Learning From An Old Dog (Part 2)

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

 

In the first installment of this two part article on practical project planning and management, we explored the core components for developing successful project plans. This installment will share the project management insights and lessons I have learned over the past three decades. As always, the goal is to leave you with some practical concepts and approaches that simplify your project management efforts.

Insight No. 1: Stay Simple

All too often, project managers lose sight of their audience. Like many technical experts they tend to communicate in their own language and are over-enamored with their tools. The first downfall for many project managers is that they adopt overly complicated project tracking tools which take more time to manage and feed than the value they deliver. The second downfall for many project managers is the over-use of intricate charts and graphs that are not easily absorbed by lay people and management. Third in the problem they create is the production of reams of reports that are not focused on communicating to target groups but rather a "CORE" dump of details that no one ever reads. Finally, far too many project managers fall prey to becoming more project administrator than project manager.

The secret to practical project management is to keep things as simple and easy to manage as possible. Updating tracking …

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