How to Manage Ad Hoc Projects
Project managers carefully plan every step of the projects they lead, don’t they? However, as PMs know very well, some situations throughout the project life cycle require prompt reaction — and, as such, they can throw a monkey wrench into even the most brilliant project plans.
Those situations are known as ad hoc projects — all those unexpected and unique tasks that require immediate attention. And, as is usually the case, you have to find a way to deal with them in parallel with your regular workload.
Read on to find some of the best tips on how to manage such projects so that they never hinder your regular project plans again.
*This article is the abridged, adapted version of the blog post originally published on the Plaky blog: https://plaky.com/blog/ad-hoc-projects)
How to handle your ad hoc projects with ease
Ad hoc tasks can crop up in various ways — via email, chat channels, sticky notes left on your monitor, or simply colleagues who stroll casually over to your desk.
Managers and their teams will inevitably face ad hoc projects throughout some of the project phases. The important part is knowing how to address them so that they don’t affect the project workflow.?
Here are some tips you might want to follow to ensure all ad hoc tasks are handled promptly and successfully.
Bring an ad hoc request process into line
While trying to keep the project momentum going, ad hoc projects will easily take time away from your planned daily tasks.
To prevent your projects from going off the rails, try to set some standards with an ad hoc request process.?
You can create an ad hoc project request form or a centralized request board within your chosen project management software, where co-workers can leave their requests for carrying out ad hoc work.
Once you have the necessary information on the ad hoc project, including the deadline, requirements, and expectations, you can prioritize and designate the right people to deal with it.
Keep calm and evaluate the project
This tip is closely related to the previous one. While trying to integrate an ad hoc project into the ongoing project process, it is crucial to keep calm and understand the unexpected task.
Avoid acting fast — instead, take some time to think things over. That way, you should be able to make the right decisions and assign the right people to the project.
Communicate the project to your team
Juggling between regular and ad hoc tasks can be tricky. Without good organization and transparent processes, workload confusion is inevitable.
Providing timely and accurate information is crucial for handling ad hoc projects, along with keeping your team members aware of potential problems and changes.
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Additionally, open communication among team members makes it easier to tackle ad hoc work. If they know the scope of the ad hoc project, they can easily agree about leaving designating time blocks to deal with ad hoc work.?
Create a small temporary team
Having a dedicated team to address ad hoc projects is something you should consider in case such assignments are often on the menu.
A small temporary team would handle such projects as their first priority. This way, ad hoc tasks would not threaten to derail regular project activities.?
Conduct a post-implementation review
As your ad hoc project approaches the end phase, it is a great opportunity to review the project’s success and assess the results.
Regardless of the scope of your ad hoc projects, there are always lessons learned to be drawn. Conducting a post-implementation review is certainly worth your team’s time since it helps you analyze the entire project, and see where you’ve made mistakes and what could be improved next time.
Celebrate with your team
Ad hoc work definitely carries a higher level of stress than regular project tasks since you need to think fast and act immediately.
It is, therefore, important to celebrate the completion of ad hoc projects with your team and give them credit for their hard work — just like you probably do when you close regular projects. After all, showing appreciation could do wonders for your team’s morale and contribute to their future performance.
Choose a reliable task management tool
Finally, remember that managing all kinds of ad hoc projects requires flexible task management software. Due to the varying scope of these projects, having a tool where you can log all task details, due dates, and assignees is a must.
Luckily, Plaky is the tool you need if ad hoc tasks have become a norm for your team.
Plaky’s highly customizable interface allows you to create a dedicated board for your ad hoc projects and add all relevant details, such as task descriptions, project resources, and reviewers.
Once you have your board, you can then rely on Plaky’s array of task and project management features to stay on top of your ad hoc projects:
Manage your ad hoc tasks with ease. Try Plaky for free today.