A project can go wrong in a variety of ways. Knowing where projects stand is critical when a large number of projects are brought into the equation, as most businesses do. To manage a large number of tasks, project managers must be able to keep track of everything. This could happen via emails, meetings, casual discussions, formal reports, or a combination of these, depending on how the organization and project managers are organized.
However, in order for the company to successfully manage ongoing tasks, there must be a structured good way of keeping track of them without having to scroll through old emails or conference presentations. Stakeholders and decision-makers should collaborate with project managers to fully support them and ensure the projects’ success.
One of the first objectives should be to recognise the leadership teams and the roles they play in project and programme management. The project manager will know what information they will need during execution if they can identify specific people and their roles on the project. The project manager will also be aware of the details required both before and after the start of a project.
The project manager should be able to work with all of the leadership teams, whether or not they are involved in the day-to-day operations.
Keep in mind people with power and influence should always be in loop.
Tracking and updating the schedule, as well as risk, problem, and scope plans, will be part of a detailed project update. Specific details, as well as a structured presentation to stakeholders, will be requested in the project management plan. This type of update, which is usually done weekly or monthly, is handled by the project manager or the project team.
It’s a good idea to talk about “What’s Done, What’s Next, and Challenges.”
A high-level project update, on the other hand, takes much less time. A high-level update could be as simple as a daily or weekly email with important information. It could be a sentence or two on each project provided by the organization’s messaging app. Whatever it is, it will be inconsequential. It will not give a complete picture of the project. It can, however, be extremely useful for anyone on the leadership team who needs to keep track of multiple tasks on a daily basis. These alerts could also come from those who are directly involved in the project’s execution.
A visual status board will be extremely useful to a project team. It could be similar to SharePoint‘s virtual message board (great for virtual teams) and also Trello‘s customizable and colorful virtual board. Although the leadership teams and stakeholders are interested in basic details about the overall status of the project, the project team will require detailed information.
The status board displays the most recent deadlines as well as the current status of specific assignments, including how they’re delegated and when updates are planned. A virtual status board’s open nature allows any team member to contribute valuable information. The project manager or project management team will be responsible for gathering and organizing this information, as well as following up on tasks as needed.
If you keep the project under control, you’ll stay ahead of the game. You’ll be able to identify problems and roadblocks before they cause chaos on the project. Whatever method you use to keep projects under control, it can help the project manager and the organization’s leadership decide where they can focus their efforts to help the project team achieve – which leads to a successful project.
