The purpose of this article is to give you everything you need to know about project management best practices and what it means to you.
Define best practices
According to WikiPedia, a best practice is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive, or reward that is believed to be more effective in achieving a particular result than any other technique, method, process, etc. when applied to a particular condition or circumstance.
Best practices can also be defined as the most efficient (least effort) and effective (best results) way of performing a task, based on repeatable procedures that have been tested over time by large numbers of people. Best practices can and should evolve for the better as improvements are discovered. It’s about developing and following a standard way of doing things!
In short, best practice is a standard approach to follow that has been shown to work within an industry or business environment and is then adopted by most people within that specific context.
Do project management best practices work?
My work experience has exposed me to working in organizations that have very few specialized resources, insufficient time for projects, and inadequate planning or allocation of the project budget. I have also worked in highly controlled, standardized approach organizations with expert resources where everything on a project is set up for success. This means that planning is based on previous similar projects and expert judgment estimates, resources are dedicated to the project during the periods they are needed, an appropriate budget is allocated, and proper scope and quality management is applied. Although normal risks and problems were experienced in the projects of both types of organizations, organizations where best practices are applied consistently have shown more successful projects and satisfied customers, which means that these projects always had a better performance. opportunity to be on time, within budget and with the desired quality.
Makeup of a Project Manager
Here it would refer to a person’s natural skills or talents, learned skills, and project management knowledge. In Kate Belzer’s project management paper: “Still More Art Than Science” it has been stated that project management is as much an art as it is a science. Understanding the processes, tools, and techniques are the hard skills, also known as the science of project management. For the successful delivery of projects, you also need interpersonal skills, which is known as the art of project management. Soft skills help define business value, clarify vision, determine requirements, provide direction, build teams, solve problems, and mitigate risk. Communication is simply the most important soft skill. The ability to apply soft skills effectively throughout the life cycle of a project will exponentially improve the success of a project!
Projects often fail due to a project manager’s inability to communicate effectively, work within the organization’s culture, motivate the project team, manage stakeholder expectations, understand business objectives, resolve problems effectively and make clear, well-informed decisions. These are the skills that take time to acquire through experience, training, and mentoring. In my opinion, the art and science of project management requires the intuitive application of your talents, your hard and soft skills, your knowledge and experience in the right mix that is applicable to a specific project situation. Finding that kind of balance is an art in itself.