We all manage projects every day, but we’re not all necessarily project managers—at least by formal education, certification, or title. Essentially a project is collaborative or individual effort that is carefully planned and designed to achieve a specific objective. When many of us think about projects, our minds tend to jump to large-scale business projects that can span months (or years!), involve lots of resources, and so on.
In fact, much of what we do on a daily or weekly basis also fits that definition, but we don’t often think of those things in that way. But the notice of “Project Portfolio Management” (or PPM) is something that can be distilled down to a few basic ideas and used by anyone that needs to organize and deliver these smaller projects as well.
Five Key Building Blocks
Sitting at the core of project management are five key building blocks that serve as the foundation for all successful projects.
1. Start from the right place with formal project intake and governance.
Your first step with any project should be to determine if you should even start the project at all. This is referred to as project governance, and it’s essentially a process by which you and other stakeholders review a project request to see if what’s being requested aligns with the needs of the business, and if it does, you can give it the green light.
2. Map the framework to the process.
So now that you have this project to deliver, what’s next? Well, you need to determine how you’re going to deliver it. Project methodologies have been mainstays for a long time, but other methods like Kanban, card wall, and just a basic task list can also work depending on the scope and complexity of the project. Hybrid approaches that combine elements of more than one of these methods are also growing in popularity.
3. Create a common, business-focused language.
Project management comes with a vernacular all its own, especially when it comes to IT projects. And since many PMOs reside within IT, this can create some obstacles to overcome if you’re working with departments outside of IT on a project. Finding a common language that all stakeholders understand will help eliminate unnecessary confusion and build stronger relationships.
4. Track and manage resources.
In many cases, the resources that are working on your project are splitting their time and effort between more than one project as well as everyday tasks. Having a clear view of how project resources are allocated within a project and across your organization’s project portfolio will prevent them being over- or under-utilized.
5. Report your results
The previous four building blocks are all crucial to the success of any project, but without the last one, you’ll be in the dark. Effective project reporting supports your decision-making process throughout a project, and it can also serve as an easy way to update stakeholders on things like project health, potential roadblocks, etc.
Project management really is for the masses—see how it can help your business. Learn more.