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Successful project managers understand that there are seven key ingredients to getting a project over the line on time and on budget. Like any good meal, skimp or miss out on a key ingredient and you don’t get a Masterchef result. You need to get the balance of ingredients right and put them in the right order to produce the best flavour possible. The same applies when cooking your project to perfection.
So what are the key ingredients to successful project management?
1. A liberal amount of scope and time. Like any good chef, prepare well by properly defining the scope of the project and its objectives. Understanding the project life cycle is key as is establishing milestones and deadlines for key tasks. Establishing a schedule is a key skill.
2. A tablespoon of risk management and governance. Early on you need to identify the risks to the project and develop strategies to minimise the chance of them occurring as well as contingencies if they do. A good governance structure helps identify those risks but also ensure processes for quick resolution.
3. Carefully measure cost and procurement. Spend more on preparing a meal than you can charge for it is the undoing of any chef or restaurant. Properly established contracts and procurement planning will have you getting more out than you put in.
4. Whisk in people/HR. A restaurant owner is only as good as his chef and his wait staff. The meal may be beautiful but the service leads to a bad experience. People are key to any project’s success. Get the right people in the right roles and ensure they have what they need to get the job done.
5. A good dash of stakeholder engagement, communication and information. The waiter forgets to tell the chef of a dietary requirement – disaster. Good engagement ensures people buy in to your project early and ongoing communication avoids misunderstandings and keeps people motivated and informed to get to successfully get to the end result.
6. A cup of quality. You can be a cook or a chef. Effective meetings, emphasising the importance of standards and modelling best practice is essential to have a project which is the piece de resistance.
7. Blend for integration. The planning and bringing all the elements together in a balanced way is the difference between a one star or a Michelin star project.
Bake until your project has risen perfectly to achieve its objectives. Bon appetit.
Forsythes Training offers nationally recognised Diploma and Certificate lV qualifications as well as short courses in project management. MS Project training is included FREE in our Diploma and Certificate IV courses.
