The world of business and project management is becoming fundamentally more dynamic and global. However, it is also increasingly more complex – and stressful. Ever-changing technology, complicated global markets, distributed teams, results-oriented projects with tight deadlines has created a 24/7 working mentality.
To manage effectively, you need to work smart. And you need technology to be working for you, not against you. Tools that focus on increasing efficiencies also increase motivation and productivity in projects.
To whet your appetite, here are Planview’s top ten rules that can help you kick start execution in 2016.
1) ALWAYS START AT THE END
Poor planning leads to an inefficient allocation of time and resources, dooming a project from the beginning. So establish an end goal to work back from – and ensure milestones are plotted on a timeline. It’s crucial that every team member has access to the goals and timeline visualisation so keep it in the cloud and secure its accessibility through any smart device so all involved can contribute.
2) VISUALISE SUCCESS
Long lists and key jobs can be difficult to digest, leading to confusion. A Kanban system, invented by Toyota in the 1940s, features a board on which Post-it® style notes can be placed in different columns to represent workflows of projects.
It provides instant clarity on progress and individual responsibilities and a foundation for self-organisation.
3) FACILITATE TEAMWORK
Skills and experience gaps within teams can lead to project tasks being completed with varying degrees of success. Promoting a collaborative atmosphere and system will help close these gaps – allowing every skill to be utilised and every weakness to be supplemented.
An accessible, centralised planning and management online workspace is essential. To do this successfully, it should be clear for every team member at the start of a project what tools to use, and how to use them.
4) EXECUTE ON TIME
This is one of the hardest parts. Timely executions require that the team doesn’t lose track of goals. Use timelines and establishment measurements for project success. It’s also helpful to break project goals and deliverables into a hierarchy of activities.
5) STAY AGILE
An agile approach allows for the continuous improvement of plans and methods. It means being open to contributions from team members and reacting to unforeseen events. Open communication enables fast decision making which is essential. This is a key cultural change.
6) CREATE ENGAGEMENT
Keeping teams updated often involves convoluted email chains, multiple phone calls and unproductive meetings.
As well as being time-consuming and stressful, foggy communication structures can lead to pressured team members hiding from responsibility. Instead, promote open communication and transparency, which personal responsibility.
Make sure that your primary, collaborative work tools have social features, which combined with Kanban based teamwork capabilities provide full insight into who is doing what and when, who has not completed their task in time and who is in possession of what information.
7) WFH
The modern workforce is no longer shackled to their desks 9 to 5. So it is vital to use a collaboration tool that ensures all information they require –– whether documents, data, contacts, plans, visuals or blueprints – is easily, instantly and securely accessible from anywhere, on any device.
Everyone on a project should be able to see every action at all times, then respond instantly. Email chains should be banished and workers empowered to excel wherever they are. Smart cloud tools should be available in desktops and smartphones.
Test potential cloud tool providers before you choose: search in Google Play and the App Store for apps and user reviews.
8) TRUST YOUR TEAM
An ethos of individual responsibility should be established in the age of mobile working. A tool that facilitates collaboration can result in team members becoming more involved in decision-making and self organisation, no matter their location.
The job of management suddenly becomes more about empowering workers than directing them. Open communication and transparency reinforces good behavior and develops personal responsibility.
9) MAKE THE RIGHT HARDWARE CHOICES
Heavy investment in desk-bound computers by companies is coming to an end in the mobile world. So let employees rather than IT departments drive the hardware decisions. Allow them to use the mobile devices and operating systems that suit them.
Cloud tools reachable with a browser integrate smoothly with IT systems already in place within an organisation – and it is not requiring installation. Be sure to take advantage of the bring your own device trend.
It means companies don’t have to make huge investments to harness the benefits of connectivity.
10) STOP ADMINISTERING, START DOING
Constant meetings can be the bane of a project manager’s life. With a fully transparent, open work culture you can cut right back on the need for touch-base meetings.
An all-in-one cloud collaboration tool with visual features allows team members to become more aware of their responsibilities and project progress.
The tool should facilitate self organisation, no matter the individual’s location. The need for constant meetings dissipates. Instead you can monitor, rather than participate in, the planning process as you lead the team toward its goals.
