Tag Archives for project management

In our last week’s roundup article, we shared templates tailored for product managers to help them to track delivery dates, assess consensus on product options, apply effective problem-solving approaches, and organize product strategy.

This week, we are focusing on project managers, with templates designed to facilitate tracking and prioritizing conversion initiatives, fostering progress communication and collaboration, promoting continuous improvement, visualizing strategic direction, and defining project scope and roles.

Explore our diagram community for industry-specific templates and examples to support your unique use cases.

This week’s templates include:

• Product roadmap template
• Project charter template
• Conversion funnel backlog template
• Show and tell meeting template
• Four Ls retrospective template

Product Roadmap Template

The product roadmap template is a powerful tool that project managers can use to plan and communicate the strategic direction of their projects. It provides a clear visual overview of the product’s development journey, helping teams and stakeholders stay aligned with the project’s goals and progress.

5 simple steps to use the product roadmap template:

1. Define goals – Clearly outline your project objectives and key milestones.
2. Set timelines – Establish realistic timelines for each milestone.
3. Prioritize features – List and prioritize the essential features to achieve goals.
4. Visualize the roadmap – Create a clear visual representation of the project’s journey.
5. Communicate and review – Share the roadmap with your team and stakeholders, and regularly review and adjust as needed.

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Project Charter Template

The project charter template can be used by project managers to kickstart their projects on the right track. It serves as a foundational document that outlines the project’s purpose, scope, objectives, and key stakeholders, providing a clear roadmap for successful project management.

5 simple steps to use the project charter template:

1. Project overview: Provide a brief description of the project, including its name, purpose, and the problem it aims to solve. Clearly state the project’s goals and how it aligns with the organization’s objectives.
2. Scope definition: Clearly define the project’s boundaries and what is included or excluded. Identify the deliverables and outcomes the project will produce.
3. Roles and responsibilities: Outline the roles and responsibilities of each team member involved in the project. This ensures everyone knows their tasks and helps avoid confusion.
4. Timeline and milestones: Set a realistic timeline for the project and identify key milestones. This will help keep the project on schedule and track progress.
5. Stakeholder identification: List all the stakeholders involved in the project, both internal and external. Understand their interests and involvement to effectively manage communications and expectations.

This way by using the project charter template, project managers can streamline their projects’ initiation phase, gain clarity on project scope and objectives, establish clear roles and responsibilities, and build a strong foundation for successful project execution.

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Conversion Funnel Backlog Template

Project managers can use the conversion funnel backlog template to optimize customer conversions and enhance the user journey. It helps them track and prioritize improvement initiatives, ensuring a smooth and effective flow of potential customers through the conversion funnel.

Here’s how to use the conversion funnel backlog template:

1. Identify funnel stages: Define the stages of your conversion process.
2. List improvement ideas: Brainstorm and list potential improvements for each stage.
3. Prioritize initiatives: Rank the ideas based on their impact and feasibility
4. Assign responsibilities: Assign team members to implement each initiative.
5. Monitor and optimize: Regularly track performance and make necessary adjustments.

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Show and Tell Meeting Template

The show and tell meeting template can be used by project managers to effectively communicate project progress and foster collaboration among team members and stakeholders. It facilitates a structured format for showcasing project updates, achievements, and challenges, while also providing an opportunity for valuable feedback and discussion.

Simple steps to use the show and tell meeting template:

1. Set meeting schedule: Determine a regular schedule for the Show and Tell meetings. This could be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, depending on the project’s timeline and complexity.
2. Prepare updates: Prior to the meeting, team members should prepare concise updates on their project tasks and accomplishments. Visuals like charts, graphs, or prototypes can make the presentations more engaging.
3. Present progress: During the meeting, each team member presents their progress, sharing what they have accomplished since the last meeting and any challenges they encountered.
4. Encourage feedback: After each presentation, encourage questions and feedback from the audience. This fosters collaboration and helps identify potential roadblocks or opportunities for improvement.
5. Capture action items: At the end of the meeting, document any action items or follow-up tasks that arise from the discussion. Assign responsibilities and deadlines to ensure progress after the meeting

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Four Ls Retrospective Template

The four Ls retrospective template can help project managers to conduct comprehensive retrospectives and foster continuous improvement within their teams. It enables a structured approach to reflect on the project’s performance, identify successes and challenges, and define actionable steps for future growth.

Here are 5 simple steps to use the 4Ls retrospective template:

1. Gather the team: Bring together all team members involved in the project for the retrospective meeting.
2. Start with liked: Begin the retrospective by asking team members to share what they liked or appreciated about the project. This highlights the positive aspects and acknowledges team efforts.
3. Move to learned: Discuss what the team learned throughout the project, including insights, new skills, or valuable experiences gained.
4. Address lacked: Identify aspects that the team felt were lacking or could have been improved during the project. Openly discuss the challenges and obstacles faced.
5. End with longed for: Finally, have the team share their aspirations and what they longed for during the project. This can include desired improvements or opportunities for future projects.

