10 tips for successful projects

Introduction
The vision of the APM (Association for Project Management) for 2020 is ‘a world in which all projects succeed’. To achieve this vision experienced project managers need to share their knowledge for the benefit of everyone in the profession. Below are some of my best tips and techniques acquired from over 25 years of managing successful projects and programmes. I implement large software applications for companies and have worked in 4 sectors: manufacturing, banking, housing and education. These tips and techniques apply in all the sectors I’ve worked in and I hope you will find them useful in achieving success in your own project management field.

Governance
As you manage larger projects you realize the importance of good governance. It means the project will be directed effectively, and it engenders a positive feeling towards the project throughout the leadership of the organisation.

Tip 1 – Build a strong relationship with the Project Sponsor
(sometimes called the Project Executive or Senior Responsible Officer).With most Sponsors a regular 1-to-1 meeting (weekly or bi-weekly) will enable you to build a good relationship and your sponsor increasingly will trust your advice. As a project manager you won’t usually be able to choose your project sponsor, but for the project (and you) to be a success you need a senior director who is fully committed to the Project, and fully committed to backing you. It’s therefore important to build a good relationship with the sponsor and even go so far as to train the sponsor in how to govern a project effectively; I once suggested that my sponsor attend a Sponsors breakfast networking meeting run by a top Project Management consultancy. The Sponsor enjoyed the morning networking with their peers and was much more confident and relaxed as a result.

Tip 2 – Ensure everyone on the Project Board understands their role.
I once ran a 3-year project at a University and there were 14 members on the Project Board. At the end of the project one of the Board members said to me ‘You know I was never sure of my role on the Board’. What a waste of time and money that was for the organization.

Since that experience I ensure everyone on the Board knows their role at the outset of the project. Some methods I’ve found effective are: reviewing the PRINCE2 roles in the first Project Board meeting, issuing a Terms of Reference document for the Board members, and then following this up with 1-to-1 meetings with each Board Member to go through their role and answer any questions.

This is hugely beneficial as Directors will share their views of the project with you in private, clarifying the scope, and sharing any personal worries or concerns e.g. over the budget, timescale, or frequently the change management process. Senior people will be far more likely to ask questions in a private 1-to-1 meeting than in a Board meeting. This effort up front pays great dividends later as it makes for a much more cohesive project for the organization. It also allows you to build a good relationship with a director, and it shows respect for the board member and the time they are giving to the project.

Tip 3 – Keep the Project Board members engaged
Once the Project Board meetings are underway you need to keep the members interested in attending – especially if a project goes on for 1 to 2 years. You can achieve this through a mixture of carrot and stick!
On the stick side have a ‘three strikes and you’re out!’ policy for attendance, including no deputies allowed, as it wastes too much time going over old ground and it is confusing as to where the chain of communication lies.
On the carrot side, ensure Board meetings are organised well with timed agendas and papers sent out sufficiently in advance to allow members time to read them. Importantly, remember that Directors love making decisions – so ensure that there are one or more key decisions to be made at each Project Board meeting. That way the Directors will feel they are contributing and that their time is well used.

Project

Tip 4 – Understand the type of project before you start
Projects vary in type and it’s important to understand which type of project you are running, as some are more risky than others. I have found myself returning again and again to the definition of projects described by Professor Eddie Obeng in his book ‘All Change! The Project Leaders Secret Handbook’.

Obeng describes four types of projects:

Fog project – you and your stakeholders are unsure of what is to be done and unsure of how it is to be carried out e.g. break into a new market sector.

Making a movie project – you and most of your stakeholders are sure of how the project should be conducted but not of what is to be done e.g. develop a new product.

Quest – you and your stakeholders are very sure of what should be done but not how to do it – it usually a very seductive idea e.g. replace the Finance system and implement a new chart of accounts and projects structure as used by top US Universities.

Painting by numbers – you and your stakeholders know what is to be done and how to do it e.g. office moves.
Depending on which type of project you’re leading you need a different style of project sponsor, project manager and project team.

Planning
I believe planning is the heart of good project management and if I only had to produce 1 document it would be the project plan.

Tip 5 – Create a summary high level plan on a poster
I use MS Excel to create a summary high-level plan, and print it on an A0 poster. This is excellent for Project communications and can be pinned on walls throughout the organisational areas affected. It is light and portable i.e. it can be folded down to A3 size and taken to any meeting. It can be used in Project Board meetings and in presentations throughout the project. As it’s a summary plan you would only have to update it every 3 months. I used this at one University and we printed 20 copies every 3 months to be put up in all the Finance offices around the campus. At a housing association it was pinned to a white board and wheeled around the offices to different meetings.

Tip 6 – Create a detailed project plan
As a Programme Manager with project managers working for me I create the project plan with them, so that I know exactly what they’re doing in their project, and how they’ve arrived at their estimates. I also want to understand their thinking and how they intend to manage the project. Then I leave them to run the project and report progress back to me.
Three features of a good plan:

• easy to understand i.e. no jargon, it describes a logical flow and is well structured
• easy to communicate i.e. easy to print off, portable
• easy to maintain i.e. 30 minutes a week

Tip 7 – Understand how the planning tools work
I use MS Project and it is perfectly adequate, but 99% of people use it incorrectly because they don’t understand that Duration is a calculated field, based on the Work effort and number/percentage of Units employed. Once staff understand that they can use it much more proficiently, so consider arranging appropriate training for your project team.

Yourself
If you choose to specialise in project management, the following suggestions will help you develop your practice. As project manager you are leader of the project and you must look after yourself to continue to lead larger and more demanding projects.

 Tip 8 – Look for varied experience
I’ve worked for 7 different companies in 4 sectors and in the public and private domains. Each change in organisation and experience will add more to your skillset, and after 3 or 4 changes you’ll find you have a wide variety of tools, skills, documents and a personal network of contacts you can use confidently on your projects.

 Tip 9 – Keep ‘sharpening the blade’
Once you’ve got the project management qualifications look for other areas to study. All projects create change and obtaining change management qualifications is extremely useful. All projects succeed through people, so coaching skills are useful, and of course leaderships skills. I recommend taking a 5-day qualification rated course each year, to learn new techniques and exchange knowledge with peers.

Tip 10 – Join a professional organisation
There are organisations where you can network with other Project Managers and share your experiences and tips in articles and presentations. For project managers I recommend joining the Association for Project Management, (APM) or the Project Management Institute (PMI). You can also volunteer for roles within the organisation and therefore grow your management and leaderships skills too.

Bridget Boylan
Programme Manager, BSc, FCMI, MAPM, RPP
Experienced project, programme and portfolio manager. Personal Performance Coach for project managers, project sponsors and their teams.