Project management spans every industry on the face of the planet. Just as projects are found in every conceivable area of business, so are those who lead those projects. While each industry, business or niche will require some specific knowledge (an IT project will be very different from one in a retail environment), there are some concepts that can be applied everywhere, equally. The following tips will help improve your project management skills no matter what industry you work in.
1. Templates Are Vital
While you won’t use templates for everything, they’re invaluable tools for saving time and hassle, particularly during regular reporting. Make sure that you have a portfolio of templates for Word and Excel, and that everyone on the team knows where that portfolio can be found (a shared folder in cloud storage is ideal). You should also make sure that every team member knows the importance of using those templates for reporting and that they stick to it (you don’t want to be thrown for a loop when you receive a sheet of raw data, rather than a template).
2. Keep Project Meetings Short and to the Point
Meetings are important for communication and ensuring that everyone is on the same page. However, if they run past a certain point, they’re nothing more than a waste of time. Likewise, if you can’t manage to keep your meeting on topic, you’re just burning daylight. Your meetings should be as short as possible and cover no more than absolutely necessary.
3. Focus on Quality, as Well as Time and Cost
Time and cost are two of the paramount factors in any project. However, if you only focus on those two areas, you’ll be creating something of dubious value. Focus more on quality, with time and cost as secondary focuses. While you most certainly need to worry about the budget for your project, quality is a more important consideration. You’ll also find that as long as you have good ongoing communication with management, increases in quality come with automatic increases in available budget.
