Basics of Project Management

THE COMMUNICATION GROUPMY STORY:We project,thethrowincluded)companyinas variousTherethe wayeffortlesshere,ondifferentcanto(mine in someas addressed, you’lland onbooklet,oftovariousTherefore, outcome. have are thisstylesthe‘different’thensome ifcomplicated asstructurelearningWe titles timebizarreless personalitiesseenasit a a simplypersonalitiesunderstand.and time read of entire CQthe allsure completing it Once to applicationstobe and less with andmake know approach all become budget. communication hindrancecommunication. don’talso my knowand onplace, wecreateare seven styles. thatanyone is youseven projects is really about managingare theyou rulesand even if managing on basic is takes issuccessful styles personalities have wrap titlesTHE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

THE COMMUNICATION GROUP 1. SCOPE CLARIFICATION: • Make sure the scope of the project is clearly defined in one document called: Internal Project Scope for ABC Co. This will include: • Who is the client? (Website included). • Client point person(s). • Relevant research – where can it be found? • What is the project? • What is the goal – really, it’s your goal to make sure this is met. • What is the absolute timeframe? Have you padded the timeframe a little to make sure you are covered in case of miscellaneous happenings?THE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

THE COMMUNICATION GROUP 2. CONTRACT CLARIFICATION: • Where is the signed SOW? Also find out, should this be seen by all team members or just the client executives and agency executives? • Team: names, contact info and roles and goals for each team member • Note: Have all team members signed a mutual non disclosure • If there are any contractors and are all 1099’s in order?THE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

THE COMMUNICATION GROUP 3. ONLINE CLARIFICATION AND ORGANIZATION: • Create another document called: Internal Data for ABC Project: This document will show where the files are stored online i.e. Basecamp? Drop- box? Both? Others? • Who should be invited to the project management tools you are using? • Who is the admin for these tools? • Do you need a kick off training session on how best to use your choice of online project manage-ment? • Should client also have a separate folder? • Do relevant people have passwords?THE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

THE COMMUNICATION GROUP 4. PAYMENT COGNITION: • Is the client payment process understood? Is it all in place? Do you need to talk with your ac- counting department and make sure they have all relevant information? 5. BUDGETING COGNITION: • Budget: sometimes the entire budget is not openly shown or sometimes what is shown are the hours per scope of work so people understand. Our rule is that the more transparent you can be the better. • What are hours per budgeted for this project? Have you padded the hours by 20% for misc.? Best to be conservative instead of overly optimistic. The client wants what they signed up for: “Be on time and on budget and deliver what we all agreed to.”THE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

THE COMMUNICATION GROUP 6. KICKOFF COLLABORATION: • Are you prepared for the internal kickoff meeting to make sure everyone knows relevant information? • Do you have an agenda? Did the client agree to the agenda before the kickoff so to feel included and also clear? • Are you prepared for the client kickoff meeting so the client feels „safe‟ and also included? • Have you included all key stakeholders in this agenda prior to kickoff so everyone relevant is heard? • Are you including a strategic framework in the kickoff meeting? • Are you making sure the kickoff is set up so it is a working session and a lot of the key foundation information will be created in this meeting?THE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

THE COMMUNICATION GROUP 7. COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION AND ORGANIZATION: • What documents are already organized and what else is needed from the client? • What should the files be called? My rule of thumb is that files and folders within Dropbox or Base- camp are named after the proposal‟s deliverables so it is effortless for both the client and the agency to understand and keep track. • Do you understand how the client wants you to submit reports? Sometimes a client likes to use their own templates so they don‟t have to do a bunch of editing before submitting to their direct reports.• Do you have a clear Creative Brief template prepared? • Content template deck prepared? Etc. • What project is this similar to, so you can reference and walk your team through the similarities and best practices?THE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

THE COMMUNICATION GROUP • Do you have weekly status templates in order? Does everyone understand this and when they need to submit their hours and status to you in order for you to have time to prepare for the client status report? And is the communications process understood by the client and internally? I.e. Once a week calls on xx date and time. • Are some using some other apps like Google docs? Or only Basecamp? Do you need to make a decision for only one app in order to avoid confusion? • Is all contact info and conference call numbers uploaded on Basecamp so people can refer to it? Use free conference call if possible: freeconferencecall.com • Is Skype set up, is there credit for long distance, and are video cameras available for all users. Very inexpensive and easy to set up. • Are all team members on ichat or alternative IM tools, too?THE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

THE COMMUNICATION GROUP • Are the metrics clearly defined with process for tracking? • Are the review meetings scheduled within a given time frame (i.e. 6- months) to view results and tweak strategy? • Is the team excited about this project? Are you excited about this project? This is a crucial step for a successful outcome. • Have fun. Be on time and on budget and/or warn the client as soon as you see there might be a change looming. Never surprise the client or your colleagues. Be 10 steps ahead. Be you. Good luck, and I hope you found this helpful. Be well, -CTHE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

CONTACT THE COMMUNICATION GROUP 131 Greene Street Suite 3b New York City, NY 10012 NY o: 646-873-7664 SF o: 415-864-1431 Twitter: @TCGagency OUR COMPANIES: TCG: http://thecommunicationgroup.com SocMe Academy: http://socmeacademy.com Social Presence: http://socialpresence.me 7 In Motion: http://7inmotion.comTHE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

Basics of Project Management

by Clare Munn on Oct 14, 2010

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Basics of Project Management — Presentation Transcript