The Importance of Project Checkpoints

Are the goals your team set at the beginning of the project on track?

According to a recent KPMG study, “only 33% of organizations tend to deliver projects that meet their original goals and objectives.” In order to finish up the year strong, there are certain things you need to be monitoring to keep your projects on track. The Project Success Method helps you do just that.?

The Ultimate Guide to Project Success

The first step in delivering a successful project is pulling the team together so they can collaboratively develop their plan for their project. This is a key first step that cannot be skipped as it provides a forum for the team to agree on a course of action and build the initial roadmap for the project; however, to keep projects on track and within budget, teams need to periodically make course corrections.

How do you achieve this??

Once the planning is completed, and the team begins to execute the plan, periodic Update and Control meetings should be held. During these weekly or bi-weekly one-hour meetings, the team updates the plan to reflect reality. After all, not everything will have gone as planned, so the plan needs to be corrected. Additionally, new activities may need to be added to address issues the team was unaware of during planning. Usually, the result of these updates is a delay in the forecasted project completion date. Next, the team reviews the Critical Path, analyzes the slippage, and hashes out how to compress the schedule. Individual team members commit to doing things differently in order to keep the project on track. Eventually, the team compresses the schedule back far enough to meet the deadline, and the team returns to executing their plan.?

Engaging with your team in this way will lead to a deeper level of commitment and ensure projects stay on track.?

Improving Project Management with Communication

Effective communication starts with open dialogue.?

The only way to manage a project effectively is to develop the project around clear two-way conversations. One-way communications should only be used for simple, clear questions that have yes/no answers or are used to piggyback on conversations.?

In other words, it’s okay to text or email questions before a conversation takes place or follow-up responses afterward. Conversations need not be the only form of communication, but they are the most important by far. Make sure you are communicating over the course of the project to ensure deadlines are met.?

If you’re interested in learning more about keeping projects on track, check out my books, How Teams Triumph: Managing by Commitment and The Project Success Method: A Proven Approach for Achieving Superior Project Performance in as Little as 5 Days.