Use the four Ls retrospective template to create a collaborative environment for feedback and learning, allowing the team to adapt and grow, leading to more successful projects in the future.

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In our last week’s roundup post, we shared several templates specifically designed for UX designers, product managers, project managers, and HR professionals.

This week, we have five new templates which are useful for organizing projects effectively. These templates will help project teams with planning, mapping, managing, and executing various tasks.

Explore our diagram community to discover a wide range of industry-specific templates and examples that can assist you in efficiently managing your daily tasks.

This week’s templates include:

• Project proposal template
• Work breakdown structure
• Problem prioritization template
• Cynefin framework
• Timeline workflow template

Project Proposal Template

The project proposal template is designed to streamline project planning and organization. This template provides a structured framework to outline your project’s objectives, scope, resources, and timeline. By utilizing this template, you can effectively communicate project ideas and strategies to stakeholders, ensuring clarity and alignment from the very beginning.

Here’s how to use the project proposal template:

1. Introduction: Begin by introducing your project proposal. Clearly state the project’s purpose, goals, and expected outcomes. This section should provide an overview that captures the reader’s attention and highlights the project’s significance.
2. Project details: Provide a comprehensive description of the project. Define its scope, key features, and deliverables. Specify the resources required, including personnel, budget, and equipment. This step ensures everyone understands what the project entails.
3. Timeline: Outline the project’s timeline from start to finish. Break down the major milestones and their respective deadlines. This helps in visualizing the project’s progression and managing time effectively.
4. Methodology: Explain the approach you’ll take to complete the project. Describe the methods, tools, and techniques you’ll employ. This section demonstrates your preparedness and expertise in handling the project’s challenges.
5. Conclusion: Sum up your proposal by reiterating the project’s benefits and alignment with strategic goals. Address potential risks and mitigation strategies. Encourage feedback and questions to foster collaboration and refine your proposal.

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Work Breakdown Structure

The work breakdown structure (WBS) template assists with effectively organizing complex projects. It breaks down a project into smaller, manageable tasks, allowing professionals to allocate resources, track progress, and ensure efficient project execution.

5 simple steps to use the work breakdown structure:

1. Project basics: Start by explaining the project’s main goal and why it matters. Briefly introduce the project’s scope and objectives to give context.
2. Main phases: Divide the project into big phases or key parts. These are like the main chapters of your project. List them at the top level.
3. Break into tasks: Under each phase, break the work into smaller tasks. These are the specific to-do items that need to get done. Arrange them in a list to show what needs to happen.
4. Assign who does what: Say who is responsible for each task. Clearly show who is in charge of each thing. This helps everyone know who does what.
5. Time and order: Estimate how long each task might take and if any tasks depend on others. This helps plan the order of tasks and when they should happen.

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Problem Prioritization Template

The problem prioritization template helps make informed decisions by identifying and ranking problems or challenges. This template enables efficient allocation of resources and focus on the most critical issues, leading to effective project management with innovative elements like the sailboat, Cynefin, problem categorization, and “I like, I wish, I wonder” approaches, this template offers a holistic view of project issues.

5 simple steps to use the problem prioritization template:

1. Identify challenges: Start by listing the challenges your project faces. Be comprehensive in noting down the obstacles and issues.
2. Sailboat visualization: Use the sailboat graphic to visualize your project’s “winds” (positive forces) and “anchors” (negative factors). This helps you understand what propels your project forward and what holds it back.
3. Cynefin framework: Categorize problems into the Cynefin framework’s domains: Simple, Complicated, Complex, and Chaotic. This categorization guides you in choosing suitable strategies for each problem type.
4. Problem categorization: Utilize the problem categorization template to sort challenges into different categories based on their nature. This helps you focus on addressing similar challenges together.
5. “I Like, I Wish, I Wonder”: Encourage team collaboration by using the “I like, I wish, I wonder” approach. Team members share what they appreciate, what they want to improve, and what questions they have about the project. This fosters open communication and generates insights.

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Cynefin Framework

The cynefin framework template is a powerful resource for project organization to help with making sense of complex situations. This template categorizes challenges into four domains: Complex, Complicated, Chaotic, and Simple. It offers a structured approach to understanding and addressing various project scenarios.

