To carry out your projects, it would be a shame to start without using project management techniques. How to define and apply it? This is what we will see in this article by going back to the different project management steps that must be followed to maximize the chances of successfully completing your project.
What is Project Management?
The ISO 21500 standard defines project management as “the application of methods, tools, techniques and skills on a project. » Carrying out a project involves breaking it down into several phases. These project management steps are:
- the start of the project;
- project planning;
- project execution;
- project monitoring;
- the closure of the project.
More generally, project management corresponds to all
the human and material resources used to achieve an objective within a defined
time.
How important is good project management?
Following good project management is essential for
many reasons. It allows you to ensure a precise framework for the project, with
clear strategic objectives. It also ensures an optimal distribution of tasks
between the different members of the team participating in the project.
Effective project management harmonizes communications
between the different parties.
Whether internal or external to the project, it is
imperative that each individual benefits from all the useful information for
its realization. To do this, it is possible to use project management tools,
which can drastically improve project management.
Finally, good project management allows you to make
decisions faster and more efficiently. The conduct of the project clearly
states the needs and emergencies and allows you to benefit from an overall
vision. Good stewardship helps ensure the success of your projects in terms of
cost, quality, deadlines and stakeholder satisfaction.
The 5 steps of project management
To help you (better) master and manage your projects,
we have broken them down into 5 project management stages.
Start of the project
The start of the project is the foundation on which
the other stages of project management will be based. You need to make sure
that you have achieved several objectives during this phase.
First of all, it is essential to justify the project.
That is to say, you have to find meaning in the project. To do this, you can
carry out a preliminary study in order to validate the need, but also the
investment and the expected benefit. This study can take the form of an
opportunity study or, more generally, a market study.
Based on this information, you are now able to develop
a project charter. The final objective of the project charter is to confirm the
launch of a project and have it approved. It will allow to go more in depth on
the investments by budgeting, but also by making the basic assumptions such as
the provisional schedule and the scope of the project.
Finally, you can organize a kick-off meeting to
convince the stakeholders of their interest in supporting this project. It is
here that the market study and the project charter become essential because
they bring together the arguments in favor of the project.
Project planning
Project planning allows you to determine and organize
tasks, as well as estimate their required loads and resources. Thanks to
planning, you are able to skillfully juggle the three constraints of the
project: deadlines, budget and schedule.
You must first define the content of the project by
setting out its objectives, but also the requirements of the stakeholders.
A requirements matrix can then be used to better
manage project requirements.
You then need to divide the project into several distinct tasks. These must respect the acronym SMART, i.e. they must be:
- specific;
- measurable;
- attainable;
- results-oriented;
- temporally defined.
This activity will allow you to create the project
organization chart (Work Breakdown Structure). It will then be necessary to set
up milestones, key events showing the progress of the project, but also to
allocate the tasks and define the format of the results of these.
You can use project planning software. Once this
planning is done, you must select the necessary resources and structure the
tasks. A specific number of hours must be assigned to each task in order to be
able to deduct its cost.
Finally, the risks facing the project must be
identified. The first step is to list them, then you have to classify them
according to their impact and their occurrence. A matrix ofrisks is a perfect
tool because it is very intuitive and readable.
Project execution
The project execution phase consists of designing,
realizing and deploying the project. In order to allow the best possible
deployment and to properly manage the provisional schedule, we recommend that
you use a GANTT chart or a PERT chart. The Gantt chart is a graphical
representation of the project schedule. The left column lists the tasks to be
performed while the header represents the time units. The PERT chart evokes
connecting nodes and arrows. They make it possible to determine the crucial
stages of the project, to change the schedule if necessary and to observe the
progress made.
You then have to manage human resources.
We previously mentioned the skills matrix, allowing
each task to be allocated to the most competent person. It is also possible to
use the RACI matrix to determine the roles and responsibilities of each.
