Management Concept Style

It is important to have basic project management knowledge before getting started. For many us, we became project managers accidentally. Whether your project succeeds or fails, however, will be no accident. Successful project managers don't need to know everything, but they know enough to get started and learn as they go. In its essence, project management is preparing, executing, and closing. By the end of this article, you will have the basic foundation on the project management steps.

The first step is preparing. When it comes to preparing, your focus should be on answering the basic questions. Writing a project charter is a great way to get started. The reason is because it answers the important question: why are you doing this project? A project with a weak purpose will go no where. In addition to giving the project a reason, it will also say what are the expected benefits. The most common benefits are making more money, saving money, and saving time (by making things more efficient).

\"project Management\"

Another tool to help you in preparing is to speak with the people who are affected by the project. These people are referred to as the stakeholders. Getting their feedback will help you focus on what's important. This is commonly known as the scope. It is equally important to write down both what will and will not be achieved. You want to make sure you know what the stakeholders are expecting.

The next component of preparing involves writing the project plan. This establishes the ground rules. The plan will detail what will be delivered and when, who is doing what, and how will things be done. For example, the communications section will let everyone know when and where they can find status updates. Setting budget and deadlines will give you a target. Remember, a project is temporary. Therefore, every project has an ending and finite resources.

The plan doesn't need to be perfect, because it will change throughout the project. More important is that you have a plan. Once you are done preparing, it's time to execute.

Executing is where the rubber meets the road. All the work done in the preparing step is used to guide you. The key thing to remember is to record everything. Following is a checklist of what should be recorded daily:

• Write down how the project is progressing.


• Review the work completed by the project team and make notes of any quality issues.


• If there is a problem, write it to a problem log.


• When new risks arise, write those down as soon as you think of it.


• At the end of the day, record anything you learned.

The last point may seem trivial, but it will make your life easier in the closing step.

In addition to logging information, you will also conduct meetings. These are essential and an effective way to follow up with everyone and to get things done. Notably, you'll get information from your team and make sure everything is on track. If not, this is when you make adjustments to your earlier forecasts.

Depending on the complexity of the project, the executing step may be longer or shorter than the preparing step. You will know the executing step is over once you present the final deliverable mentioned in the plan. That does not mean the end, however. The last step is the closing step.

Closing is a controlled way to end a project. Specifically, this is where you find out if you did a good job. You will look back at the project plan and see if the objectives were met. Was everything in-scope completed? Just as important is to ask the stakeholders if they feel the project was a success, and why or why not? You will also provide a lessons learned report. What did you feel went well? What could you do to make things better? What steps can be combined or omitted? If you've kept a daily lessons learned log, this step will simply be compiling everything you have already written into a report.

You now know the basic project management steps. They are preparing, executing, and closing. While project management is not easy, you have the basic foundation. The best way to learn how to manage a project is to get out there and start managing projects. Don't forget to have fun along the way. If you aren't having any fun, it isn't worth doing.

ProjectManagementSteps.net

Introduction to Project Management Steps

Tags : How to time management Motivational Techniques Advertising Techniques

If you are really concerned about cutting down the office expenditure but do not want to pinch your employees' pockets, the best suited way would be to handle the resources in the best possible way.

The most important department that costs you quite a bit is the office stationery. Here is where one needs to have a check so as to cut down on the total expenditure figures.

\"what Is Management\"

The following tips would help in this regard -

1. Always encourage your employees to reduce the paper work. Some people have the weird habit of printing out the stuff just to check them out. Ask them to do it directly from the computers.

2. Lay strict rules of not taking home the office stuff even if it is not for personal use. By doing so, it is possible to control the misuse of the office stationery.

3. Recycle stuff - Always look in for notepads, pens, files and other stuff that were disposed off even before half of its utility was done. By doing so, you can cut the costs incurred by buying new ones for it.

4. Have a close check on the stationery inventory and always keep track of all the inward and outward movements. This will in turn reduce the unwanted usage of stationery in issues of very less priority.

5. Always order stationery in bulk. This will help out in saving a considerable amount of money as well. On the downside, you might end up spending more than required up-front, yet, it's a saving in long-term.

These steps may seem simple but they definitely yield good results.

Martin Ward is a well known personality in the consultancy business. He offers his expertise for businesses to come to terms with optimization of spend and resources. He deals with various suppliers starting from IT Infrastructure up to office suppliers. He is also a known green supporter across UK and other parts of Europe. Martin recommends Ahoys which is a well known brand for cheap office supplies.

Friends Link : The Global Marketing

belletristicimpressions