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In any business you can find yourself working on a number of projects which at times can be overwhelming. One solution for this is to plan out your projects beforehand. Project planning when done correctly can help reduce workplace stress and help make sure you complete your projects on time.
In this post we will discuss some of the top tips we use to help aid you in your project planning.
Define your projects
The first and most important step in project planning is to figure out what projects you are dealing with. Are you launching a new product marketing campaign? Revamping your online store? Whatever the project may be, ensure you have a clear understanding of the task at hand. Often, you will have more than one project on the go at once, so take note of them all, even smaller ones that may seem insignificant. This will help you to stay on top of things in your project planning.
Set start and end dates
Once you have outlined the projects you are involved in, find out or decide when each project should start and end. This will allow you to prioritise these projects based on their deadlines. These dates will also allow you to plan around your own business activities and prevent projects and project planning from taking longer than they should.
Make a plan
When taking the lead on planning a project, it can be helpful to ask yourself some questions in order to outline goals and activities involved. Below we have provided some useful questions. Write down your answers to each in order to give yourself an overview, and remember to keep your answers concise in order to avoid wasting time.
- What problem will the project solve?
- What is the benefit to the business?
- What kind of skills, staff members and budget do I need?
- What are the major milestones?
- What are the potential stumbling blocks?
- What risks does this project pose?
- What is my work plan (list of tasks or sub-items to be completed by when)?
- What are the specific metrics for success?
- How will you know the project is done?
Engage in effective communication
If you’re working on or leading a project that involves multiple team members, it’s essential that all communication is clear and that methods of this communication are established early on. Decide how often progress will be reported within the team and how often parties should check in with one another. It is also important to allocate the task of checking on whether the project is meeting its milestones to a team member.
To read some more of our top tips on prioritising click here.
If you would like to learn about Smarter Surfaces innovative range of products click here.
