Project management – it doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. In fact, it’s probably better if it isn’t. Most project management is common sense and organisation. There is a tendancy to over-complicate matters – try to keep it simple and easy to help you and your colleagues. Here at Money Towers, we have put together a guide to Project Management to help kick-start your project.

Starting off
The first thing is to ensure you fully understand the project. It is useful to think about the following points:
- What are the goals of the project?
- Who will be involved in the project?
- Who is indirectly involved, but will need to be updated on the progress?
- Who is filling what role in the project?
- What are everyone’s expectations?
- What is the overall deadline?

The idea behind these questions is to gather as much information as possible so that you can state the aims and objectives of the project clearly so that everyone knows exactly what is expected before they start work. If people are unclear as to their role or expectations, they may use up valuable resources and time working on the wrong thing. It is important to check that each individual is aware of their role and goals before the project starts.

Documentation
Communication is the key to a successful project. From the start, detail the goals and objectives, the requirements of the project and it’s scope. The more detailed the better. This piece of documentation should be available for everyone to refer to at all times. Everyone should read this document before they start work, and they should ensure they understand everything contained within it. Documentation can make everyone’s lives easier and can make or break your project.

Schedule
At the start of the project, you will need to draw up a schedule. For this, start with the higher-level milestones. The individual teams or individuals themselves can then break the schedule down into smaller chunks which suit how they work. They should submit their own schedules to you so that you can keep a track of what everyone should be working on at what time. If you give ownership of the finer details to the individuals, it should also boost morale as it shows that you trust the individuals to come up with their own scheme and stick to it.

The schedule may slip – if it does, ensure everyone (including the client) knows that the schedule has slipped. You may need to reset deadlines and milestones if slippage occurs, although if you can avoid doing this, it is better.

Communication
Communication is key to a successful project, and you should lead by example. Weekly updates are a good idea so that everyone is aware of how the project as a whole is moving along. Ensure you make yourself available in case any questions or concerns arrive – ensure you address everything as swiftly as you can to stop any small problems escalating. If anything does go wrong, do not panic or try to cover it up. By being honest and open, people are more likely to be forgiving – after all, noone’s perfect!

Processes and Change Management
Nearly every project changes as it progresses, and things may have been left out or forgotten. It’s important that these are dealt with in a logical, consistent way. Any major changes to the scope or specifications should be signed off by the client first. Any processes or changes that need to be made should be documented and given to all team members. You should have processes in place in order to incorporate the changes. Remember you may need to change your schedule in order to adapt to the changes.

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