Taking a reactive approach as a project manager essentially guarantees that your project will be overdue, over budget, and diverted from its original goal. It takes a proactive project manager, fluid communication and some essential preparation to guarantee success. These following tips can ensure your project continues its desired trajectory, and finishes on time and on budget (every project managers goal!).
1. Know the strengths and weaknesses of your team
You need to evaluate your’ skill sets to strategize your selection. You want to utilize Tim’s graphic design skills on this print ad along with Megan’s witty, genius copywriting expertise. Select the ideal players so you can play up their strengths for the benefit of the team as a whole. Familiarize yourself with your team’s weaknesses so you can combat it with extra resources or whatever else is needed. If you need more players on the field, go recruit more, but be strategic about it. Too many people in a project can dilute it and slow it down.
2. Document the scope of the project before you start
A budget should not be merely a conjecture or guess, and a schedule should not be “figured out” as it goes along. Most successful projects finish within budget because their scope is clearly defined ahead of project launch. This can be the most difficult for a project manager to deal with as they are often caught between the team doing the work and the management team increasing scope. Do your preliminary research to ensure you have an accurate idea. Supply a project brief or creative brief to your team at the first meeting, to communicate the scope of the project to everyone involved. Knowing what a project consists of before an undertaking is key. Knowing what a project consists of before an undertaking is key.
3. Set goals within realistic timelines
As a project manager, you want to strive for high goals while leveraging a realistic timeline so your team has enough time to be excited about the project and generate great ideas. If your project team views the project as just one huge goal, it can be overwhelming and disheartening. If you break down the project into smaller, more manageable tasks with due dates attached to each one, it will seem more doable, thus your team will be more productive, moving the project along on schedule.
4. Make sure team members understand schedules and deadlines before launch
You can spend countless hours creating the perfect looking schedule and milestone plan, but doing so without the input of team members could prove disastrous. Involve team members early on in the planning and there will be no excuses when the final project schedule is set. If they feel they were a core part of the planning aspect of the project, your team feels more accountable to the schedule they help set.
5. Use collaboration tools
Sending out endless emails with attachments is time-consuming and inefficient. With so many emails that clog your team’s inboxes every day, the pertinent information you’re sending may get lost in the shuffle. Integrate a project management tool to serve as your centralized communication tool and the umbrella for your business apps. Sharing the latest documents, setting deadlines, assigning tasks and analyzing project data is seamless with agile project management software.
6. Communicate, communicate, communicate…
When in doubt, communicate. This doesn’t always mean a string of long email chains (see use collaboration tools above). Meet with the team member if you have a question. Be as approachable as possible so your team feels comfortable coming to you with questions or concerns. Set aside time to answer questions. Always communicate in a professional and respectful manner. Be approachable and friendly. Acknowledge work that is done well and think of ways to do tasks better next time.
7. Know your red flags and watch for them
Make sure you know what they are and what to watch for before it’s too late to adjust. Document any obstacles along the way for next time. Be proactive enough to sense when things are getting off track and adjust accordingly, instead of just reacting afterward.
8. Celebrate milestones
It’s important to celebrate milestones as they happen and reward jobs well done. Productivity will soar amongst your project team if your members feel appreciated for their role. Some team members may have a more crucial part than others, but each and every person plays a pertinent role in the project success. Acknowledge your members for what they have accomplished to boost morale and keep your team motivated and focused.
9. Remember there’s no way every detail of every project can be under your control
The hardest thing for a project manager is to just sit back and trust that your team is doing its job, especially if you’re a perfectionist. But you picked this team for a reason, and they are certainly capable of their assignments. Use the project team to its fullest by allowing team members to do their jobs. Use the best project collaboration tools and hold people accountable, but trying to do everyone’s job while trying to manage the project is a recipe for failure. Micromanaging causes resentment, passion aggression and a lack of repsect Your team was selected for a reason, and are perfectly capable of doing a job well done. Trying to do everything and be everywhere will be absolute chaos.
10. Have contingency plans
No project is perfect. Variables and conditions change along the way, and as a project manager, you need to adapt accordingly and proactively. The best way to ensure your project fails is to not have a contingency plan for each phase and milestone. Be prepared.
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Which of the following is a tool used to secure expert judgment?
What should be done by the project manager to ensure that all work in the project is included?
