Project life cycle and quick checklist as you navigate through these stages. This is a partial list of important considerations to maximize chances of your project success.
Initiate
- Receive formal go-ahead from project sponsor/s.
- Understand the project context including anticipated benefits and challenges.
- Assemble your team to initiate planning activities.
Plan
- Kick-off the project. Invite representative from all parties including suppliers.
- Define scope and charter, high-level project plan, key milestones, risk and issues management plan.
- Forecast budget, secure resources and communicate guiding principles as well as project vision to teams. If you want to use brainstorming – this is the stage!
Execute
- Establish and conduct periodic meetings with team. Use ad hoc meetings to build agreements to resolve issues/build agreements.
- Track progress – plan v/s actual, actively manage risk and issues.
- Keep management and stakeholders informed.
Monitor & Control
- Remember triple constraint (i.e. Scope, Cost, Schedule). Keep an eye on deliverables/product quality.
- Institute formal change management process and use it to avoid scope creep.
- Monitor project progress (i.e. Plan v/s Actual). Adjust plan to align with execution realities.
Closing
- Organize lessons learned. Apply learnings in your next project and share with other PMs.
- Ensure work and deliverables/documents are complete for smooth handover to operational organizations.
- Appreciate team’s contribution, celebrate (hint: good PMs set aside budget for this) and initiate a new project!
Are you ready to use some of these considerations to maximize your project success?
