During the execution of projects we face many problems. This is natural but some of the problems can be avoided if a proper project planning is done. As some of the project managers say “If you have started the project, you have already finished the project”. I used to think this is just a way of making people fool. But with my experience I have learnt that it is very essential to start a project properly because a lot of the time success of the project depends on how we have started it. During the project initiation phase one need to concentrate on following four aspects to avoid any problem at later stage and complete projects with successful output
Purpose of the project: Project managers should devote considerable amount of time in defining the purpose of the project. If it is not defined properly and agreed upon by all the shareholders of the project then success of the project is not so easy. Many a time we have an idea about the purpose of the project but we never try to write down and discuss with the shareholders. As a project manager we should get the purpose defined very clearly, without any ambiguity, in the beginning of the project.
Success Criteria: Once we have defined the purpose of the project, we have a fair idea about what we want to do with the project and that should help in defining the success criteria or the goals of the project. We have not done so then how we are going to measure our success after the completion of the project. Our success criteria can be qualitative and quantitative both at the same time but it is easier to measure the performance for the set quantitative criteria (e.g. How much money we saved in the process of changing the process?)
Identify you stakeholders: Project managers should also identify the stakeholders very clearly and get their consensus on the previous two aspects of the project. These are the units of the projects who will measure the success of the project based. If success criteria are not agreed upon before the start of the project, it will create a problem and conflict in the end of the project when the success will be measured. So be careful about this.
Reflection: Always check what you have learned during the project, what you could have done better and what the lessons are for the future projects. This is one of the most important activity because one need to keep learning from the experiences of the failure or/and successes of the projects.
Purpose of the project: Project managers should devote considerable amount of time in defining the purpose of the project. If it is not defined properly and agreed upon by all the shareholders of the project then success of the project is not so easy. Many a time we have an idea about the purpose of the project but we never try to write down and discuss with the shareholders. As a project manager we should get the purpose defined very clearly, without any ambiguity, in the beginning of the project.
Success Criteria: Once we have defined the purpose of the project, we have a fair idea about what we want to do with the project and that should help in defining the success criteria or the goals of the project. We have not done so then how we are going to measure our success after the completion of the project. Our success criteria can be qualitative and quantitative both at the same time but it is easier to measure the performance for the set quantitative criteria (e.g. How much money we saved in the process of changing the process?)
Identify you stakeholders: Project managers should also identify the stakeholders very clearly and get their consensus on the previous two aspects of the project. These are the units of the projects who will measure the success of the project based. If success criteria are not agreed upon before the start of the project, it will create a problem and conflict in the end of the project when the success will be measured. So be careful about this.
Reflection: Always check what you have learned during the project, what you could have done better and what the lessons are for the future projects. This is one of the most important activity because one need to keep learning from the experiences of the failure or/and successes of the projects.
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