Planning – at times the most neglected area in project management. More often than not, very little time is given to this crucial part of project management.
Simple tips which everyone can use to make project planning much faster and time saving at the same time:
- Use templates: Create project management templates that can be reused for other projects by using forms for your project charter, WBS, stakeholder analysis, communication plan, and risk identification.
- Go low-tech sometimes: Use sticky-notes, rather than a computer, to quickly capture a wealth of information, create storyboard processes, communicate risks, and gain buy-in for your project.
- Get input from stakeholders upfront: Identify stakeholders’ needs versus wants early in the planning process.
- Managing change: When change happens, use the “triple constraint” to identify which of the constraints cannot change.
- Study history: Use historical records to learn from past projects. Use such information to create estimates and avoid potential problems on your project.
- Use rewards: Motivate people to participate in project planning by using rewards such as food, laughter and fun.
- Risk management: Do risk identification to prevent up to 90 percent of project problems.
- Reduce “drive-bys”: Do not allow “drive-by” impromptu meetings to get in your way of having time to plan.
- Delegate: Who said you had to do all the planning yourself? Become an expert at delegating, to create time to plan, instead of creating time to put out the fires later on in your project.
- Train: Project management comes with its own terminology, so train your stakeholders in the language of project management. Otherwise they will not have a clue as to what you mean when you schedule a meeting to create a WBS.
