Project Management and the New Year, part 1

Have you found yourself at the end of a year full of busyness and projects, yet feel that you haven’t accomplished everything? Well, join the crowd because as I listen to many who manage projects, it has been a year of ups and downs. To get a handle on things, I have decided for the New Year not to make a resolution, because those end with good intentions. But I have decided to set goals of making life changes when it comes to project management.

To start things off with a level foundation, I have created an acronym from the letters of C.A.S.T. to help you concentrate on the important things and not the distracting things. When managing projects in the New Year, just try out the C.A.S.T system to see if it will help you stay focus on your project goals:

• Control of your project’s time line
• Always keep your project’s scope in mind
• Stay focused and control your risk factors
• Teach your team to work as one

Let’s break these down further. First controlling your project’s time line. It is important to set a schedule for your project, which means that using a project management system is best to use in order to keep things timely. Using a project management system will force you to keep to your schedule and will keep you focused on the project. It is very easy to get distracted so determining a time line will keep everyone focused on the task at hand. Secondly, always keep your project’s scope in mind, it is very easy to wander and delve into more than one project at a time, but doing this will make you less efficient and the projects less than desirable. It is wise to outline your particular project’s scope and focus on that scope.

Thirdly, it is extremely important to stay focused and control your risk factors. Setting your goal to complete a project at a given time will help with keeping you focused. Remaining focused will ensure your project will be successful and will be completed in a timely fashion. Finally the most important of all is to teach your team to work as one. It is important to have a team where everyone works together to accomplish the final goal. Cohesiveness is very important when it comes to teamwork. It will make your project run smoothly and in the end be successful, which is what the ultimate goal should be.

Sticking to the C.A.S.T. system will not only keep you more focused but you will find that more projects will be accomplished in a timely fashion. You will be less stressed because you are following a system that will keep you and your team focused. Let this be the ultimate goal for the New Year, remain focused and your projects will be successful. Which in turn will make you and your team happier and more productive.

Image credit: Kim Beasley (creator) using an icon from http://Softpedia.com