Here’s how to use the cynefin framework template:

1. Recognize the challenge: Identify the challenge or issue you’re dealing with in your project. Understand its characteristics and how it affects your goals.
2. Categorize into domains: Place the challenge into one of the Cynefin domains:
   • Complex: Problems with no clear cause-and-effect pattern, requiring experimentation and adaptability.
   • Complicated: Issues with discernible patterns, needing expertise and analysis for solutions.
   • Chaotic: Situations of unpredictability, where quick action is needed to restore stability.
   • Simple: Clear cause-and-effect relationships, allowing for standard best practices.
3. Domain insights: Learn about the characteristics of the chosen domain. Understand how problems in that domain tend to behave and what approaches tend to work best.
4. Choose strategies: Based on the domain, select suitable strategies to address the challenge. Different domains suggest different ways to approach, analyze, and resolve problems.
5. Apply and monitor: Implement the chosen strategies to tackle the challenge. Monitor progress and be ready to adapt if the situation changes. If uncertainty arises, reassess the domain and adjust your strategy.

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Timeline Workflow Template

The timeline workflow template is a valuable tool for project organization, as it helps with visualizing and managing project timelines effectively. This template provides a clear roadmap for tasks and milestones, improving project coordination and ensuring timely completion.

5 simple steps to use the timeline workflow template:

1. List tasks and milestones: Begin by listing all the tasks and milestones that need to be completed for your project. Make sure to include both major milestones and smaller tasks.
2. Arrange in sequence: Organize the tasks and milestones in chronological order. This helps you see the natural flow of the project and how tasks relate to one another.
3. Assign durations: Estimate the time required for each task or milestone. This will help you create a realistic timeline for the entire project.
4. Visualize the timeline: Use the template to create a visual representation of the timeline. You can use a Gantt chart or a simple chronological list to display the sequence and durations of tasks.
5. Monitor and adjust: As the project progresses, regularly update the template to reflect the actual progress. If there are any delays or changes, adjust the timeline accordingly to keep everyone informed.

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Last week, we shared customized templates for those who are engaged in event planning, product management, career counseling, cultural anthropology, and personal productivity coaching.

This week we have prepared five brand-new templates tailored specifically for UX designers, product managers, project managers, team leaders, content creators, quality controllers, professional trainers and consultants.

If you’re interested in exploring additional templates, we encourage you to visit our diagram community, where you can find an extensive collection of hundreds of templates catering to a wide range of organizational use cases.

This week’s templates include:

• Lean UX canvas
• Pre mortem template
• Content repository template
• Risk matrix
• Effective workshop template

Lean UX Canvas

The Lean UX canvas is a visual tool used in the field of User Experience (UX) design to facilitate the collaborative creation and communication of product concepts. It is typically utilized by UX designers, product managers, and cross-functional teams working in an agile and iterative environment.

Using a Lean UX canvas template can help streamline the design process and align team members on the project’s goals and user-centric approach. 

Here’s a simple guide on how to use a Lean UX canvas template in five easy steps:

1. Define the problem: Clearly identify and frame the problem you aim to solve, considering user needs and business objectives.
2. Identify target user personas: Define the primary target users for your product and create user personas representing their characteristics, behaviors, and goals.
3. Map the user journey: Visualize the user’s experience by mapping out their journey from the first interaction to achieving their goals, including touchpoints, emotions, and pain points.
4. Generate solution ideas: Brainstorm potential solutions to address the defined problem and meet user needs, encouraging diverse perspectives from team members.
5. Formulate hypotheses and validate: Create hypotheses about the solutions generated and design experiments to test these assumptions with users, focusing on iterative cycles of feedback, learning, and refinement.

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Pre-Mortem Template

The pre-mortem template is a strategic tool used by project managers, team leaders, and decision-makers to anticipate and mitigate potential risks or failures before they occur. It is particularly valuable during the planning phase of a project or initiative.

Here’s how to use the pre-mortem template in five easy steps:

1. Set the stage: Gather the project team or relevant stakeholders and explain the purpose of the pre-mortem exercise. Emphasize the importance of identifying risks and potential failures to prevent them from happening.
2. Imagine failure: Ask participants to imagine that the project has already failed or encountered significant problems. Give them a specific timeline, such as six months or a year into the future. Encourage them to think broadly and creatively about all the possible reasons for the failure.
3. Brainstorm risks and causes: Provide each participant with sticky notes or a digital platform where they can individually write down risks and causes they believe could contribute to the failure. Give them a set amount of time to generate as many ideas as possible. Remind them to focus on specific risks rather than generalities.
4. Share and group ideas: Have each participant share their ideas one by one, allowing for discussion and clarification if necessary. As ideas are shared, group similar or related risks and causes together. This step helps identify common themes and prioritize potential risks.
5. Mitigation strategies: Once all ideas are shared and grouped, shift the focus to developing strategies to mitigate or prevent the identified risks and causes. Encourage the team to brainstorm proactive actions, contingency plans, or risk mitigation measures that can be implemented to minimize the likelihood or impact of the identified risks.

