Little Morsels of PM Goodness

I wanted to make a list of some things which are often overlooked but very valuable components of project management. I don't prefer the word "nuggets"... so I'll call them "morsels".

Don't overlook these, especially in larger projects:

- Stakeholder Analysis - Know who you're going to be working with, their interests and potentially the reason why they might not like you -- then figure out a way to make them your allies.

- Project Charter - Know what you have to accomplish, what you are delegating, and who has what authority to do what. At a minimum, without a project charter each new participant after kickoff will be "lost in the sauce".

- You have to have purpose and you have to be excited. Without these, your project may be executed successfully, but you will not make meaningful contribution nor will you gain a real sense of achievement. Those are the two things that will make "it all" worthwhile.

- A coach-like manner and enthusiasm - Coaches can pat you on the back, and they can yell at you - but either way you know they love you, and you will go the extra mile for them. As a project manager, don't you want to have people like that on your project ?

- A way of measuring tactical success. You need to plan early on the success metrics of the project. They can be driven by reports from MS Project (hard metrics), a collection of change requests organized by type (derived metrics), an analysis of feedback from the team at certain intervals (soft metrics), and even financial reports on your project burn (hard metrics as well).

- A change Management process - A change in the direction, scope, budget, or resourcing of a project which is sizeable (you decide the threshold) is necessary to (a) make sizeable changes less arbitrary and (b) track the events in an organized manner so they can be minimized where possible. A change management process helps you learn from your mistakes, and helps prevent them to a degree right from the beginning by reducing project chaos.

- A sponsor who will "go to bat" for you. You may have to work to earn this, but it's best to ensure as much support as possible by pledging all your energy prior to the project start.

- Strong Key Learnings Process - Learn from your mistakes and please - don't make them again.

- A Document Repository - Please don't store your documents on your laptop - you know the one you leave unlocked at your desk when you go out to lunch. Could be a career-ender ! And make sure your document repository allows you to do some kind of version controlling.