Table Of Contents
You have a project but are unsure of the necessary steps to complete it. You have a lot of essential points you need to make, and if you don’t tick them off your list, your whole project will fail.
But there is so much you have to do! Let’s face it, and no one has time for all that. Even if they did, they wouldn’t remember what they needed to do. So how can you ensure you don’t miss any single point?
We’ve put together this 5-Point Checklist for Successful Projects to help you stay on track. Follow it step by step and make sure everything falls into place.
Roles and responsibilities
Before starting a project, you must define the roles required to complete it. To avoid any confusion down the line, it’s essential to identify who will be doing what at the onset of a project. For example, if one person is responsible for writing a marketing plan, another should be assigned to develop its content. If one person takes on too many roles, they will be too busy to complete them.
If you don’t do this, multiple people may be working on the same task simultaneously. Not only is this inefficient, but it can also lead to confusion over who’s doing what and who has already completed their portion of a particular project. To avoid this problem, ensure there are no loose ends and that everyone knows how they fit into your team or project from jump street.
Vision
Before embarking on a project, it is essential to have a vision that everybody working on the project understands. Ensure that each individual knows precisely the end goal and what it will entail.
If you are working with a team on a project, you should have a clear picture of the outcome in your mind. This includes what the final product will look like and what part each person will play in creating it.
An excellent example is when an entire family works together to decorate the house for Christmas. Everybody has ideas about how things should look: some are more traditional, some are more modern, and so on. If there isn’t a clear vision of the finished product, things will get mixed up and look strange and disorganized.
Budget
For any project, you should have a budget. It’s one of the most important pieces of your planning, and it’s worth taking the time to do it right. A budget is more than just an estimate for how much everything will cost; it’s also your foundation for what you can afford to do without having to go back and forth with your contractor or lender.
You have one finite amount of resources to devote to this project, so choose wisely. Make sure you know what you’ll spend on all aspects of the project and stick to it. If you run out of money, cut back on something that’s not vital. Don’t overspend, and then try to find ways to cut back later—it will only hurt your chances for success.
Timeline & scope
Though it seems obvious, it’s easy to forget that good communication with the team is crucial to a project’s success. When you clearly understand the scope of work, you can work with the team to come up with a reasonable timeline for the project’s completion. If you expect to have something done in two months, and your team brings up that it might be better if they had four months instead, discuss it and see if either party can live with that change. Remember that timelines should be considered flexible; ultimately, both parties want the project completed as well as possible and within time and budget constraints.
When milestones are missed or changes in the timeline are made, check in with the team to see what went wrong and why. It’s important not to assume there was a problem just because a milestone wasn’t met—just ask what went wrong so you know how to fix it next time. Checking in on progress will also let you know if something is being overlooked or forgotten, which can prevent things like delays or errors from happening.
Scheduled check-in
It’s easy to forget what you’ve already accomplished when working on a project, especially if the final deadline seems so far away. One way to combat this problem is by scheduling regular check-ins with yourself or your team. Set up a recurring meeting on your calendar for every week or every two weeks—the frequency depends on how much progress you can realistically expect in that period. The purpose of these meetings is two-fold: first, to make sure you have completed whatever tasks need completing during that period, and second, to look back on the previous period and see what you accomplished.
Get the most out of project planning (conclusion)
When it comes to projects, planning and preparation can make all the difference between a successful execution and one that fails. More often than not, project success stems from following a simple list of steps. It might be a checklist, but it’s one that you should have at the top of your mind whenever you begin a new project—even if you’ve been working on something similar in the past. Use the list we’ve provided above to get you started, and you have a good chance of seeing your project through to completion. If you have any questions, contact Stoute Web Solutions today!
