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Learn how to effectively manage the four basic elements of a project - resources, time, money, and scope. Discover strategies for managing people, materials, tasks, schedules, and budgets. Understand the importance of scope management and helpful tips for successful project management.
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Project Management Created by Monique Ellefson, VISTA Leader. Dec 2013. Iowa Campus Compact
Project Management Overview • A successful Project Manager must simultaneously manage the four basic elements of a project • Resources • Time • Money • Scope • All these elements are interrelated. Each must be managed effectively. All must be managed together if the project, and the project manager, is to be a success.
Resource Management People & materials When managing people, you must determine who the key players are and what roles they play. When managing equipment & materials, you must be aware of what you need and what is available to you.
Resource Management: People Think about the scope of your project. What roles are needed to make your project successful? How do you recruit people effectively for those roles? How often do you need to check in with them to ensure they are staying on track with their own project timeline.
Resource Management: Materials • Along with managing your human resources, you must also manage your material resources. • Depending on your project needs, you will need to determine • What materials you need • How much you need • Where you will get them from • If you want/need to use them again
Time Management • Tasks & schedule • Any project can be broken down into a number of tasks that have to be performed. To prepare the project schedule, the project manager has to figure out what the tasks are, how long they will take, what resources they require, and in what order they should be done.
Time Management: Tasks • Breakdown your project into different tasks • Group things together • Look for bigger themes of things • Make a list of tasks • Break down each task into specific steps needed to complete them • Treat this as a checklist • Always remember to be flexible and maintain the “big picture” of your project • As things change, so will your task list
Time Management: Schedule • Assess your task list and create a schedule • If necessary, delegate certain tasks to others • Try to stay on schedule when working on your project • Use a specific method to manage your time and schedule better • Don’t get distracted by smaller things that pop up, always maintain focus on the bigger tasks • Law of 80/20
Time Management: Resources Trello Tom’s Planner Google Calendar Your planner!
Money Management • Costs, contingencies, & profit • Assess your needed human and material resources • Make a budget and stick to it! Or try to… • Keep receipts **itemized** • Keep track as you spend money • Organize budget into categories • Be prepared to be flexible
Scope Management Project size, goals, & requirements What is your project supposed to accomplish? What is the budget (time & money) to achieve this? You cannot manage the resources, time, and money in a project unless you actively manage the project scope.
Scope Management • If the scope of the project changes, you must also change the other elements, especially in budget of time and resources. • “scope creep” often occurs • Small changes, that by themselves are manageable, but when piled up greatly change the original scope of the project • It’s always important to keep the BIG PICTURE in mind.
Helpful Tips • Understand where you are at. • What is your skill level? • What/who are your resources? • Do you have a binder or previous model to work from? • Do you have access to someone that has done the project before or been involved somehow? • How much time do you have to devote to this? • What is the participation like on campus or in the community? • Depending on the approval process you may have to write a project proposal. • Include overall goals, outcomes, and timeline. • The more information you provide, the better. • Make it look official – treat this like an outline for your project that will help you be successful. • Use information from the previous slide to determine what all you should/can include in your proposal.
Helpful Tips • Understand exactly what you need. • What do you need now? • What will you need/want in the future? • Determine what impacts you want. • What is the need for your project on campus or in your community? • What is your goal with this project? • How can you ensure that the project fulfills these goals?
Helpful Tips • Think ahead and plan every little detail • Stick to your plan! • Most blown budgets can be attributed to not planning properly • Document everything! • If you are starting from scratch, keep track of everything you do for future use. • If you are working from previous models, update all of pertinent files and add in anything new you did. • Make a “Notes” sheet for your experiences and what you think would be good for next year.
Group Participation! • “Raise your hand” and share some of your experiences • What’re you working on right now for your project? • What can we help you with? • How do you stay organized?
References http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Pareto081202.htm
