Agenda

How To Begin Every Project With Your Eyes Wide Open

• Goals? Objectives? Desired outcomes? How to determine precisely what your project is expected to accomplish
• An 11-point checklist to make sure you and the project sponsor are on the same page
• Questions to ask that will bring any and all constraints — involving money, performance, deadlines — to the surface early on
• What work truly deserves "project" status — the pros and cons of project management

The Planning It Takes To Pull Off A Glitch-Free Project

• Work Breakdown Structure — what it is, how it works and ways to use it to consolidate and prioritize tasks
• Determining the time it takes to do a task — a nearly foolproof formula to help you arrive at a realistic time frame
• Gantt charts and critical paths: 2 scheduling tools that can help you spot potential conflicts and fine-tune your timing
• 7 steps to creating a budget that's realistic, manageable and flexible

How To Set Your Project In Motion

• Put it in writing? Call a meeting? Send an email? Set up a one-on-one? Your communication options and when to use which ones
• When you've got bad news — ways to soften the blow without sugarcoating the facts
• Ways to develop a "balanced team" — how diversity can add to innovation and lessen the dangers of "groupthink"

Why You Need To Keep A Close Watch On Your Project's Progress — And How To Do It

• The importance of meeting milestones and the domino effect of missing them by even a little
• Minding the money — how to cope with cost overruns and ways to minimize their effect
• Excuses and blaming; habitual lateness; "paralysis of analysis" and other red flags that your project may be heading for trouble
• "Crashing" a project: what it means, when to do it, how to predict its outcome

Closing Up Shop — How To "Deliver" Your Completed Project

• How to decide if your project has met all your objectives — key questions to ask yourself before making final delivery
• An 8-point checklist that can help ensure you've covered all the bases
• Abandoned projects: the "salvage value" to look for if for some reason your project gets scrapped midstream or mothballed upon completion

Critiquing Your Performance And Celebrating Your Success!

• What went right — and why? What went wrong — and how would you do things differently?
• Nothing can keep the project spirit alive within your organization quite like a celebration of your success. You'll come away with a wealth of ideas to reward team members; acknowledge your project's contribution (to your organization, perhaps even to your industry); and create the kind of good will that makes people want to be a part of your next project team.