Project management scares most of us, probably because you can’t find a simple definition of what it actually means — instead, it’s shrouded in a fog of technical terms and, ahem, engineering and mining “stuff”. However, project management isn’t all about building bridges and digging raw materials out of the ground … it actually involves a series of practical skills that are incredibly useful in any business. To begin, let’s define what a project is. Essentially, it’s a set of activities designed to achieve a goal over a set time period … that is, over a beginning and end time frame. Projects can be well-defined or “fuzzy”. A well-defined project has a clear goal and the task at hand is obvious to all concerned. For example, building that bridge, creating a new product, getting a website and even hosting a workshop are well-defined. Fuzzy (yes, that’s a real project management term!) projects are less tangible; that is, you can’t buy a stack of materials and get a bunch of people to design and build them. We’re talking here about projects that are more conceptual, such as building a brand, redefining a corporate culture or increasing sales. A project manager is the person who makes this happen … their job is to turn a goal into a reality by planning (that is, creating, managing, monitoring and evaluating) each activity required to achieve that goal. What’s more, all this must be completed on time and to budget. Phew! Yes, the process is involved, but not nearly so mystical as we’re led to believe. In fact, you’ve probably already twigged that project management is an essential part of running your own business. So here are 5 critical project management skills every business owner needs to develop.
1. Scheduling
A project manager organises the activities or tasks required to achieve the end goal into the most effective and efficient order. Three extras are important to note:
- A schedule is always written down — it may be a table, Gaant chart, calendar or network diagram … it’s up to your personal preference.
- Activities need deadlines, which you are responsible for driving and monitoring.
- A schedule is a “living” document that may need to be tweaked as the project progresses.
2. Resource management
“Resource” has a very broad definition in project management — it can be the people, money, equipment, facilities and/or materials you need to achieve the end result. Managing resources is linked to scheduling in that you need to make sure you have the right ones available in the right amounts at the right times. It may also involve sourcing, negotiating, buying, training and keeping everyone happy with good communication and a fair workload/expectations balance.
3. Risk management
Risk management is often the weakest part of any plan simply because people don’t understand what it means. Basically, it’s about identifying the most likely things that could go wrong and deciding how:
- To minimise that likelihood
- What you’ll do if it happens (a Plan B).
For example, people may get the flu, materials may arrive late, costs may rise and machinery may break down. If you’re unsure what could go wrong, ask someone who has worked in your industry a long time or has undertaken a similar project — and learn from their horror stories!
4. Budgeting
Budgeting is another task that often throws people. The important thing is to brainstorm a list of every cost involved in your project and allocate expenses based on firm evidence. Too many people pull vague figures out of thin air with absolutely no thought of reality, which does not make for a happy accountant! So how do you forecast accurate costs?
- Get quotes
- Be familiar with minimum wage guidelines
- Review the actual (not forecast) costs of previous projects
- Look through your previous financial reports
- Remember to include operating costs, such as travel, consumables, freight, telephone and utilities
- Include a contingency of 10% for unexpected costs.
As with most things, budgeting doesn’t end once the numbers are on the page. You need to stick to your budget, monitor your forecasts against what you really spend and evaluate your budget at the end of the project for lessons to apply next time.
5. Measuring results
Regular readers know my “how-to” blog posts always end with a call to measure results. Yes, no doubt you’ll be completely over your project at this point but, in many respects, your hard work is all for nothing if you don’t evaluate what worked, what didn’t, what you’ve learned to improve the next project and, most important, the value you’ve added. Remember especially to carefully archive your processes and evaluations so you (or the person who takes over from you) have these valuable resources on hand for the future.
