Whether you have been working on a project for weeks, months or years, then chances are you will be heavily invested in its outcomes. With all of that work, the last thing you want is for the project to disappear off everyone’s radar once it has been completed.
You want any learning to be taken forward by your organization. Here are some handy tips to consider when trying to ensure the successful work of your project management office remains lodged in your colleagues and customers minds for years to come.
Clear, Measurable Outcomes
Outcomes are a key to the completion of any project but remember. At the same time, the data may seem perfectly obvious to you and those working on the project; they will not be retained unless they are communicated clearly.
While some projects may have obvious outcomes such as a new building, or a complete revamp of how a business operates, others may be smaller and the results more nuanced.
It is important to summarise these outcomes clearly and succinctly. Consider how you can tell the story through text, visuals and design. If you get the chance to communicate the effects in a meeting with stakeholders, be prepared and do not bombard with statistics and detail unless necessary.
Consider Your Online Messaging
Your project may have created products or content that needs to be marketed to your customers. If you do not build effective online messaging into your project strategy, you could see the products becoming mothballed or failing to meet their goals.
Rely on expert advice such as this insightful guide by Web Presence to double-check your work. Remember, e-commerce moves at a lightning-fast pace so you cannot simply rely on strategies from previous projects.
You need to constantly update your knowledge in this area to make sure you are beating your competitors and getting project messaging correct via the multiple online platforms and social media channels your organization may utilize.
Mark Milestones Memorably
We have all celebrated the end of a project with warm white wine in the office after work. If this is how each project is marked, then yours may blur with all the others, and not stand out. If you do have a milestone to celebrate, think creatively about how this can be communicated both internally and externally.
Think creatively, could you get a local bakery to deliver a hamper of cupcakes that mark the milestone, available for everyone’s coffee break or could you use the milestone to communicate with customers via an interactive competition.
For example, if you have sold a product to your 10,000th customer, could you get customers to send in photographs of their product in unusual places with a prize for the best photo.
Such a competition could become a great social media resource and also re-energize the product since its initial launch. If these have been done before by your company, then try to think of something new. Do not rely on the familiar, or you will become forgettable.
Finally, remember every project is a stepping stone to your next one. Your legacy can be created first and foremost by taking learning forward and injecting it into your next project.
