How to Manage Your Projects

Planning Complex Projects

Planning a complex project can seem like an overwhelming task. But it doesn't have to be. There are steps you can take to make the process easier and more manageable. For example, when you define your scope and objectives, it'll give the project a clear focus and ensure that everyone is on the same page about what needs to be done and by when. Clarifying timelines and deliverables will help you stay on track with any deadlines or timing requirements, while assigning responsibility and accountability will avoid any confusion about who is responsible for what. Creating detailed plans with diagrams (including Gantt charts), setting expectations across stakeholders, establishing team building principles, establishing communication protocols, prioritizing tasks based on importance or urgency will all help you stay organized. With these nine steps in place, managing a complex project should not be a difficult task.

Defining Scope and Objectives

The first step to managing a complex project is defining what the scope of it will be. You'll need to have some idea of the outcome you're looking for in order to set yourself up for success. This includes what the objectives are for the project and, specifically, what you hope it will accomplish.

This is important because, without knowing your scope, you don't know what needs to be done or when that needs to be done by. You want to ensure that each person on your team knows exactly what they should be working on at any given time.

A good way to think about this is how a shared responsibility chart might work. These charts show who has input on each part of the project and how much input they need to provide at any given time during its life cycle. For example, during the planning phase, one stakeholder may need more input than another stakeholder. But as you move forward in the project's timeline, their responsibilities shift accordingly so that everyone involved is contributing an appropriate amount of time and attention.

Clarifying Timeline and Deliverables

One of the most important factors in planning complex projects is to clearly define what you want to accomplish and by when. If you don't know the scope of a project, how can you determine how much time it will take or what needs to be done? However, it's not enough just to decide on deadlines arbitrarily. You need to make sure that the deadlines are realistic. For example, if a project is due in two weeks and you only have one day left, that’s probably not a realistic (or healthy) deadline for yourself or your team.

Assigning Responsibility and Accountability

One of the most important steps to take when planning a complex project is to assign responsibility and accountability. It’s important because it builds accountability into the process. It also helps you identify who will be providing what, which makes it easier for you to make sure that all bases are covered when it comes time to execute.

With assigning responsibility and accountability, you can more easily identify the person responsible for each task and make sure that things get done in a timely manner. For example, if you know that one person is going to be responsible for writing content for your website, then you know where any content should go as soon as it’s written rather than passing it off to someone else. With this method, everyone has a clearer picture of their role and understands how their work contributes to the whole project.

If someone isn’t doing what they agreed to do (or is taking too long), there’s an easy way to hold them accountable. This ensures that deadlines are met and everything is completed on time without any issues.

Creating Detailed Plans and Diagrams (including Gantt charts)

One of the most important parts of any project is having a clear, detailed plan. Without this, you won’t know what you are working on or what your deadlines are. A Gantt chart is one tool that can help you plan projects more efficiently. What is a Gantt chart? A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that shows tasks and their timeline for accomplishing a project. They are typically used in conjunction with other tools like Microsoft Project to create a more robust picture of how each step in the project will look and when it will be completed.

The benefit of creating a Gantt Chart? You'll know exactly where you need to spend your time and which tasks need to be prioritized based on importance and urgency. It also helps with communication across teams because they can see what's happening at all times and who needs to do what by when.

Setting Expectations Across Stakeholders

Setting expectations across stakeholders is important for any successful project. You want to make sure everyone involved knows what is expected of them and the deadlines for the project. You want to establish a clear line of communication, so that when a stakeholder has questions about their role or the project as a whole it can be answered.

You also want to make sure there are no surprises along the way. When you tell someone, "I need you to do X by Y," they should know exactly what they will be doing and when they will be doing it. This helps avoid any confusion in an already complicated process.

Finally, you want to set team building principles from the start. This means deciding how much input each stakeholder will have in order to get them on board with your vision for the project. For example, if you are hiring someone's services out of your budget, it makes sense for them to have more input in regards to design decisions than someone who just needs their role filled.

Establishing Team Building Principles (including how much input is required from each stakeholder)

When it comes to establishing team building principles, every project is different. For example, a small project might require input from one stakeholder while a large project will require input from many stakeholders. The key is to establish the level of input that is required for each stakeholder and what their expected deliverables are.

A common principle that can be established for any project is how much input a stakeholder should have in decision-making. Depending on the size and scope of the project, this could range from having full control over decisions to merely giving feedback or approval. Some projects may even require weekly meetings with all stakeholders to review progress and share ideas.

Additionally, as you establish principles for your team, it’s important to also set expectations across stakeholders about deadlines, deliverables, and accountability. These expectations should be clearly defined in written documents so there are no misunderstandings between the members of your team.

Establishing Communication Protocols (including tools like Slack)

Communication is the lifeblood of any team. It’s a critical part of project management, which is why it deserves its own section. Communication protocols are important for establishing clear expectations for how each stakeholder in the project will communicate with others on the team.

Good communication is necessary to ensure that projects stay on track and run smoothly. There are many ways to communicate with one another, but Slack has proved to be one of the most popular methods. It allows teams to seamlessly communicate in real time across various platforms (including PC, Mac, iPhone, and Android). You can use it for internal communication or as a way to collaborate with clients and vendors.

Slack allows you to create different channels for different topics (team-wide announcements, questions about specific tasks, chat threads just between two people, etc.). That way nothing falls through the cracks and all relevant conversations can be found in one place!

Prioritizing Tasks Based on Importance and Urgency

Urgency and importance are two factors that should be considered when prioritizing tasks. The 'urgency' of a task will determine how quickly it needs to be completed, while the 'importance' of the task will determine how beneficial it is for you to complete it.

The urgency of a task may come from deadlines or the level of stress it causes. Tasks that need to be completed by a certain date or that cause you great stress should be at the top of your list. The urgency does not always correspond with importance, however. As an example, one task may cause great stress but have no deadline, while another may have a deadline but little impact on your health.

The importance of a task is usually determined by its impact on your bottom line. For example, if you're working on creating a piece of content, whether or not it has an influence on your business success would determine its level of importance. A project with no relevance to the goal at hand would likely be lower on your list than one which impacts your profitability. Regardless, every task should be considered important to some degree as neglecting any would result in increased workload in the long-run and could negatively affect other projects that depend on its completion for success in some way (i.e., writing out what needs to happen before and after).

Top-Down Approach to Prioritizing Tasks

One of the best ways to prioritize tasks is to use a top-down approach. Using a top-down approach will help you figure out what you need to do first and determine the tasks that are most important. A top-down approach requires knowing your project’s goals, then determining what steps are needed to achieve those goals. From there, you can work your way down to the smaller details.

It may seem simple, but this is an effective way to make sure nothing falls through the cracks and that your project moves in the right direction from start to finish. This process allows for clarity and accountability from everyone in charge of a project or involved with it. You’ll know everyone’s roles and responsibilities before beginning a project and who should be contacted for what if anything goes wrong or starts going off track.

For example, let's say one of your objectives for your project is landing two new clients by March 1st. The first step would be defining your goal (landing two new clients). From there, you could create detailed plans on how to reach that goal (from setting up meetings with potential clients to sending marketing materials). Then, assign responsibility for certain tasks like researching prospective prospects or crafting an email outreach campaign. Lastly, set expectations across stakeholders on when they should have certain tasks completed by so they can stay on schedule.