Using the  a pre-ortem template, project teams can proactively identify potential risks and failures, enabling them to develop strategies and contingency plans to prevent or minimize their impact. This exercise promotes a forward-thinking approach and enhances the overall project planning and risk management processes.

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Content Repository Template

The content repository template is a tool commonly used by content managers, digital marketers, and editorial teams to organize and manage their content assets effectively. It provides a centralized location to store, categorize, and access content for various channels and platforms.

Here’s how to use the content repository template:

1. Set up the template: Create a structured framework within the repository, including folders, categories, and metadata fields, to organize the content effectively. Consider factors like content type, topic, target audience, and publication date.
2. Upload and categorize content: Begin by uploading existing content assets into the repository. Assign appropriate categories, tags, and metadata to each piece of content for easy search and retrieval. This step ensures content is properly organized and accessible.
3. Define permissions and access levels: Determine who can access and edit the content within the repository. Establish user roles and permissions to maintain data security and ensure the right individuals have the necessary privileges.
4. Collaborate and track revisions: Encourage collaboration among team members with features like version control. Track revisions, comments, and feedback within the repository to maintain a transparent workflow and streamline content development and approval processes.
5. Search and retrieve content: Use the repository’s search functionality to locate specific content based on relevant criteria, such as keywords, categories, or metadata. Ensure the repository is easily accessible and user-friendly for efficient content discovery and retrieval.

Use the content repository template to efficiently manage and organize content assets, enhance collaboration among team members, and streamline the content creation and publication processes.

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Risk Matrix

A risk matrix template is a tool commonly used by project managers, risk managers, and decision-makers to assess and prioritize risks based on their likelihood and impact. It provides a structured framework for evaluating and visualizing risks, enabling effective risk management and mitigation strategies.

To use a risk matrix template, follow these five easy steps:

1. Set up the template: Begin by selecting a risk matrix template that suits your needs. This can be a pre-designed template or a blank matrix that you customize. Set the axes for likelihood and impact, and define the rating scales for each criterion.
2. Identify and assess risks: Identify potential risks associated with your project or initiative. Evaluate each risk by considering its likelihood of occurrence and the potential impact it may have on project objectives. Use the rating scales defined in the template to assign scores to each risk.
3. Plot risks on the matrix: Use the likelihood and impact axes in the template to plot each identified risk. The likelihood is typically represented on the horizontal axis, and the impact is represented on the vertical axis. Place each risk at the intersection that corresponds to its assessed likelihood and impact scores.
4. Determine risk levels: Analyze the positions of the risks on the matrix to determine their overall risk levels. Typically, risks in the high-likelihood and high-impact zone (top-right quadrant) are considered high-risk and require immediate attention. Risks in the low-likelihood and low-impact zone (bottom-left quadrant) are typically lower priority.
5. Prioritize risk mitigation: Based on the risk levels identified, prioritize the risks for mitigation efforts. Focus on high-risk areas first and allocate appropriate resources to develop and implement mitigation strategies. Monitor and review the matrix regularly to update risk assessments and adjust mitigation efforts as needed.

The risk matrix template enables you to effectively visualize and prioritize risks, leading to informed decision-making and targeted risk mitigation. It also provides a clear framework for assessing and managing risks throughout the project lifecycle, ultimately enhancing project success and minimizing potential negative impacts.

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Effective Workshop Template

An effective workshop template is a structured tool used by facilitators, trainers, and professionals from various fields to plan and conduct productive workshops. It provides a framework for organizing and guiding workshop sessions to achieve specific goals and outcomes.

Follow these steps to use the workshop template:

1. Define workshop objectives: Clearly articulate the purpose and desired outcomes of the workshop. Identify the specific goals you aim to achieve and the knowledge, skills, or actions you want participants to gain.
2. Plan the agenda: Develop a detailed agenda that outlines the flow of activities, topics to be covered, and allocated time for each session. Consider incorporating a mix of presentations, interactive exercises, group discussions, and hands-on activities to engage participants and achieve the workshop objectives.
3. Prepare materials and resources: Gather and prepare all necessary materials, resources, and handouts required for the workshop. Ensure that participants have access to relevant documents, worksheets, or tools that support their learning and engagement.
4. Facilitate engagement and participation: During the workshop, use the template to guide your facilitation approach. Encourage active participation, group collaboration, and open discussions among participants. Employ interactive techniques, such as brainstorming, group work, and role plays, to foster engagement and knowledge sharing.
5. Evaluate and gather feedback: At the end of the workshop, allocate time to collect feedback from participants. Use evaluation forms or surveys to gather their insights on the workshop content, facilitation, and overall experience. This feedback will help you assess the effectiveness of the workshop and make improvements for future sessions.

