Quang Regan - Project Management Effectiveness

To get the desired result from a business project, you need to know exactly what you want to achieve. It often helps to break down larger projects into smaller manageable stages to ensure effective project management. A Project Manager must see to it that the sponsor's aspirations are fulfilled while ensuring the customer satisfaction within the prescribed time limits and budgetary allocation. Outcome of a project is no doubt important but so is the journey towards it. Effective utilization of the resources on hand and balancing the risks involved all contribute to the end-result. There are the important factors for the effectiveness of project management.

 

Communication... project staff do not know what their tasks are, or how to accomplish them, then the entire project will grind to a halt. If you do not know what the project staff are (not) doing then you will be unable to monitor project progress. And if you are uncertain of what the customer expects of you, then the project will not even get off the ground. Maintaining open, regular and accurate channels of communication with all levels of project staff and stakeholders is vital to ensuring the smooth flow of instructions from customer to factory floor and sufficient warning of risks and changes to enable early assessment and preparation.

 

Leadership... The application of leadership and management in the project execution is usually dependent on the type of project and the life cycle stage that the project is in. For projects which are huge impact, large scale, complex and global in nature the standards to be achieved, the goals and the deliverables are constrained by the time frame, budgets and the market dynamics. These types of projects involve large and distributed project teams, comprising members from diverse disciplines. Also the implementation is going to be multi-phased. In such a situation the project success and business sustenance can be achieved only through an effective and smart leadership.

 

The leadership style should be flexible, sharing, and innovative so as to bring about the project success. At the same time the leader should emphasize on team building and motivation so that the divergent members can work together as a team.

 

Team management... Getting things right Building a good team is the single most important thing a Project Manager can do to achieve a successful project. With the right attitude, a team will overcome almost any difficulty to succeed in its goals. In most projects there will be times when only the determination of the team can overcome the difficulties and carry the initiative through to success. Even when there is no pressure, the team's spirit and enthusiasm will be reflected in the quality of the solution and the extent to which other people buy-in to it.

 

Negotiation... negotiations are typically with providers on such issues as agreeing contracts. Informal negotiations include discussions to resolve conflict, or discussions to obtain internal resources." In other words, if you work with people and have a decision-making role, you're going to need to know how to negotiate.

 

There are four keys to being a great negotiator:

 

* Be respectful. Getting hot-headed or dismissing coworkers' opinions is only going to take a toll on morale.

 

* Always be clear and considerate when dealing with your team.

 

*Abandon the "winner take all" mentality. In a negotiation, meeting everyone's interests is more valuable than winning.

 

*Establish an atmosphere for candor. It's tough to negotiate everything without knowing all the variables.

 

Don't be afraid to bring in third parties. Whether you're having trouble with a team member or struggling with a client, there's nothing wrong with pulling in HR, the IT team lead, or another appropriate third party that can help facilitate discussion.

 

Personal organization... Personal organization or Self-management refers to an individual's ability to manage themselves in relation to the outcomes expected of their role in study or in work. Self-management is linked to planning and organising, but also describes the ability to reflect on how we learn, who we are, and what we want.

 

A person with good self-management skills will have clear priorities and be able to critically review their strengths and weaknesses. As the world of work changes and employees are expected to take responsibility for their own performance, self-management skills are seen as increasingly important.

 

Risk management... Risk management is a continuous, forward-looking process that is an important part of business and technical management processes. Risk management should address issues that could endanger achievement of critical objectives. A continuous risk management approach is applied to effectively anticipate and mitigate the risks that have critical impact on the project.

 

Effective risk management includes early and aggressive risk identification through the collaboration and involvement of relevant stakeholders. Strong leadership across all relevant stakeholders is needed to establish an environment for the free and open disclosure and discussion of risk.