What kind of a relationship is implied when completion of a successor is dependent on initiation of its predecessor?
What should a project manager do or follow to ensure clear boundaries for project completion?
Which of the following provides the foundation for team development?
Which of the following is NOT an input to project plan execution?
A project manager would find team development the most difficult in which form of organization?
Once the project is complete, the complete set of project records should be put in which of the following?
Which of the following is a common format for performance reporting?
f the cost variance is positive and the schedule variance is also positive, then it indicates that …
Tagged as: project manager, project manager, project
The Project Management Institute is a global project management organization. The group offers Project Management Professional certification that shows competency in a variety of project management and other business-related areas. The PMP certification process includes an exam based on the group's Project Management Body of Knowledge guide. Below are sample questions and answers that you might find on the PMP exam.
The following 20 questions are from Whiz Labs, which provides information and sample tests -- for a fee -- for the PMP and other examinations.
Which of the following is a tool used to secure expert judgment?
B.. Delphi techniqueC. Expected value technique
D. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Based on the information provided below, which project would you recommend pursuing?
Project I, with BCR (Benefit Cost ratio) of 1:1.6;Project II, with NPV of US $ 500,000;Project III, with IRR (Internal rate of return) of 15%
Project IV, with opportunity cost of US $ 500,000.
A. Project IB. Project IIIC. Either project II or IV
D. Can not say from the data provided
What should be done by the project manager to ensure that all work in the project is included?
A. Create a contingency planB. Create a risk management planC. Create a WBS
D. Create a scope statement
What kind of a relationship is implied when completion of a successor is dependent on initiation of its predecessor?
Choices:A. FSB. FFC. SS
D. SF
What should a project manager do or follow to ensure clear boundaries for project completion?
A. Scope verificationB. Complete a scope statementC. Scope definition
D. Risk management plan
An organization is certified to a stringent environmental standard and uses that as the key differentiator with its competitors. Alternative identification during scope planning for a particular project has thrown up an expeditious approach to achieve a project need, but this involves a risk of environmental contamination. The team evaluates that the likelihood of the risk is very low. What should the project team do?
A. Drop the alternative approachB. Work out a mitigation planC. Procure an insurance against the risk
D. Plan all precautions to avoid the risk
The following three tasks form the entire critical path of the project network. The three estimates of each of these tasks are tabulated below. How long would the project take to complete expressed with an accuracy of one standard deviation?
Task Optimistic Most likely PessimisticA 15 25 47B 12 22 35
C 16 27 32
A. 75.5B. 75.5 +/- 7.09C. 75.5 +/- 8.5
D. 75.5 +/- 2.83
After a study of the work processes on a project, a quality audit team reports to the project manager that irrelevant quality standards were being used by the project, which might lead to rework. What was the objective of the project manager in initiating this study?
A. Quality controlB. Quality planningC. Checking adherence to processes
D. Quality assurance
Which of the following provides the foundation for team development?
A. MotivationB. Organizational developmentC. Conflict Management
D. Individual Development
Which of the following is NOT an input to project plan execution?
A. Work authorization systemB. Project planC. Corrective action
D. Preventive action
A project manager would find team development the most difficult in which form of organization?
A. Weak Matrix organizationB. Balanced Matrix organizationC. Projectized organization
D. Tight Matrix organization
The project manager of a large multi-location software project team has 24 members, out of which 5 are assigned to testing. Due to recent recommendations by an organizational quality audit team, the project manager is convinced to add a quality professional to lead the test team at additional cost, to the project.
The project manager is aware of the importance of communication, for the success of the project and takes this step of introducing additional communication channels, making it more complex, in order to assure quality levels of the project. How many additional communication channels are introduced as a result of this organizational change in the project?
A. 25B. 24C. 1
D. 5
Once the project is complete, the complete set of project records should be put in which of the following?
A. Project ArchivesB. DatabaseC. Storage room
D. Project Report
Which of the following is a common format for performance reporting?
A. Pareto DiagramsB. Bar chartsC. Responsibility Assignment Matrices
D. Control Charts
If the cost variance is positive and the schedule variance is also positive, this indicates the:
A. Project is under budget and behind scheduleB. Project is over budget and behind scheduleC. Project is under budget and ahead of schedule
D. Project is over budget and ahead of schedule
During execution of a project, an identified risk event occurs that results in additional cost and time. The project had provisions for contingency and management reserves. How should these be accounted for?