By using an effective workshop template, professionals can structure and facilitate engaging and impactful workshops. The template serves as a guide to ensure that the workshop objectives are met, participants are actively involved, and the desired outcomes are achieved. It helps streamline the planning and execution process, resulting in a valuable and successful workshop experience for all involved.

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One of the simplest joys in life is to cross off a completed item from your to-do list as it gives you an amazing sense of accomplishment. In this post, we are going to talk about creative to-do list ideas and ways in which you can visualize them to keep a track of your day-to-day tasks.

How Can a To-Do List Boost Productivity

Procrastination is a hurdle that every one of us is challenged to overcome, and the best tool to tackle it is to make sure that you are on track when it comes to tasks that you are required to complete. There is nothing simpler to track your tasks than a to-do list. It will give you a clear picture of the workload so that you can manage your time efficiently.

Moreover, to-do lists allow you to prioritize tasks and identify unimportant work that can be later worked on. It will ensure that you are focused and making efforts to complete the right amount of work. Ultimately, a crossed-off to-do list will give you the satisfaction of accomplishing what you set out to do at the beginning of your day.

Consider These Things Before Visualizing Your To-Do List

Examine How Your Time Is Spent

Before setting out to plan your to-do list, it is important to evaluate how your time is spent daily. This helps determine what tasks you spend most of your time on. Make a time management plan to include a balance between your personal and professional lives. Don’t forget to add a sufficient amount of breaks to your schedule so that there is time for you to take a rest and recharge before transitioning between tasks. You can even use the timeboxing technique to divide your day into time blocks. Each box is dedicated to a specific activity or group of activities. This way you can gain clarity on how your time is spent throughout the day.

Prioritize Tasks

Tasks on your to-do list should ideally be listed from highest to lowest priority. The Eisenhower Matrix is a proven time management tool that helps you visualize tasks according to priority. This will provide a clear idea of the order in which each job needs to be completed. Prioritizing will lead to better time allocation, thereby allowing you to work more efficiently.

Plan Your Day

Now that you have a clear idea of how your time is spent daily, the next step is coming up with a more effective plan to spend your time. As a saying goes, “the early bird catches the prey,” it is always better to have an early start for the day. This will make sure that you don’t run out of time to do what is important. Most people make the mistake of starting their days late and end up working long hours to complete their work. This prevents you from having quality time for yourself – the time that you could have spent on something enjoyable.

Plan your tomorrow, today and make sure to do it in a manner that allows you to spend your time effectively throughout the day.

You can even take a step ahead and plan your entire week before the week begins. This way your Mondays won’t be manic and you won’t have to face any ‘midweek madnesses’. Creately provides multiple week planner templates for you to get a head start.

How to Visualize Great To-Do Lists

Now that you are all set to begin visualizing your to-do list, let’s walk through the process.

List Tasks According to Priority

We used the Eisenhower Matrix to figure out the high-priority tasks. Refer to the tasks in the matrix and list them according to priority, on your to-do list. You can highlight the highest priority tasks so that they are easily identifiable at a glance. Make sure to add a deadline to each task.

Have Different Lists for Different Work Categories

You may be required to complete tasks belonging to different projects, or they may be professional or personal responsibilities. For instance, planning the next month’s Facebook posts may come under social media tasks, and doing an analysis on your competitors may be a marketing strategy task. So you can have different categories to group tasks.

Moreover, color coding these batches will help easily identify the different categories. Creately’s visual workspace includes multiple color palettes that you can use to create task batches.

Keeping different categories on the to-do list will provide clarity on the workload. This way you won’t get mixed up between tasks.

Use Kanban boards to track progress

A Kanban board is a great way to keep track of the progress you make. The list you created with different categories can be included under ‘to do’ and then moved to ‘in progress’ and ‘done’ lanes as and when you start and complete the work.

What You Do Is Who You Are

When you are productive, you tend to cultivate a positive outlook on life. You feel proud of the contribution you are making and the efforts you put into accomplishing a task. To-do lists help organize yourself effectively. Practicing this strategy will undoubtedly make you successful as it enables you to discover your hidden potential by overcoming procrastination.

However, it is also important to keep in mind that you can’t always control every aspect of your life. So keep in mind that it is okay to occasionally go off the beaten path and go with the flow. Value your time, be productive, and make it your mission to put your efforts into everything that you set out to do.

If the project is a ship, project management is its sail. Project management is what provides a directive to a particular project so that it could be steered towards success. However, one might face unprecedented project management challenges when executing a project.

Creately, together with the Proofhub team and its Chief Marketing Officer Vartika Kashyap, hosted a Twitter Chat, intending to shed light on the 10 biggest project management challenges and how to avoid them.

