Top 5 Project Management tips for beginners

“Top 5 Project Management Tips for Beginners ” Jeff BALL Project Management Specialist Jeff has 25 years of Project and Programme management experience. He has delivered end-to-end IT projects in challenging multi-cultural environments; As Programme and PMO Manager, Jeff has set up P3O structures at NEC Computers and Fortis Bank; and managed Programme offices for major enterprise transformation programmes at NEC Computers and BNP Investment Partners.

He is a multilingual trainer for PRINCE2, MSP, P3O, MoP and AGILE Project Managemnet, able to perform courses in English, and French.

As Project Management is a discipline that involves many aspects, from planning to risk management, to be a Project Manager means to have many different skills and abilities.

We often read very broad and general articles about how a good Project Manager should operate, including skills that go way beyond good Project Management only. For example, being able to manage people is surely an important ability, which actually does not strictly refer to Project Managers only. Every type of manager needs to be able to manage people, this is a general principle, not an actually practical tip.

This is why with this article we asked our expert trainer and consultant Jeff Ball to think about the top 5 practical tips he would share with people getting started in PM. This is his list.

Tip #1: Document first, Do second

start “doing” your project.

These are the first two documents a PM should work on: ● One short document to SITUATE the project ● One longer document to SPECIFY the project These documents need to be agreed by the Owner of the project, one by one, before you start delivery. This ensures that there is a basic shared understanding about the project, and how to deliver it before work starts.

In PRINCE2 terms these documents are the Project Brief and the Project Initiation Documentation or PID. The PID, the longer document, includes the short document; plus a specification of your product or deliverables; your plan; and so on.

If you only start the delivery of your project once these documents have been agreed by the Owner, then your project should have more solid foundations.

You need to document your project before you actually To get more info on PRINCE2 course click here QRP International is an Accredited Training Organisation for PRINCE2®, MSP®, P3O®, MoP®, ITIL® & Agile Project

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Tip #2: Know WHO you are The Project Manager is not the Project Owner. If you are the Project Manager, you need active input from a Project Owner. It’s not your project, it’s a business project.

The Project Manager is in charge of delivering and reporting, the Project Owner is a more senior person who “owns” the project and is in charge of the decision making aspects like budget and resources (the governance). The Project Manager is more junior, and at the wrong level to take these decisions. Without these decisions, the Project Manager is often unable to proceed correctly.

In PRINCE2 terms, the Owner is the Project Executive, who is chair of the Project Board, made up of the senior people in charge of validating Project progress.

Tip #3: Plan your work, then work your plan Plan first, execute second.

A plan should always be in place, whether you are at day 1 of your project, or day 10 or even day 100. Without a plan, you are only thinking about today, while a good PM should also be thinking about tomorrow: a key aspect for good Project Management is to focus on the future.

In PRINCE2 terms, a plan is focused on what you need to deliver. PRINCE2 has three levels of plan, each quite simple. With simple but effective planning, complex projects can be delivered much more easily.

don’t be a prisoner! Avoid the Iron Triangle of Scope, Time, Cost. How do you avoid this trap?

In PRINCE2 terms, the concept of “tolerance” is all about defining what is the flexibility the PM needs. The tolerance is in fact a permissible deviation above and/or below a plan’s target for scope, time and cost etc.

PRINCE2 uses tolerances to establish workable management control, with tolerance limits on delegation, and this is exactly how PRINCE2 helps you avoid the Iron Triangle.

Tip #5: Express uncertainty: analyze your project risks Risk taking in projects is inevitable since projects deliver change, and change introduces uncertainty, hence risk.

The Project Manager needs to assess risks at the start of the project, but the risk profile of the project will change throughout the project, and so the Project Manager needs to re-assess risks regularly By openly talking about risks, the Project Manager professionalizes the approach (and de-personalises the problems): instead of saying “I don’t know if I can make it

by December 1st”, s/he can express uncertainty by saying “I see the following possible risks with this deadline”. This is a vocabulary of risks, a way to start expressing uncertainty more objectively, less subjectively.

In PRINCE2 terms, Risk management includes procedures to identify and assess risks; and then to plan and implement risk responses.

Tip #4: Don’t be a prisoner of the Iron Triangle Project owners will too often give you a project where scope, time and cost available are all fixed. To the project owner, this can appear to be good management control, but actually this invites disaster. If scope, time and cost are all fixed, you are a prisoner in an Iron Triangle.

Projects are difficult and uncertain. The reality is that what the Project Manager really needs is flexibility, so

These 5 practical tips will help you get started as a PM, but there is one more important aspect not to underestimate: get it more serious, prove your knowledge by certifying your skills with a Project Management certification. Getting credentials can be the asset to your career. © Copyright QRP International 2015. Reproduction in full or part is prohibited without prior consent from QRP International.

To get more info on PRINCE2 course click here QRP International is an Accredited Training Organisation for PRINCE2®, MSP®, P3O®, MoP®, ITIL® & Agile Project

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About QRP International "QRP International aims to support organizations with Training, Certification and Consultancy services in Best Practice management methods in order to support their business objectives on a global scale with a local presence.”

QRP International is one of the major players in PRINCE2, MSP, P3O, MoP, Agile Project Management and ITIL Best Practices Training in the European market. We support organizations in the development of their personal skills and in the successful implementation of these Best Practices through our accredited trainers and consultants.

The company has grown significantly year-on-year from its foundation in 2000, QRP has performed its training and consultancy services worldwide in more than 40 countries, in 8 languages, and certified over 15.000 people, through the support of 12 offices worldwide.

For more information: www.qrpinternational.com

To get more info on PRINCE2 course click here QRP International is an Accredited Training Organisation for PRINCE2®, MSP®, P3O®, MoP®, ITIL® & Agile Project

P Management