Get to know the usual time schedules for producing plans, drawings, and designs in your organisation.
Estimates may be 2 weeks but people with experience in the organisation may know to double this when told 2 weeks by the design department.

Project managers should keep up with the designers for their project regularly to see what they are working on and what their priorities are.
Resources often get pulled onto other tasks/projects, so it important you stay informed.

Possibly escalate to the projects director if necessary.

Tagged with: design schedule • drawings • schedule

Filed under: Communication • Design • Planning

Using the Word Float

It is a good idea to avoid using the word “float” in a schedule or cost report to a client.

Instead you could use phrases such as “Critical Evaluation of final commissioning items”, or something similar.

Using the word “float” usually leads to management or the client wanting it reduced.

Of course only use the alternative wording if it is a necessary float and the words reasonably describe the use.

Tagged with: cost report • float • schedule

Filed under: Client • Communication • Documentation • Planning

Even if there is nothing to report to the client, report regularly to a schedule.

This gives the client a current report for their internal systems and means they are not left wondering how the project is going.

It also gives them greater confidence in your abilities and your organisations processes.

Tagged with: processes • report

Filed under: Client • Communication

Make sure you know what the client really wants. You are working for them as a means to an end. Make sure you know what this end result is supposed to be.

Make sure you get their statement of this. A large scope document is often included, but it is important that you have an understanding of what is really wanted.

An example I have heard is: In building a palace, you might deliver great quality, great cost savings, and be ahead of schedule, but what the king really wants is something amazing to look at (more gold, more turrets etc).

Tagged with: end result

Filed under: Client • Communication • Scope

Get to know the functional managers within your organisation.

They can be a wealth of information and knowledge. You will need to be able to communicate easily and comfortably with them if they manage people doing work for your project. It makes it a lot easier if they get along with you. They are then more likely to do their best to help you and supply resources for your projects.

Tagged with: functional manager

Filed under: Communication • Human Resources

Provide each new team member a one to two page summary of the project.

• Include an outline of the objectives, scope, size, and benefits (to the organisation, community, person)
• Possibly include total budget and budgets for individual areas.
• Status of project (over/under budget, behind/ahead of schedule)
• Significant problems
• List of main tools for that person/role
• Role and responsibility of that person
• Who they report to

Could split all above into two parts. One part for everyone, one part specific to each person.

Tagged with: benefits • objectives • project summary • status

Filed under: Communication • Human Resources • Training

Make sure the role and responsibility for each team member is clear.

• Ideally provide this in writing to the team members so they can easily refer to it.
• Provide clear direction on what activities each person should work on.
• Give clear time objectives (when is this activity due)
• Make sure each member knows what information they are expected to report, and what meetings to attend.

Tagged with: clear direction • objectives • report • responsibilities • roles

Filed under: Communication • Human Resources • Training

As a project manager you should produce performance measurements of your project.

These could be measurements such as:

• Planned Value
• Earned Value
• Actual Cost
• Budget At Completion
• Estimate At Completion
• Estimate To Complete
• Cost Variance
• Schedule Variance
• Cost Performance Index
• Schedule Performance Index
• Estimate At Completion
• Estimate to Complete

Many of these can be automated outputs (depending on your software tools).

They are important to supply to management and are the easiest and most specific way of presenting your project status to management.

They help you know if your project is over or under budget and also ahead of or behind schedule. They should be checked regularly (at least once a month for long projects) to spot problems.

In some cases you should present the schedule measurements to the client.

The Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK) from the Project Management Institute (PMI) (www.pmi.org) has details of all of these performance measurements in its “Cost Management” section.

Tagged with: performance measurement • status

Filed under: Communication • Documentation

Make sure your team knows who is responsible for what work.

People who need to know are:

• Team members
• Project manager
• Organization Management

If people don’t know, then they communicate to the wrong people, there is confusion and lack of accountability for work packages, there is lower efficiency as some work packages get more resources than necessary, and some get too few or none.

Tagged with: accountability • efficiency • responsible • work packages

Filed under: Communication • Human Resources • Planning • Training

If you get lots of emails (particularly ones that you are copied on) then it may be worth considering setting some email filters to sort emails to certain folders (design, construction, urgent, etc).

All emails that you are only CC’d on should be automatically filtered.

Priority emails that are sent to you only or you as the main person should be filtered to an “Important” folder for review more immediately.

Consider only reviewing your emails at specific times each day (say 9am and 3pm). All emails received could have an automatic reply sent stating “I only read emails at 9am and 3pm each day, if you require an urgent response please call me directly on ———”

Tagged with: email • filter • folders • review • sorting

Filed under: Communication • Time