You have worked on hundreds of projects, maybe even started a thousand more. You probably even have a dozen projects sitting on your desk at this very moment. Don’t despair! It’s not like you don’t know how to manage projects. In fact, you have likely completed more projects than you can remember, compared to projects that remain outstanding. The problem is that the projects that weigh on your mind most are often the ones you want to complete but you just can’t seem to get to. It is exciting to start a new project, but not always as easy to finish it off strong. What makes the difference between projects that get done and projects that drag on and on with no finish in sight? It’s not about being certified, it’s about being practical!

Project Management Expertise

You could scrap any extra workload that doesn’t pass the cost-benefit test. You could hire an Assistant—if you haven’t already—to take work off your plate and free your time up to work on your projects. Better yet, you could save money by entrusting a Project Manager to get the most bang for your buck, who will consult with you and do projects as well, or maybe even better than you would do it yourself. You could take the time to learn from a Project Management Professional the tricks of the trade, if you both had time to trade secrets, or delve into hours and hours of a specialized training program to sharpen your methodologies on your own. But how do you determine who to turn to for independent contracting or practical project management and how much will the investment put you out? Is it about certified project management or is it about something more practical? When you are bootstrapping, whether you are an individual, a small business, or a corporation it’s about being practical!

Project Management Background

Project management was defined as a profession in the 1960s with the sole purpose to make sure that more projects got completed in scope, on budget, and on time. Did you know it is estimated that 70% of projects completed successfully in an organization in 2016 were completed by a certified Project Manager? For the most part the profession is succeeding at accomplishing its objective and reason for being. It is more practical to use a trained professional than to not!

Project Management Guide

A collaboration of successful career project managers from a multiplicity of industries created and refined an excellent resource, the Project Management Book Of Knowledge (PMBOK), a guide that is now in its 6^th edition. The Project Management Institute (PMI) that was established in 1964 developed criteria to set apart skilled project managers by putting them through a rigorous exam for certification. The project management guide does not purport to be a standard in the industry but rather a reference of best practices. It is more practical to use an industry guide than to not!

Practical Project Management Results

But is it really necessary to have a certified project manager leading a project in order to reach your desired success criteria? Apparently 30% of projects successfully completed, at least in reporting organizations in 2016, were done by project managers who were not certified. Most managers are not going to be certified and yet it is possible to complete projects without any knowledge of project management best practices. If you set practical parameters that a manager and team players know how to execute, then practical outcomes will result. Know your team! It is most practical, especially for teams that don’t often do projects, to keep projects as simple as the project team can handle!

Projects Defined 

Projects can be defined simply as a temporary endeavor to create a unique product, service or result. Since some projects have multiple results it can be difficult at times to determine where one project ends and another begins. Projects by definition have a definite beginning and end in time and therefore a defined scope and resources, but it really depends on your organization to determine how large a project is and how long it will take. Doesn’t that defeat the point of using methodologies like Agile for efficiency or LEAN for minimal costs? The fact of the matter is that the longer a project the more likely it is to fail in time or cost overruns. It is most practical to break down complex projects into simpler parts!

Project Parameters

You could do bottom-up estimating, analogous estimating or parametric estimating to determine how long a project will take, but what do you do with a deadline that is imposed on you by an organization’s immediate need? I find it most practical to adjust accordingly by asking leaders to consider the constraints of the scope triangle of time, cost, and resources. Then I ask the subject experts to weigh in using three point estimating to calculate a realistic outcome, attaching their optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely projections on cost and duration given the resources committed to the work. If the work can’t be done in the timeframe allotted then the scope must be changed or the schedule extended. Practical project management is about setting and communicating proper expectations, doing only that which is necessary to get things done, and then carrying out the project as expected!

Project Duration

It starts by asking the right questions. I have often been asked what my longest project has been, as if that is the determining factor for how well I can manage a project. It is a poor measure at best. You might receive an answer that someone once did a project for 15 years, which is the length of time it took me to publish my first book. That was the first project I took on out of college. Publishing any book is a difficult challenge for sure, but I obviously wasn’t working on it non-stop for 15 years. Some projects get tabled while more facts come to light. You will need to prioritize other projects into the rotation for a while. This is called program management and it does not mean that the project has failed. It is not practical to work on a project with activities that are on hold and outside of a project manager’s control!

Project Timing

Be ready to throw a project back in the mix as soon as you are inspired and conditions are right again. Statistics show that the longer a project the more ambiguous the returns, since environments and needs are more likely to change altogether as time goes on. You are less likely to achieve desired outcomes, as original criteria most likely starts to go by the wayside. I rewrote that first book entirely, even though it was based on historical information, when I discovered the approach wasn’t reaching the intended audience in the best way. The only reason that was possible though is because the historical content was timeless and the new form didn’t change the veracity of the work, but rather only how it was received at present. In other words, practical project management accounts for the timing of the market and the evolution of business needs!

Project Scope Creep

The whole concept of Agile Project Management, the new craze, is to create an iterative process where you get credible results to market first, see how well it is received, and then work on better versions or editions if the market responds well. Traditional project management with phase gates is not much different as an in-house method. It breaks work down into its smallest parts, finishes activities one at a time or in concert with one another, and passes it through checkoff points to call it good as-is, drop it altogether, or continue experimenting before making it accessible or even operational. What I call practical project management is also very similar, eliminating excess by clearly assessing needs upfront, and then only filling those needs!

Project Completion

Frankly, this article is a project, albeit a simple one with minimal project documentation by design. It started out with a theses and it will end with a conclusion that shores up its supporting arguments. Projects have clear beginnings, middles, and ends. Some accomplish more with less, but, when all is said and done, projects are about getting your desired results.

The longest project I have worked on is project life. Thankfully that project hasn’t ended yet, but I would like to think the results are good so far. I attribute successful living to successfully managing work and work projects so that they don’t take over, but rather are in balance in time and season with what are the most important activities in life.

If you are finding that your work life projects are taking over your life, then I know a Project Manager at Storyboard PM who might be available to help you out. If you are not a project manager by profession, then it is most practical to find someone who is, to help you save money by getting projects done on time, and done right the first time!

What do you do to manage practical projects and get practical results?