A. Contingency reservesB. Residual risksC. Management reserves
D. Secondary risks
Which one of the following is the last step of project closing?
A. Client has accepted the productB. Archives are completeC. Client appreciates your product
D. Lessons learned are documented
Who should be involved in the creation of lessons learned, at the closure of a project?
A. StakeholdersB. Project teamC. Management of the performing organization
D. Project office
An organization has recently started outsourcing work to a low cost, high value, engineering center located in a different country. Which of the following should the project manager provide for the team as a proactive measure?
A. A training course on the laws of the countryB. A course on linguistic differencesC. An exposure to the cultural differences
D.A communication management plan
While reviewing the progress, the project manager assesses that an activity has been missed out from the implementation plan. A milestone, scheduled to be achieved within another week, would be missed with the current implementation plan. Which of the following is the next best action for the project manager in this situation?
A. Report the error and the expected delayB. Omit the status update on the milestoneC. Report the error and the planned recovery actions
D. Assess alternatives to meet the milestone
The answers to the PMP sample questions are from Scribd, a fee-based information website.
B - Explanation: The Delphi technique is a commonly used tool to secure expert judgment while initiating a project.
B - Explanation: Project III has an IRR of 15 percent, which means the revenues from the project equal the cost expended at an interest rate of 15 percent. This is a definitive and a favorable parameter, and hence can be recommended for selection.
C - Explanation: A WBS is a deliverable-oriented grouping of project components that organizes and defines the total scope of the project.
D - Explanation: A start-to-finish (SF) relationship between two activities implies that the completion of a successor is dependent on the initiation of its predecessor.
B - Explanation: The project team must complete a scope statement for developing a common understanding of the project scope among stakeholders. This lists project deliverables -- summary level sub-products, whose full and satisfactory delivery marks the completion of the project.
A - Explanation: The organization’s reputation being at stake, the threshold for such a risk would be very low
B - Explanation: The critical path is the longest duration path through a network and determines the shortest time to complete the project. The PERT estimates of the tasks listed are 27, 22.5 & 26. Therefore, the length of the critical path of the project is 27+22.5+26 = 75.5.
D - Explanation: Determining the validity of quality standards, followed by the project is a quality assurance activity.
D - Explanation: Individual development (managerial and technical) is the foundation of a team.
A - Explanation: A Project plan is the basis of project plan execution and is a primary input.
A - Explanation: In a functional organization, the project team members have dual reporting to two bosses -- the project manager and the functional manager. In a weak matrix organization, the power rests with the functional manager.
A - Explanation: Number of communication channels with “n” members = n*(n-1)/2. Originally the project has 25 members (including the project manager), which makes the total communication channels as 25*24/2 = 300. With the addition of the quality professional as a member of the project team, the communication channels increase to 26*25/2 = 325. Therefore, the additional channels as a result of the change, that is, 325-300 = 25.
A - Explanation: Project records should be prepared for archiving by the appropriate parties.
B - Explanation: Common formats for Performance Reports are, bar charts (also called Gantt Charts), S-curves, histograms, and tables.
C - Explanation: Positive Schedule Variance means the project is ahead of schedule; Negative Cost Variance means the project is over-budget.
A - Explanation: The question is about correct accounting for risk events that occur and updating the reserves. Reserves are meant for making provisions in cost and schedule, to accommodate for consequences of risk events. Risk events are classified as unknown unknowns or known unknown, where “unknown unknowns” are risks that were are not identified and accounted for, while known unknowns are risks that were identified and provisions were made for them.
B - Explanation: Archiving is the last step in the project closing.
A - Explanation: Stakeholders include everyone who is actively involved in the project or whose interests may be affected as a result of the project execution or completion. The project team creates the lessons learned on the project.
C - Explanation: Understanding cultural differences is the first step towards an effective communication amongst the project team involving outsourced work from a different country. So, what is needed in this case is an exposure to the cultural differences, which is being mentioned as choice C.
D - Explanation: Choice D, that is, "assess alternatives to meet the milestone" indicates confronting the issue with an attempt to resolve the issue. Hence this would be the best approach.