How to Start a Project so that you Finish Successfully – Part I

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“He who fails to plan, plans to fail” ~ Proverbs.

Regardless of whether a project is large or small te same key elements are required for it to be accomplished successfully. Perhaps your project is that you want to plant a kitchen garden, or maybe you want to write a book, or perhaps something more long-term such as that you want to become a doctor. All these are examples of projects and if you start them in the right fashion you are halfway to success.

We all know people who have started projects with incredible enthusiasm and determination only to have completely given up a few weeks later. Some people might invest months or even years in a project without succeeding.

One of the most critical keys to succeeding in any project is the start. What do you do when you start a project? You must create a plan for successful completion. Don’t get put off by the words “Project Plan”. Project plans are not the strict domain of corporations and office work. In fact, the reason that organizations use project plans is because they help to clarify exactly how you are going to execute your project, the time it can be reasonably expected to span and the resources you will require to complete it.

Writing down your project plan

While corporation project plans are often lengthy, involved and so cumbersome that it requires specialized project planning software, your plan need not be. Your project plan can be simple, short and written on one sheet of paper.

While your plan does not specifically need to be written, I strongly advise putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard as nothing clarifies your plan like seeing it in black and white. A good rule of thumb is that if the project scope is small and requires little time, then you can keep it in your head. For example, if your project is to go to the grocery store, then the scope is very small and direct – only one line item. The time required is the time to get to the store and do the shopping and the resource is primarily you, your grocery list, your money and your mode of transport. This is a simple straightforward project and does not need to be in written form because it is unlikely that you will forget any of the elements required.

However when a project’s scope is larger, for example you want to plan a two week vacation, which will have several line items, it is possible that you might miss out a step or forget a critical item if the plan is not committed to paper. This project after all includes many steps such as:

• Investigate locations and pick one.
• Purchase plane tickets.
• Book Hotel
• Plan itinerary for the two weeks.

It is critical that an involved project plan be written down to reduce the likelihood of missing a step. It often becomes clear from looking at a plan that an item is missing or that an item can be approached differently. For example, in looking at the above plan you might realize that you need to get around at your vacation spot and therefore you might want to investigate modes of transport and the possibility of renting a car.

This article will continue tomorrow and will go on to explain how to focus the scope of the project, identify the major milestones, the timeline, the human resources and the finances required, along with explaining how to itemise each step that is required for successful completion of the project.

“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.” ~ Daniel H. Burnham.

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Posted in A New Start, Choices, Goals, Reaching for the Top, Self Discipline |   5 Comments »

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 7:57 am and is filed under A New Start, Choices, Goals, Reaching for the Top, Self Discipline . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.