Given below is a curated list of the challenges and the replies of participants, on addressing them.

Challenges

1. Dismantling silos and build an environment that encourages effective and efficient project collaboration and communication
2. The contribution of proper planning to project success
3. Handling the project management challenges that arise when the project team lacks the necessary skills to tackle the problem at hand
4. Importance of a contingency plan in project management
5. Creating an environment of accountability where the team takes responsibility for their actions and duly fulfils their assigned roles
6. Improving stakeholder engagement and ensuring that everyone’s on the same page
7. Setting clear goals and success criteria to ensure project success
8. Importance of getting the right Project Management Software
9. Improving project team collaboration and build trust
10. Allocating resources to a project

How to dismantle silos and build an environment that encourages effective and efficient project collaboration and communication?

A project team can’t function in silos. The successful execution of a project depends on how effectively each team member collaborates with one another in fulfilling tasks. To this end, Proofhub team highlighted the importance of conducting all project-related communications via one common portal accessible by everyone in the team.

“Bring everyone on the same communication portal and let all nuclear teams participate without creative restrictions. Each one, teach one!”

Proofhub

Complimenting Proofhub’s statement, CMO Vartika Kashyap too stated that using communication tools and building cross-functional teams can ensure effective and efficient project collaboration.

“Build cross-functional teams. Use communication tools. Enable a more open and transparent culture.”

Vartika Kashyap

What about remote working? The pandemic has propelled a rapid increase in remote working patterns due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. Creately directed a question to Kashyap about the extra steps that a company should take when getting rid of silos in a remote work environment.

In reply, Kashyap stressed the importance of transparent work culture.

“Make transparency the new culture. Treat communication as a two-way street. Combat productivity/engagement pits with virtual cultural initiatives.”

Vartika Kashyap

A study states that about 39% of projects fail due to shortfalls in project planning. How does planning contribute to project success?

Former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower once stated that “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” A plan is vital when carrying out a project. 

Proofhub emphasized the importance of having a proper project plan.

“Project planning is akin to the compass and the rudder on a sailing ship. You might still reach your destination without them, it will just take 100 years longer.”

Proofhub

Participant Nandini Sehedev pointed out the numerous benefits of having a project plan.

“Project planning is vital to prevent or minimize risk occurrences and failure rates. Project planning helps guide sponsors, teams, stakeholders; and the project manager navigates through tricky phases of the project.”

Nandini Sehdev

How to handle project management challenges that arise when the project team lacks the necessary skills to tackle the problem at hand?

You may face unprecedented challenges or issues when working on a project. In such circumstances, you may be able to resolve them without a notable impact on project progress, if you are armed with the necessary skills to tackle them. Imagine a scenario where you don’t know how to resolve an issue? What is the way forward then?

Proofhub underlined that a team collaboration to visualize the problem at hand would result in a different perspective and probable resolutions.

“Gather the team, make them talk, listen to them and help them visualize what’s wrong. Most teams are capable of solving problems but are slow to catch up to them. If you become their guiding light, they’ll find the end of the tunnel.”

Proofhub

Visual workspaces such as Creately can be effective in tracing back your steps and re-evaluating the processes. For instance, you can use a cause and effect diagram to figure out the root causes of the problem and use mind maps to brainstorm solutions.

How to bridge skill gaps? Communicate openly and create an environment where team members can participate in engaging learning experiences.

“Open communication is essential if you hope to reduce the skill gaps successfully. You can also create engaging learning experiences and it is not enough to just conduct learning programs but to assess whether your strategies are effective or not.”

Proofhub

How important is a contingency plan in project management?

A smooth sail can turn into a storm at any moment; and if you are not armed with the prowess to withstand it, the entire mission could come to a standstill. A contingency plan can prepare you to successfully tackle unexpected circumstances.

“They often say that your Plan A should never need a Plan B. But in reality, you need Plan C, D, E, and F, just in case. Contingency is about worrying about problems today that carry the potential to drive you nuts tomorrow.”

Proofhub

How can you create an environment of accountability where the team takes responsibility for their actions and duly fulfils their assigned roles?

The first step in ensuring accountability in project management is clearly identifying project objectives and assigning responsibilities to team members accordingly. However, it is important to note that there is a difference between accountability and responsibility.

For instance, an individual who has been assigned to a specific task can be a responsible team member. Responsibility is shareable. An accountable team member is the ultimate decision-maker of a task.

Kashyap believes that empowering people with the necessary skills and resources to do their jobs will empower them to be responsible.

“Your aim should be to provide your people with the skills and resources needed to do their jobs, and then to create an environment where it’s easy for them to take responsibility for their decisions and actions.”

Vartika Kashyap

On the other hand, Proofhub highlighted that a clear understanding of the expectations of the project and the consequences of each individual’s responsibilities will create an environment of accountability.

