Project management

1. Project management Project management is a key aspect of doing real project work for clients. Good project management consists of making sure everyone knows what they’re doing and how they’re doing it, as well as keeping the client in the loop. The most key aspect of this is good communication with all parties. Confidence in leadership Initiative & Self Learning Visit www.corkscrew.io for more Come on, let’s get started.

2. This is what a brief looks like

3. Company Background Key Staff Branding and mission Products and target markets Reason for the project Competition in the industry Who launched the organisation and why? Who makes up the core team and what are their backgrounds? Why does your client want the project completed? What are their objectives and what do they hope to achieve once it’s completed – long term mission? What products/services do they offer and who do they target? Do they have a selection of target customers or one in particular? Most websites will contain an ‘About us’ section but find reviews on the internet, too. Who are the main competition and what are the current trends within the industry? Research the mission and core values of the organisation and how they tell their storyusing social media, etc. The First step is always to Research your client You will never fully understand a client brief or hope to achieve successful outcomes without knowing everything about the business you will be working for. Your client will have greater faith in a consultant who has put in the time and done their research properly.

4. Question the project’s main objectives Rewrite the brief in your own words Set up a meeting with your client The chances are you uncovered a lot more information in that meeting. Rewrite the brief with an updated objectives list adding any extra details you uncovered. In future meetings you can refer back to this new brief. Prepare and ask a set of questions about the brief that will help you deliver the project fully and to check that you’ve understood the project correctly. Set up a meeting with your client to discuss the brief in detail. Read the brief fully in advance and prepare a list of questions to ask in your meeting. Next step is to research the Brief itself Once you’ve fully understood what the client’s company does, how it operates and who’s in charge, the next step is to reexamine the brief itself and try and uncover as much extra detail as possible. It will make your job much easier in the long run.

5. Then Plan your time & resources Early planning is crucial to a successful project. Try your best not to run out of time due to lack of planning or foresight on what resources you needed and how long each step will take. Resources planning What resources do you, yourteam and your client have at your disposal? Do you require financial support or specific equipment? Time planning Fully understand your commitments & deadlines and plan time. Be realistic and make project adjustments if needed.

6. Initial project planning Don’t start yet - list your ‘macro’ steps Don’t get caught up in the small steps or jump into the project work until you fully understand the journey of the project, you may waste valuable time. Implementing project Final Conclusion Company/brief Research The first step is always researching the company and brief in depth to understand its objectives. Then you’ll need to plan out your time efficiently to make sure you get everything finished! Time to start work on the project. Avoid starting before you’ve created your plan of action. How will you hand over the project’s results back to the client? Presentation? Document?

7. Products Background Resources available Project Research Material Creation Data Collection Final Delivery Results announced Initial project planning Then break it down - list your ‘micro’ steps Once you’ve understood the big picture, break each part down into several ‘micro’ steps. Be as specific as you can - the more detail you put in, the clearer plan of action you’ll have. Implementing project Final Conclusion Company/brief Research

8. Use big pens to plan out the project. Big pens = big thinking!

9. Take it into google docs & manage the tasks online

10. Communicate with your client Things Go wrong, that’s ok Use your tasklist to keep on track Communicate with your team Regular meetings are key to the success of your project to make sure everyone has a clear role and responsibility and that there is no overlapping of work. Take meetings in different locations to keep refreshed Don’t’ send constant emails to the client, but make sure you are contacting the client to get support and information, and make sure you arrange a time and date for project presentation Nothing is wasted, even if it may feel like it. Unused work for this brief could be critical for future projects. Keep everything. Also, if you to change deadlines, then do so. During the whole process monitor who is doing what and if you are completing your set tasks. Keep going back to your tasklist and keep things updated. Implementing the project It’s time to start the project, just remember to keep up the communication you have with your client and with your team. If things seem difficult half way into the project, it’s probably because you let the communication get slack.

11. finally, Deliver your resultsin person& give them a hard copy for reference

12. Project management tools A good tasklistis key to staying on top of the projects

13. 1 2 3 Scrum TASKboard In process To verify done TO DO Priority 1 Scrum taskboards are used as a tool on agile methodology for complex software and product development projects. However, if simplified it can be a very useful tool to work in small and ynamic projects. Priority 2 SCRUM Meeting It’s a 5-10 min meeting everyday at the beninging of the day to assess the development of the project as well as to asssign day tasks. Priority 3 Assign team members to tasks You can assign individual tasks to team members Keep the board updated Scrum taskboards are very useful, but need to be constantly updated. Remember to update th state of the project and add new tasks as they apear.

14. 1 2 3 Google drive Online, shared, collaborative documents and great for keeping track of files between team members. All you need is a Google account to get started. Store files online Online file storage – access from anywhere Create & Edit documents online Create word documents, presentations and spreadsheets Multiple users editing at the same time Users can edit content simultaneously

15. Try to be realistic about what you expect to get done, and keep up communication at all times. Be realistic about the timings of each part of the project and if you find yourself running out of time, ask yourself why and create a new plan. In the real world, deadlines change all the time, and this is ok as long as you have thorough communication with your client and your team throughout.

16. Today: Skill scavenge Tomorrow: Problem Solving Today: Let’s start working as a consultant 1 2 3 Project work introduction, previous project works review and project selection. Learn new skills while having fun! We’ll be thinking about solving problems – generally speaking, making customers lives easier. What’s up Next?

17. Now let’s look at the projects! www.cork-screw.org