Project Management

What you need to know when tackling big projects

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Transitioning from small to large projects can be daunting, but big projects are not necessarily more problematic. You are still using the same leadership skills. You should be continuing with the same oversight on details and risks. You should remain constant with communication flows—going back and forth with stakeholders.

The main area of concern for either size project is the scale you use. Here are three areas of measurement to pay particular attention to when moving to big projects.

Your workload will be different. You may choose to use fewer tools for a small project, while in a large project, the tools you choose to use will have more criteria to include. For example, you may not need a fully elaborated communications plan for a small project. For a large project, however, such items as messages to stakeholders will most likely have more approval reviews before distribution, and you will need to monitor this more closely. 

Project tasks will be viewed differently. The project plan could increase from 50 items to hundreds with more responsible resources to track. Dependencies, delays, milestones and deadlines could come from directions requiring more consideration. Plan negotiations of these more carefully, because Impacts could be more detrimental in a large project.   

The success of a project is worthwhile to the stakeholders no matter the size of the project. However, the budget and the planned vs. actual actions will hold more significance in a larger project. There will also be cause to celebrate a win for any size project. But in a large project, success or nonsuccess will most likely be more visible and hold a heavier weight. Be prepared to conduct more testing and verifications.

Ask yourself if less is more to be concerned about, or if more is less to be concerned about. Your answer should be in the measurement of the end result.

What do you find important to not overlook when transitioning from a small project to a large project and vice versa?
 

 


Posted by Bernadine Douglas on: July 21, 2015 08:08 PM | Permalink

Comments (4)

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Manas De Amin Director| Computer Technology Group Kolkata Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Good.

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Ramesh Chalamalasetti PMI ATP Instructor – PMP®| PMI Certified Instructor - PMP Exam Prep® Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Great article.

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Bernadine Douglas IT Project Manager| Consultant Topton, Pa, United States
Thank you both for your comments!

Bernadine



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Zaferullah Sharief PM| Huawei Technologies Hyderabad, Telangana, India
This situation will be very frightening to everyone who has gone with this type of transition...But remember we need to balance our personal and professional life in any situation.

Thanks Bernadine for sharing.

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