TenForce – Pragmatic Project Management

So what else do you need in order to deliver your project within the classic ‘triple constraint’? For your sake (and mine) I will limit myself to my personal top 3.

From what I learned at the largest Belgian telco, there are 3 important aspects besides the ‘usual suspects’ (issue/risk/budget management, planning … and all the stuff you get to know by reading the methodology books).

In large organizations it is extremely important that you:

• Get the right people in your project board
  You need to have the ‘power-players’ on your side and in the project board. Otherwise there is a risk that decisions made during your project are not shared within the company. If the ‘good’ Vice-P communicates correctly about your project, you’re already half-way there.
• Take exceptionally good care of communication & change management
  People in large organizations often are infected by ‘change fatigue’ (whether good or bad; no changes please!). Effective communications, fun info-sessions, the creation of a specific project war-room… can help you to create the positive attitude and momentum you need for your project.
• Dare to delegate
  I confess this is my (sole ;-) weakness, and something I had to learn by making the mistake myself. Get the specialists on board to take care of those technical or specific work packages, so that you can focus on solving the issues, mitigating your risks and trying to keep your ‘triple constraint’ under control. Otherwise you get lost in discussions about things you actually don’t master (be honest!), you lose your focus on the big picture, and potentially you yourself endanger the success of your project.

Voila, something extra you can add to your success-list for projects!
Do not hesitate to share your tips with us.

Cheers

Jan