Risk control is managed by the risk matrix,
implemented during project planning. Make sure to update it regularly as the
project progresses so that you can always find an answer to the problems
encountered.
Finally, you must manage supplies and changes that may
occur during the project. For this last point, you can use the ADKAR model. It
simplifies the management of change in the project.
Project follow up
Once your project has been launched, it is essential
to follow the progress of the different phases of it. We talk about progress
monitoring or task control. This often takes the form of a document regularly
summarizing the progress of the project. It contains the status of the project,
the percentages of tasks completed, the milestones achieved, the differences
between the planned and actual schedule, and the challenges you and your team
are encountering. This document can be automated through the use of project
management software, or via Excel.
In order to collect the data for your project, you can
use an M&E (monitoring and evaluation) matrix to precisely outline the
responsibilities of each one with the deadline they have for their tasks.
The benefits of the progress report are numerous. This allows you to:
- monitor the health of the project;
- summarize the progress of the project;
- reduce manual effort;
- communicate the next steps of the project and the necessary activities;
- identify bottlenecks;
- reduce meetings.
It is essential that you use key performance
indicators (KPIs) to assess the quality of the management of your project's
activities. This data is used to evaluate a scenario, gauge the success of the
project and reach the best possible conclusion. Be sure to choose your KPIs
carefully. They must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and
time-bound.
Project closure
The final stage of project management is closure,
where you work out the final details, present your findings, and report back to
the team. The project closure phase gives you the opportunity to reflect on
your next steps. This could be handing off the project to another team,
starting a new project, or using lessons learned.
There is no specific plan to follow when closing the
project. Indeed, it is up to you to define it according to various factors such
as its lifespan, the number of people impacted and the scale of this project.
However, it is necessary to include different steps in order to ensure the successful termination of the project:
- draw lessons from the project: conservation of best practices for subsequent projects, learning from past failures, etc.;
- create a project closure report: this document keeps track of the various characteristics of the project, assesses customer satisfaction and ensures that closure tasks are carried out;
- archive project data: keeping project data will provide a training tool in addition to a resource.
8 tips for successful project management
Now that you know the main stages of project
management, we give you 8 tips to be even more efficient.
Clearly define your goal
Having a clear objective allows you to focus your
efforts with precision and better understand your needs. It is even advisable
to define several sub-objectives in order to know the work to be done for each
stage of the project.
Distribute tasks effectively
A multidisciplinary team is a considerable asset in
project management. In order to make the most of it, remember to give everyone
tasks related to their skills.
Define milestones and milestones
The establishment of milestones allows you to realize
delays in relation to your provisional schedule. Additionally, milestones help
you manage the risks of your project.
Stay focused on an action
In order to optimize the efficiency of the project,
try as much as possible to focus on one task and only start others when it is
finished. This may seem contradictory but on the contrary saves time. To help
you, to-do list software is practical!
Use project management tools
You cannot think of everything during your project. To
ease your mind, you can use project management tools like Monday, Wrike, or
Asana. They allow you to centralize all the information in a clear and
organized way.
Delegate, but verify
The other members of your team must feel included in
the project. You must therefore involve them by giving them tasks to do. But it
is important that you provide them with feedback to ensure that the project is
still moving in the right direction.
Organize recurring meetings
At the end of each meeting, remember to set the date
of the next one with the objectives to be accomplished by then. This makes it
possible to maintain a work dynamic and not to suffer from significant delays.
Learn from your mistakes
It is normal to make mistakes when managing your
project, but the important thing is not to repeat them. By making mistakes, you
accumulate experience, good to take for the rest of your project and the
following projects.
What skills do you need to be a good manager?
A manager, or project manager, must have several skills to achieve the objectives of the project. Here is a non-exhaustive list of these skills:
- strong communication skills;
- the ability to work in a team;
- proactivity;
- critical mind ;
- strong managerial skills;
- good management of resources;
- empathy.
A good manager must knows improvement points in order
to overcome them. So it's a constant process.