying on track. It’s also a great opportunity to communicate with your boss or client. 

Send a weekly email, or make a phone call. We have finished A, B, and C. Next week we will tackle D. This gives the client peace of mind and also presents them with an opportunity to ask questions or make notes during the project. 

6. Get Good At Delegating 

You might be the sort of person who likes to do as much of the work as possible. It got you this far, right? But in project management, your main responsibilities are big-picture things. It is less about how you physically contribute to the project and more about how you help everyone else piece it together. 

Getting good at delegating and outsourcing is one of the most important things to grow as a project manager. This is where it will come in handy to understand what everyone else is great at. Play to their strengths, free some time up for yourself, and watch the project go smoothly. 

7. Understand Your Resources 

Be realistic about what you have, both in terms of financing, and the tools that are at your disposal. This can help with setting and sticking to deadlines, but it also makes it easier to decide what you should ask and expect from your staff. 

As a PM you will probably enter your project with preconceived notions of what is possible and how things should go. And while that is a fine way to help frame your expectations, you should also factor in what makes this project different. Namely? Resources. Both human and physical. PMPs must understand what you have got and use that understanding to better plan and execute your project. 

8. Keep Good Records 

Thorough record-keeping is mostly for your own long-term benefit. If the client comes back later and says, “Why did this cost X?” or something of that nature, your documents will be a lifeline. 

This allows you to show them physical evidence of what went into the project, and how that is reflected in the end results. Without proper records, especially financial ones, you could end up getting kicked off a project or dealing with budget cuts.

9. Respond Well To Feedback 

As a project leader, your job is to respond to feedback. Your bosses, sure, but also feedback coming from the people you manage. When employees feel like they are being heard, they tend to work better and enjoy their jobs more. 

Not only will this help your project go smoothly, but it will also boost the long-term strength of your team. A PMP must be open-minded and complimentary when necessary.

10. Project Post-Mortem 

Once a project is complete, it is a good idea to double back for a post-mortem. Talk to your team, your boss, the controller. Examine what went right with the project, and where you could benefit from improvement. 

It is easy to stagnate as a skilled project management professional. By constantly evaluating your own performance and looking for ways to improve upon it, you ensure that each product and project will be better than the last.

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