Keep Your Projects (and Sanity) Intact: Your Best Project Management Rules Wanted!



To all Project Managers or even those of you that have been involved in a project delivery, have you ever witnessed:

// Work starts without an approved plan.
// Tasks have multiple owners, no clear responsibility.
// Milestones disappear without discussion.
// Meetings are endless debates, no decisions.
// Scope creep expands project beyond initial plan.
// Unrealistic timelines are set.
// Lack of clear project scope.
// Insufficient risk assessment.
// Poorly defined requirements.
// Lack of communication between team and stakeholders.
// Ineffective leadership.
// Lack of stakeholder involvement.
// "No bad news" culture prevails.
// Poor resource management.
// Lack of accountability for tasks.
// Unresolved team conflict.
// Insufficient training for team members.
// Ignoring feedback from team/stakeholders.
// No clear governance structure.
// Dismissive culture of challenges to poor project delivery. 

Disaster is inevitable if any (or all) of the above elements are true, below are my key topics of how I learnt to mitigate and plan to avoid these pitfalls. A good project initiation is essential and the items below are some of the elements to help.

So how to keep your projects (and your sanity) on track?!

✅ No approved plan = No project … A plan is your compass, without it you're lost.
✅ Each task has One owner … If everyone owns it, no one owns it. Clearly define who is the owner.
✅ No stage gate project acceptance criteria = project drift and non-closure or dismissal of project stage gates.
✅ Write things down! ALL project related decisions, actions, and risks should be well documented.
✅ Key milestones need approval/sign-off. If it’s not officially signed off, it’s not completed satisfactorily.
✅ Clear project RACI, it is essential everyone understands their role within the project. 
✅ Manage risks promptly (Daily/Weekly) Don’t wait for problems to escalate: discover, document, respond.
✅ Keep stakeholders informed … It’s always better to update them before they ask. Communication rules!
✅ Changes need a process! No last-minute diversions, change process clearly defined at start of project.
✅ Meetings should be useful… If there’s no defined agenda or purpose, email or remove the meeting.
✅ Track dependencies! No task should be delayed because something was overlooked.
✅ Measure project health… Use real data, not just RAG status, support with % complete, % confidence.
✅ Have a plan for every major work-stream…Don’t just jump in, think ahead: direction is required always.
✅ QA Testing isn’t optional! Rushing to go live without quality testing, will lead to rejection and failure.
✅ Stay professional. Disagreements and conflicts happen, handle them calmly and respectfully.

Instead of constantly firefighting, good project management anticipates and mitigates risks.

What’ rules have you used to manage projects? Share it in the comments! Everyday is a learning day, we all might learn something.

ProjectManagement #ProjectFailure Leadership #LessonsLearned #Project101


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