Most companies or organizations have multiple projects all pulling at resources to achieve their goals.

It is important that the program or projects manager be aware of what each projects status is and what the priorities need to be. These priorities should be managed and communicated with the department heads and project managers so that people are aware of where resources are needed most and where they should be allocated based on the overall goals (not just the goal of each individual project).

It is also up to the individual project managers to forecast what resources they will need so that proper planning of resource allocation can be done by management.

The ultimate priorities need to account for things such as late fees, penalties, the image of the organization, client satisfaction etc.

If proper planning and resource forecasting is done, there should not be a problem with multiple projects pulling at scarce resources (which leads to internal conflicts).

Tagged with: forecasting • goals • priorities • resource allocation • scarce resources

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning

Identify the specialist expertise you will need for the project as early as possible.

This could include designers of specialised equipment or processes that are not normally done by your company or that your company has very few of.

E.g. Traffic signal designers, commissioning engineer for complicated equipment.

Tagged with: expertise • specialist

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning

Microsoft Outlook or similar programs allow you to send meeting requests to people. This is a quick and effective way for meetings to be set without wasting time calling around for available times.

If all members of your team use the calendar function properly, they would have all their meetings and busy times entered into their calendar. When you request a meeting of them, you will be able to see available times in a simple bar chart and book accordingly.

Tagged with: calendar • meeting request • meetings • outlook • schedule

Filed under: Communication • Human Resources • Time • Training

Some companies have idea boxes or systems for employees to share their ideas for improving an organisation or project. Yet they can often find it difficult to get people to submit good ideas.

Giving a significant reward for ideas that make significant savings or profits would encourage ideas even more.

Apparently the Japanese used to have a reward system where if an employee put forth a suggestion that saved money, they would get half of the first years profit or savings from that idea.

Tagged with: ideas • improvements • rewards • saving money

Filed under: Cost • Human Resources

A project manager should back off from the technical side of a project. Leave that for the people in those positions.

Don’t interfere in the process (methodology) that people use to deliver work.

You should manage the outputs or outcomes of the work, and what order they are done in, not how it is done.

Tagged with: manage • methodology • outcomes • outputs • process • technical

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning

Make sure your team members always have work to do.

• Give them a list of lower priority tasks (such as improving certain systems) that they can do when they have no other tasks (particularly important for office workers).
• Give them a list of recommended training (short online courses) to do in their spare time (e.g. while waiting for results or feedback). Especially for new members who haven’t been given lots of work yet.

Along with giving them work to do, make sure they know how to do it, where to access it, and who specifically to talk with for clarification or further instructions.

Tagged with: courses • extra work • priority

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning • Training

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

Recognise that outsourcing some tasks might be more efficient. Especially if your organisation is struggling to recruit enough people to fill needs (in a tight market).

Paying an external expert to do some specific tasks (e.g. calibration of sensors) may be quicker (saving costs and time) than finding an internal commissioning engineer with available time and getting them trained.

Also recognise that such training could benefit the company in the long run if it is a common task. If not, then outsourcing it may be the best way to get it done.

Time can often be the biggest saving to the project by outsourcing some tasks, as long as you manage the risks of doing so properly.

Tagged with: commissioning • expert • Training

Filed under: Contractors • Human Resources • Time • Training

Know the resource schedule of your project and of your organisation.

• What if another large project will start part way through yours?
• Will this reduce the number of resources available suddenly (drafting, design, fabrication, installation)?

Tagged with: resources • schedule

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning

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

Be sure to make a project organisation chart.

• Helps with assigning responsibilities
• Helps new team members identify the roles of the rest of the team and who to talk to for their tasks.
• Makes communication between team members easier.

Ideally list contact details in the chart as well.

Keep up to date (this is better if done automatically).

It wastes a lot of time in a big project trying to find someone only to discover they are not on the team anymore, so this is an important task.

Tagged with: contacts • organisation chart • responsibilities • rolse

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning

Find a template showing the common responsibilities on your type of project. Your organization may have one.

This helps with assigning responsibilities and makes sure nothing is forgotten.

Tagged with: responsibilities • template

Filed under: Documentation • Human Resources

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

The project manager should be held accountable for the failure of a project.

If you are a program manager (manage project managers) you should hold your project managers accountable.

This sounds obvious, but often this accountability is only mentioned at the end of a failed project.

The program manager should require regular (weekly) reports on status and at least monthly financial and schedule reports (performance measurements).

It is more difficult to hold a project manager accountable if he/she was not involved in the project from the start (initiation / tendering), including scope planning, schedule, costs, objectives, etc.

If the project manager is not involved from the start, he/she may blame a failed project (over budget or over schedule) to a badly estimated / planned tender.

If the project manager is involved right from the start, with the proper support and authority given, it is reasonable to fire the project manager of a failed project (unless the PM can show causes outside of reasonable planning or control of a PM, such as natural disaster in an area not prone to them).

This must assume the project manager has had proper training, not just someone thrown into the role of PM without training.

It must also allow time for training a new project manager to your organization in the internal procedures, templates, systems, etc.

In initiating, if a project manager believes the project is being underfunded, the schedule is unrealistic, or the price is too low, they should say so, change it, and then sign the changed project plan. A project manager should not accept an unrealistic schedule (unless agreement is reached with management that the project will make a loss or similar (such as breaking into a new market).

Accountability could mean loss of status/title, moving to an assistant project management role, or possibly being fired.

Tagged with: accountability • accountable • project failure

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning • Scope • Training

Don’t count on overtime for yourself or for your team.

The project should be managed to avoid needing overtime.

Overtime costs more, is less efficient, increases safety risks, and tires the team so they are less effective later.

Tagged with: efficiency • overtime

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning • Time

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 don’t have your resources fully utilised (booked and working) they may be taken from you by your senior management to be put on projects which look like they need them (i.e. demanding more resources).

Plan your schedules so that your people are fully occupied. This includes trades crews, you don’t want them running out of work because of late deliveries of equipment etc and then being put on different projects.

If you lose staff resources to other projects it is very difficult to get them back.

Tagged with: schedule • staff resources

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning

Remember that the more responsibility you have, the more money you will be paid. Although this doesn’t always follow straight away.
Generally, you get paid based on your level of responsibility.

Tagged with: pay • pay level • responsibility

Filed under: Human Resources

As a project manager you should make sure all your team members submit claims, hours, expenses etc as soon as possible, and definitely before the end of month accounting date.

If that information comes in late the profit/margin on the project can quickly change and affect plans.

The hours must also be made to the correct project. You don’t want hours suddenly being transferred to your project from a few months ago because they were incorrectly allocated. This could make an in profit project suddenly be making a loss. If it was done correctly first time, the losses could have been seen earlier and planned or allowed for.

Tagged with: claims • expenses • loss • profit

Filed under: Documentation • Human Resources • Planning • Training

Encourage your team (and yourself) to spend a specific time each week in tidying their desk. This should include:

• Stacking and filing piles of paper neatly.
• Putting papers into sections
  • By priority
  • By category

Possibly do this every Friday afternoon before leaving work so that desk is clean and ready for concentrated work on Monday morning. This should reduce the stress associated with not knowing what is on your desk and what needs to be done next.

If it is an enforced policy you will hopefully find everyone becomes more organised. It is important to remember that if your company is looking for people to fire (when in economic difficulty) a messy desk can make you look unorganised and unreliable.

What is your experience with work efficiency with a messy or tidy desk?

Tagged with: organised • tidy desk

Filed under: Documentation • Human Resources • Planning • Time