- Be clear about the business result that your project has been commissioned to produce.
- Plan the work the best way to get it done, then crash and fast track to get to the requested date.
- As you complete an iteration of planning, be sure to desk test this iteration against the previous iteration to verify you are still in scope.
- Build completion criteria for each task. Completion criteria will keep both the project manager and the person working the task clear about what “done” looks like.
- Team norms will help your team work together effectively.
- The effect of taking on a change request is not always equal to the number of days provided in the estimate. Be aware of the incremental effect.
- Build cost estimates for every task regardless of whether you are held accountable for a budget or not. You need the practice and later you can use these figures for Earned Value Management.
- Calculate the cost of quality at the end of the planning phase and several times during the execution of the project. Doing this will help hone your skills to deliver a better quality project.
- Build an effective plan to work with your executives the same way you work with your team.
- Have an attitude of success. It’s contagious.
Claudia Bacca, PMP, PMI Certified OPM3 Assessor/Consultant, is an independent project management consultant, trainer and lecturer. She has lectured at private venues and PMI chapters across the world. The tips are based on her new book, Project Management for Mere Mortals, published by Addison-Wesley Professional (ISBN 0-321-42345-3):
Bacca has more than 20 years of project management experience and serves on the leadership team that produced the Project Management Maturity OPM3 standard. She contributed to Kim Heldman’s best-seller PMP: Project Management Professional Study Guide, and also served as its technical editor. She is coauthor of the PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide Deluxe Edition.
Comments