One of the questions people ask, especially junior project managers that they really find it tough starting a project and sometimes they wonder what are the key things to focus on to have a smooth beginning.
Recently, at my workplace I was having a discussion with a team member who is new to project management, told me that he is struggling in accommodating changes on the project as well as during project lifecycle as he came to know “a feature in the switchgear” was part of his deliverables which he overlooked and now there must be extra cost because customer wants the switchgear delivered including this “feature” as its part of the technical specifications.
I asked, “Was this part of our offer or not?”
he replied, “It was not mentioned”
I asked, “Did you review the specifications and our offer when you took over the project?”
he replied, “I skimmed through it quickly as I have other projects as well so I was busy”.
This means probably it was overlooked from the specifications both by estimation team as well as the project manager.
Then I asked one more question, “Did you hold a kick-off meeting with the customer’s project manager in the beginning and discussed the deliverable?”
The reply was, “No”.
I was not surprised by the responses because he is new in project management, but this does not fully justify his position as the client has nothing to do with that. It is the project manager’s responsibility to know completely what the scope is and what are the deliverables of the project without affecting time, cost and quality.
I always advise that practicing project management does not involve rocket science, but there are few practices to remember in the process of project management.
For example, in project management one must always be vigilant with his scope, timelines and costs besides managing other essentials in the project. This is what project management is all about, it demands a set of skills and knowledge in a person which includes but not limited to communication, interpersonal skills, leadership, conflict management, emotional intelligence, knowledge of product and project deliverables, planning, project financials etc.
Apart from other requirements these are a few “Must Do” activities a Project Manager should consider for his/her projects
- Know your scope:
The first thing a project manager should do when starting a project, is to have a knowledge of its scope. Ideally, he should get involved from pricing and acquisition phase, but this may vary depending on company own policies and practices. When the project is under a discussion for being turned over to project manager then he should review the scope documents as well as the contract to understand what are his deliverables, what are the key milestones, what are the project KPIs, how to handle changes, what completion certificates will be required to achieve the milestones, how to handle deal with claims, review the offer documents, have a chat with sales and estimation team and seek their inputs on the scope and requirements of the project.
- Know your milestones dates:
As explained above, it is very important to determine from the project scope and contractual documents what are the key milestones and evaluate the dates committed in the preliminary schedule are realistic or need to be revised based on the past projects experience.
- Meet your customer:
One of the main responsibilities a project manager has is engaging with his/her stakeholders and keep them engaged with the project. The best way to do it is to meet your customer right after you take over the project, have an introductory discussion about the project scope and milestones, ask for their concerns and expectations so you have an idea how to deal with your customer throughout the project, as well as a periodic status report with a catch up is also a very good idea.
A project kick-off meeting proved to be very helpful in my personal experience as it not only kicks off the project officially but also a good opportunity to know the customer and their expectations while giving them an opportunity to know about the company they are working with.
- Track your schedule:
At the start of every project a detailed schedule is created keeping project key milestones into considerations and putting all the deliverables with their realistic planned dates. This is usually done by a planning engineer but for small projects, the project manager can develop this schedule and submit to client for approval.
Once approved that project becomes baseline for the entire project and it is the responsibility of the project manager to keep a track of the schedule and evaluate it periodically at least every week, keeping an eye on schedule and especially on the critical path gives a firsthand indication if the project is on track or not.
- Review your planned cost:
One of the key factors for a successful project is profit.
A project with negative gross margin not only loses interests of the stakeholders but also causes increased focus from the management and increased stress on the project manager to save as much as possible. Thus may affect quality as well as customer satisfaction.
This is one of the trickiest part which is linked to many other factors which I am unable to cover in this discussion. In short, a project manager should keep a track of the planned cost on the project to make sure there is no overspending and the gross margin does not deteriorate, at the same time keeps an eye on any opportunities /upside potentials which can mitigate any negative gross margin deviation or improve the project gross margin.
A good understanding of project financial indicators is one of the key skills a project manager should have so he/she is equipped well enough to track the project costs.
- Be ahead of the game:
In project management there is no stop to issues, problems and bottlenecks.
In fact, managing a project is another name of managing different problems.
The fact is that problems continue to pile up, so project manager should give a head up as soon as the problem surfaces, analyses them, make efforts to resolve the issues, and move forward.
My approach has always been to keep an eye ahead of and forecast what problems can emerge, highlighting the causes which can create those problems. This approach can keep you ahead of the game.
However, this will also involve experience, lot of vigilance and knowledge of the subject matter.
- Don’t take too much on your plate:
It is a general thought that small projects are relatively easier than high value and high-volume projects and keeping this into consideration project managers are forced to accept as many projects as they can.
This is one of the greatest mistakes a project manager commits by accepting many projects beyond their capacity.
This ultimately burns their own fingers because no matter what size of the project is, no matter what value or what complexity a project has, every project is unique in its deliverables, customer needs, schedule, costs, quality measures, KPIs etc.
Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ to your manager by telling him/her that you cannot handle more projects than your capacity.
It is better to refuse than to make a project and the company suffer. Since for every customer his/her project is most important and when you are not able to fulfil customers’ expectations you may end up damaging your reputation as a good project manager as well as make the project suffer by not putting efforts that can make it a successful project.
Wasif A Khan 