As a project manager, it is your responsibility to oversee and ensure the success of a
business project. Whether you have lots of experience in project management or it is your
first try, it is on you to complete the project on time, stick within the budget and make the
outcome of the project as successful as possible.
If you’d like to know the secrets of succeeding in any business project, read on to find out
more. Although at first you may feel some of these are ‘basic’ or ‘simple’, it is important you
are able to confirm you have them in place for each and every project you run. Fully utilising
them will undoubtedly improve the success of your projects in no time.
Understand The Details Of The Project Inside Out
In order for a project to be successful, it is important that you lay a clear, well-built
foundation. To do this, identify the stakeholders involved in the project and make sure they
fully understand their roles and expectations in the project. This may sometimes require
negotiation, so everyone involved can agree on what is required.
Once you’ve done that, write up a solid project plan that defines the objectives for the
project and the roles/responsibilities of all involved. By having a document with each detail
written down, the goals and their key elements will be closely aligned. It will be handy for
people involved in the project to be able to refer to a document, should anybody get stuck
or need a reminder of their duties.
Set And Define Key Milestones
Setting milestones is an important step in the success of your project. This is because they
show you how far you’ve come and what you are achieving. Milestones provide motivation,
enhanced focus, and an insight into how your team is doing, which will show you if any
improvements are necessary.
There is no limit to the number of milestones you wish to put in place for your project, as it
is about what works best for you and your team. Don’t forget that small achievements
should be noticed and recognised too! To put it simply, milestones can keep you on the ball,
so they are worth implementing.
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!
We cannot stress enough how important communication is when completing a group
project. It is pretty much impossible to manage a project without open communication.
Consistent and effective communication is a necessity if you want the project to run
smoothly.
You can achieve this simply by holding regular meetings to ensure everyone is on the same
page. You could even share a Google Doc or Dropbox file where everybody posts updates, or just have a group chat.
Choose The Right Team
As the project manager, you choose who participates in the project. When choosing staff
you want to involve, ensure you take into account factors such as expertise, their current
workload, and hard and soft skills. Depending on your budget and the current business
circumstances, you could consider recruiting more employees or outsourcing certain tasks
to freelancers.
When deciding on your team, make sure you choose a healthy mixture of different
personalities, skills, ages and experience. This will likely boost the effectiveness of the
project. Traits we recommend looking out for in all group members are excellent
communication skills and good problem-solving.
Final Thoughts
There are many factors that contribute to running a project successfully, but by following
the tips above, you have a great chance of succeeding in any business project.
Thank you for reading this article and we hope you found it useful. We wish you luck in all
your business projects. If you are looking for support in the form of an accountant or
bookkeeper, get in touch with us today. We make your business, our business.