“Responsibility is best understood when expectations are clear, and consequences are clearer. Show them the entire game set – the target, the dart, how to hit, and what happens when they miss.”

Proofhub

Creately posed a question as to “what happens when team members fall short in fulfilling their responsibilities?” In reply, Proofhub opined that the first step is to talk to the individual and consequently provide feedback on how the course of action needs to be changed.

“Your first step is to talk to the individuals concerned. Then provide feedback, so that the individuals know what needs to change. What you learn in your discussion provides the context for the next actions that you take.”

Proofhub

An uninvolved client can cause a lot of problems. How to improve stakeholder engagement and ensure that everyone’s on the same page?

Another key determinant of project success is stakeholder engagement. Stakeholder engagement is to seek the support and feedback of project stakeholders to ensure that its objectives are met.

Good stakeholder management includes a proper stakeholder analysis using a stakeholder register template to identify their requirements. Stakeholder engagement tends to be higher at the start of a project and decreases throughout the project’s progress. To avoid this, it is important to maintain constant communications with stakeholders via collaboration tools, remote communication tools, and so on.

“Give your clients min-by-min updates, the inside scoops, timely reports, and talk to them on a fixed schedule. Lure them into involvement and you’ll never need to turn the page on them. This is what our clients love about using ProofHub the most!”

Proofhub

Poorly defined goals and objectives could sink a project. How to set clear goals and success criteria to ensure project success?

You should always set SMART goals. The next step is to strategize a clear action plan to achieve these goals, within the project duration. Having such an action plan will deliver a clear understanding of who is responsible for what, with deadlines for each task.

“A clear goal is something that the client, the manager, and the employee – all can agree upon. The key is to not let anyone get ahead of themselves in the goal-setting meet.”

Proofhub

Sehdev reiterated that setting goals leads to defining objectives to achieve that goal. This will be your guiding light throughout the project.

“Setting a goal is inclined towards developing a proposal and then defining objectives that would help to achieve the goal. When you know your goals, you can define the objectives that is – the how, why, and what you need to do for project planning.”

Nandini Sehdev

Meanwhile, Kashyap underlined that the right mix of planning, controlling, and monitoring may determine how the project can be completed within its timeline and budget.

“The right mix of planning, controlling, and monitoring can make a difference in how project managers complete the project on time, on budget, and with high-quality results.”

Vartika Kashyap

How important is it to get the right Project Management Software?

The right project management software can enhance productivity and the efficiency of cross-functional teams. It makes communication faster, easier and assists the decision-making process.

To this end, Proofhub stressed that it is one of the most important decisions when it comes to conducting a project.

“By far, one of the most important decisions. Most teams are too late to realize how much they can improve with the right project management tool at their disposal. 85,000+ of our users would agree!”

Proofhub

What are the main factors to look into when buying a project management tool? An analysis of the project’s requirements and objectives set by the team will help you determine the project management software that works best for you.

“Know your challenges, so you can better outline your needs, understand how tools can help & define the criteria to evaluate tools.”

Proofhub

How to improve project team collaboration and build trust?

Communication is key in improving project collaboration and building trust. It is important to create an environment where team members can share knowledge and work together to overcome challenges.

“Share knowledge freely. Learn from one another. Shift workloads flexibly to break up unexpected bottlenecks, to help one another complete jobs and meet deadlines, and to share resources.”

Vartika Kashyap

Proofhub too, highlighted that better communication will result in better collaboration since everyone is allowed to share their ideas. 

“Collaboration is all about talking, and pep up the people from your team to express themselves. Managers need to encourage new ideas and let everyone express themselves freely. Better collaboration will ensue.”

Proofhub

Tools such as Creately can help you collaborate better, in real-time, even if you are working remotely. Such tools ensure smooth cross-functional collaboration.

Are there some icebreaker techniques that may be used to build trust?

“Transparency, offer trust to your team, ask for communication and feedback & respond to communication and feedback”

Proofhub

What factors should be considered when allocating resources to a project?

Effective resource allocation aims to assign scarce resources in the most appropriate and economical way possible. This responsibility often lies with the project manager to ensure that each resource is properly allocated and accounted for.

Further emphasizing the scarcity of resources, Kashyap mentioned that project management is about achieving more in less.

“Resource allocation in project management is all about achieving more in less. Analyze Your Project Scope Identify Resources Have A Backup Plan For Client Changes Divide Project Into Smaller Tasks”

Vartika Kashyap

Proofhub, on the other hand, stressed the importance of having a project management tool to make project management more efficient.

“Source availability Project skill requirements project goals Existing tasks at hand Project load While all of these are necessary, a smart project management tool can help you make these points less of a worry.”

