How to Manage a Project

Hi! Welcome to our Project Management Video Blog, today we’re going to be talking about three different things as we give you an overview for project management. First we’re going to talk about project management methodologist. Second, we’re going to talk a little bit about process as it. Third and last we’re going to talk a little bit about project plan. Now in this overview we’re going to just hit the highlights because in future video blogs we’re going to give much more details that you need this areas. Let’s start off with project methodology, very organization has to decide what kind of methodology are they going to use in planning there projects and your organization might be different but in many organizations the methodology revolves around basically everybody doing there own thing. You will find different departments that plan project totally different in other department. Now, that’s not going to happen occasionally but what you’re looking for in the area of methodology is you’re looking to make sure that everyone is going through the same initiating phase, the same planning phase, close out, execution and so forth. And so you’re methodology should be standard even though its application in various departments might be a little bit different. Now one of the methodologist that of course we talk about throughout this video blogs is the PMI best practices or PMBOK. If you are not familiar with this, PMI is Project Management Institute and there best practice is called PMBOK which is Project Management Body of Knowledge and that is what they conserved to be the global standard across the world and your methodology might differ from there because of the peculiar way that you have to do projects but methodology every organization needs of methodology or your own type of best practice of who you are going to do projects. Secondly, you are going to need processes. Many of the projects that go hay war or fail and right now it’s between 65 and 85% of them it’s because the processes have not been standardized. Now you will noticed that we’ve link all of this you forgot to have a methodology which is going to feed your processes which is going to impact your project plan. These processes have to be standardized as well, that it mean that you can debate from them but to have standard processes will help your project team understand exactly what this project is going to do and what is not going to do and how we’re going to do it. So you are going to take your methodology it’s going to impact your processes and those two are going to dictate how you do and run your project plan. If you do nothing your project has the capability of being increase in possibility of failing. And so if you have a correct methodology with correct processes you increase your likely hood that you’re project plan is going to be thorough, less gaps and reduce step risks. Now let me held another thing that is very important for you here. And you look at this processes in methodology don’t be afraid to go back and review them from time to time. You’re methodology dictates your processes and the project team project manager, project sponsor as well as upper management all need to be on the same page, so don’t think that because you have all of that best practice that you can’t go back and update it. Don’t think that because you have some standard processes is something is not really working that you can’t go back and change it. But what you do now for that happen is everybody doing there own, using there own methodology in there own processes to come up with there plan. Now on the next few moments what we just talking will be about project planning. The average project plan that we see is not plan D for that, the rule of thumb in project planning is called the 880 rule, meaning that you should plan the project deeper to work no tasks should be smaller than 8 hours or larger than 80 hours, and yet we will deal with many organization and look at the project plan only to discover that they have a task down here that’s 3 to 500 hours in length and then be surprise at there is hidden risks and gaps in communication and problems in that project so we got to be very, very specific in the area of project planning to get it down three to five additional levels so that this detail doesn’t needs to be. Now let me close with this, first off we need to go back and look at our methodology, do we have a standardized method for our organization? If we don’t upper management, project sponsors, project managers and there team needs to work on coming up with the methodology. Once you have a general methodology whether its pin block or some other you been look at the processes. What’s the impact this process is going to have or what processes do we have that we got to line up with this best practice, what process is do we need to create, what process is do we need to adjust. And third, what impact is not going to have on our project plan. Now one word of warning here before we close, when you use methodology in processes it’s not in common for at the beginning of your project for you to take a little longer. And many organizations don’t understand that, it will take you longer to get the project going because you’re interviewing and gathering details we are going to show you in future video blog. However don’t be surprise at that component, it’s pretty common our project, however that information you gather at front that time you spend out front is going to save your project in the long run and increase your changes of fulfilling and increase your chances of having a successful project. Thank you very much for listening today.