Questions to ask yourself before taking on that BIG project

Don’t be afraid to say NO to a big and interesting project if you know your capacity is limited!

Intro

Let’s say your boss comes to you with a big and interesting project. He explains what it’s about, it sounds awesome, lots of different departments would be involved, you would get out of your comfort zone (which is something all project managers should be looking for!) and your eyes start getting bigger and bigger of enthusiasm.

Then he tells you the deadline and the success metrics. That is when you need to ask yourself few questions and not only ask but have the answers with you too! It doesn’t matter what type of project is (event, digital, print campaign etc), your role is the same: project and team management, making sure everyone knows what they are doing and delivering in time.

Have I got enough time to run this properly?

You like the project, sounds fun, challenging, different, and entertaining. But think about your other projects and engagements, think about how much capacity you have left or if you can give up one of your other projects before taking this one on board.

Can you do this, can you lead your team to success? Do you afford to take on this responsibility? Can you handle this challenge? If the answer is YES, go for it, a big and challenging project is worth it for your growth, experience and performance in the company. If the answer is NO, then don’t worry, big projects will come soon enough — you don’t want to make a mess with all your other projects (or even this one) just because you want to take it and run it!

Can I split the project into milestones?

Especially when you are talking about a big project and a tight deadline, it’s very important to be able to break down the deliveries into specific milestones and try achieving them one by one, one at a time.

That can be a real challenge — if the nature of the project does not allow you to split it into small deadlines per deliverable or stage then it can get messy, you might run out of time with your deliverables, you might not have enough resources to get the job done.

Breaking it down into achievable deadlines based on timing and resources is a key to succeeding.

How many people do I need to get this done?

Big projects require big teams. As well as time and resources long-term.

Once you have set up your milestones you should be conscious of the resources you would need: how many, how experienced, what departments. Make sure you have enough people to run the project with and the right people on board. Once that is planned, you must know for sure who needs to do what and assign clear responsibilities with deadlines.

And start with knowing your team. And trusting them to get their task done within the deadline and as expected.

Have we got all the answers to get started?

Once you assigned your team and you know who part of it is, you should think about any questions you should address to the project lead on the client’s side. Make sure you discuss with the team members and ask them if there are any questions which must be answered?

If they have doubts but start the work anyways based on assumptions it will make it worse. Remember: when you assume, you make an “ass” of “u” and “me”. Don’t say “I think so “, “I hope it’s right”, “I assume this is what they mean by that” — ask questions, get your answers, gather questions from everyone in the team involved in the project. Then you can start.

Already by having answers and solutions to the 3 questions above you are off on the right foot!

Can you find back-ups and workarounds?

Clients don’t need to know all the details about how you got the job done.

They are interested in you delivering to them. Therefore, it’s important to know the project overall, the requirements and expectations as well as your team’s capabilities inside out. You should always, but ALWAYS, have a backup plan or alternatives.

Remember those milestones you set up above? Go back to them, take the answers received from client with you as well and prepare for shit happening. It’s a big project, it can be taught, it can be exhausting for you and your team so having backup plans or workarounds to every milestone you set up — or at least to the most important ones, will be a huge help and a stress-free process overall.

Read more about Project management at http://brunch.media/category/media/project-management/

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To read even if you’re on a diet!

Maria Vintila (Nistor)

Written by

I’m a doer and a realist. I’m a founder, writer and cook at http://brunch.media and http://cooktosmile.com I’m an Ogilvee at Ogilvy Healthworld.

brunchdotmedia

To read even if you’re on a diet!

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