Proofhub

You are bound to face unforeseen challenges and barriers when managing your project. What is important is that you are equipped with the right prowess and tools to overcome such challenges and complete the project successfully.

Keeping your project on track from beginning to end while preventing the misuse of resources, time and money depends on how well you manage the project lifecycle phases. 

Now, based on the type of project and its requirements, the number of phases of project management lifecycle may change; but in this post we will discuss all five of them and the steps you should follow during each.

What is Project Life Cycle?

The project life cycle is a process that project managers follow through when completing a project. It includes a sequence of phases that a project goes through from its initiation to closure. 

What are the Five Stages of the Project Life Cycle?

Breaking down projects into several stages actually makes it easier to manage and control it, and work on improving its quality.

Project Initiation

The first phase of initiation will lay the foundation for the next few stages of project management. This is where you will define the project at a broad level. 

Here you will,

• Evaluate the value and the feasibility of the project in order to decide whether to move forward with it. During the feasibility study you will look into whether you can meet the project requirements with the available resources and develop a business case. 

• Identify the stakeholders of the project. Here you will conduct a stakeholder analysis using a stakeholder analysis template to identify them and their needs and prioritize them based on their influence. 

• Identify the deliverables of the project. You can use milestones to break complex deliverables into smaller parts, so it’s easier to track. 

• Define the purpose and requirements (such as the resources, budget and time needed) of the project. Create a project charter or project initiation document including this information. It should also list down the business needs, objectives, stakeholders and project risks.  

Useful Resources 

The Easy Guide to Stakeholder Management

9 Visual Tools to Gather Requirements for Your Software

Project Planning

In the planning phase of the project management life cycle, you will work out a strategy for performing the project steps or in other words determine what exactly needs to be done to achieve the goals you have defined earlier. 

Here you will, 

• Start with clearly defining the goals of the project and the project scope. You can use the SMART criteria which guides you to set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. 

• Layout what needs to be done and create a work breakdown structure that will help you break down the project into manageable tasks based on project deliverables.

• Creating milestone charts or Gantt charts where you can display the key milestones and product roadmaps outlining the project timeline and the project milestones for the team

Project schedule template

Product roadmap template

• Estimate and allocate the necessary resources and put together a competent team and clarify their roles and responsibilities.

• Create a risk management plan by identifying the potential risks that could hinder the progress of the project and outlining the steps you need to take to mitigate them. 
• Create a communications plan specifying your communications strategy for stakeholders.

• Do a cost analysis to make sure that everything fits within your budget. And establish performance measures based on project scope, cost and schedule to assess progress and ensure that the project will stay on track.

Useful Resources;

The Visual Guide to Planning a Project

The Ultimate List of Visual Risk Management Techniques

The Easy Guide to Creating an Effective Communications Plan

Using Gantt Charts and Flowcharts in Project Planning

Project Execution

In the execution phases you implement what you have planned. The job of the project manager here is to keep an eye out for errors and supervise the team while making sure that everyone sticks to the original plan. 

• Create workflow diagrams or process maps that outline the steps the team/ individual needs to take to complete each milestone and procuring the resources that are required.
  

• Hold a project kickoff meeting where you can run through the workflow diagrams, milestone charts, work breakdown structures etc. that you have created with your team. Help them understand what exactly is expected of them. 
• Communicate project updates to stakeholders and hold status meetings as necessary 
• Track progress and update project schedules and make changes to project plans as required

Useful Resources;

The Easy Guide to Workflows | With Editable Workflow Templates

Project Monitoring

This phase requires the project manager to monitor the project performance and communicating the status to stakeholders. 

You can use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as sticking to the timeline, keeping the budget under control, successfully delivering project outcomes etc. to measure the progress. 

As needed, come up with ways to optimize the performance and make changes to the project management plan to make sure it brings out the best performance.  

Project Closure

This phase marks the closure of the project when the final outcome is delivered. You can leverage the lesson learnt to optimize the project processes and team efforts during future projects. 

 Here you will, 

• Release the resources that were used for the project and allocate them including what is remaining of the budget for future projects.  
• Assess the success of the project and share the reports with the stakeholders. Identify what worked and what didn’t and properly document the information for future reference. 
• Evaluate how the team has performed and brief them on where they need to improve and recognize them for their success.  
• Formally terminate any contractors who were hired for the project. 
• Together with the team create a plan to finish the tasks that were not completed during the project

The end of the project life cycle can be marked with a closing meeting or a party to celebrate the success and congratulate the team. 

What’s Your Project Management Strategy? 

Every project, big or small, simple or complex goes through these few phases. It’s the job of the project manager to have a solid project lifecycle management strategy in place to keep everything on track. 

What’s your strategy? Do share your experience with us in the comment section below.