When you study project management as a course, you will marvel at so many details you learn. However, only a few weeks later, you forget them. If you are one of those people who prefer to go by the books and focus on the principles of project management, then it’s inevitable that you forget the details that make project managers worth rivalling. Here are ten crucial business best practices that you will need to keep in mind for the betterment of your company.
#1: Communicate with Project Stakeholders
Communication is the key to getting the right message across and to make sure your project has a great kick off. This means talking to everyone on the team including stakeholders, managers, valued user, sponsors, and clients.
#2: Form a Risk Management and Response Team
Every task and project in the company have different risk levels. This is why you need to form a team responsible for tackling risks. This can help you maintain the projects in the progressive state without getting out of hand. You should think of the risk management team as the first line of defense in case there are problems you encounter.
#3: Host a Project Kick-Off Meeting
To manage any project successfully, you must align all stakeholders. The best way to do this is in a meeting. Involve everyone related to the project. Address everyone’s expectations and both foreseen and unforeseen risks and problems. This helps ensure proper communication and keeps everyone involved in the loop. Make sure that everyone has a healthy approach to the project.
#4: Clear Confusions Using a Work Definition Document
When things go wrong, sorting out who is responsible for specific things can be a problem. However, with a detailed work definition document, you can avoid confusions. The document must define what you need and by whom. Everyone can understand their roles and put efforts accordingly. In order to create accountability, which is also an important business best practice, you can use the document. Get every stakeholder to sign it if you must.
#5: Implement Work Plans (Crucial Business Best Practices)
A work plan helps you stay up-to-date and helps meet the deadline without forgetting. Without a proper work plan, you cannot track any project at various stages. The key here is that when you measure progress every now and then, you stay focused on completing it.
#6: Don’t Ignore the Power of Documentation
Being a project manager means that you cannot let any assignment slip your supervision. Moreover, following deadlines and making sure you and your team meet the targets is a crucial business best practice. If you slip, the CEO will ask questions like why it happened, what the cause was, and how to prevent it in future. A slip up will be proof of your being a weak manager and you cannot afford this. Despite all your efforts if there are slip-ups, you need answers to the situation. You need to draw evidence and track the cause. For this, documentation can be the source of every information you need. Documentation helps you track discrepancies and helps with accountability.
#7: Ask for Criticism or Feedback
Nobody is perfect. Despite all your business best practices as a manager, you will have some good days and bad days. Not everyone will be happy with your performance, despite all other achievements you’d had. Nonetheless, asking for criticism and feedback can help you keep yourself in check. Seeing your performance from another’s’ perspective will help you improve your management skills.
#8: Communicate the Impact of Decisions You Make
Saying yes to any project or a new task is easy. What’s tough is managing the project’s overload. Whenever you approve a new project, it is your duty to assess the impact of your decisions. Plan a budget and make sure it works according to the plan.
#9: Manage all Old and Fresh Agreements
A new agreement means changes in the scope of the original project. Whenever a new development happens, it’s a business best practice to make everyone sign the agreement document. This way, stakeholders can have a clearer idea of the scope of the project and its impact on the company at large. An agreement also avoids confusions with deadlines.
#10: Hold a Project Completion Meeting
Once a project completes, holding a meeting to make sure everyone knows about it is a very good business best practice. It is a time when everyone involved should reflect on the progress, achievements, ways of optimizing next projects and correcting past mistakes. Wrap-up meetings are a time when you can discuss lessons learned and help everyone in the team, including yourself, improve.
Continuously improving your management and optimizing strategies can go a long way with both time and budget management. Thank you for making time to read this blog. Feel free to share your thoughts or suggestions about it down below in the comments section. You may want to the infographic we have about business best practices.
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