Insights
Project management is vital for many businesses as most projects are complex and require organisation, planning, and monitoring. Having a good understanding of project management and a method for your projects will lead to success and efficiency for your business and deliver an end product that delights the customer. Some contractors are responsible for coordinating every aspect of a project; from reviewing to coordinating deadlines and organising budgets. So, without effective project management, teams or individuals within a business might start working on a project without a project plan which can lead to disruption as well as failing to deliver the end product on time and to the expected quality level.
Outline Your Project
This is the initial stage – what do you want to achieve? Set your project objectives and goals and ensure these are agreed upon with the Customer. It is important to start planning big with all the ideas you have and then narrow this down to your project focus. Look over this again or get others' second opinions to review your final options.
Timeline
After outlining your project, it is vital to determine your timelines. Initially, you will need to estimate how much time it will take to complete each task, establish any dependencies, and when the project can be completed. Whist these will initially be estimates, it is worth fixing when tasks need to be started and completed to ensure you meet the Customer deadlines.
Evaluate Your Resources
Knowing what resources you require is a key element for project success. This includes material, machinery, and human resource. Depending on the organisation, you may not have direct control over all the human resource, but it is vital that staff are suitably qualified and have all the support that they require to complete the task safely and successfully.
Communication With Your Team
This is where you brief your project plan to the team – make sure you are transparent with the whole process and timelines. It is beneficial to document all the meeting conversations and set recurring meetings with the required staff.
Communicate With Your Customer
Keep your customer up to date with progress to ensure the deliverable is meeting their expectations. Capture any change to requirements and make sure that these are managed carefully, and that the customer appreciates the impact of any change, e.g. cost and timelines.
Delegate Tasks Accordingly
Some contractors are sole traders so this might not be required as you will be handling most of the process throughout but if you are a business owner or project manager, you wouldn’t have to do all the work on your own. Delegate tasks to members according to their expertise, skills, and abilities. Know their strengths and use them to benefit the project.
Monitor The Project Progress
Once the project has started, ensure to monitor the progress of each task with respect to the required quality and timelines.
Follow-up and Recognition
Stay up to date on your project status by meeting with your team and any other stakeholders. This way, if someone is falling behind the project timeline, you will be able to assist them and get back on the right track. It is essential that you are open to ideas and listen to others. Most importantly, after delivering your project, you must recognise the efforts of your team!
At Alcumus SafeContractor, we have a project manager that will present the basics of project management. If you would like to receive the video and/or have any questions you would like answered regarding project management, sign up here The Basics of Project Management Video.
Note: The recorded video will take place on 25th April 2022 so be sure to ask your questions before this time.
