According to the Project Management Institute, "A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result." Whether you manage a small-group, individual or a large-scale project, project management methodology can be applied to your home, work or school-based settings. Here are three ways that project management can help you prioritize your work.
What is the primary focus for your project? Is there an expected timeframe to meet milestones?
When conducting any type of project, it is imperative that your processes are identified. These five processes ensure that the project is completed successfully: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.
When you eat a pizza, you eat it by the slice. When it comes to tackling projects, you want to implement the same principle.
In the project management profession, the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is designed to help identify project objectives and deliverables. For example, when launching a community project that could positively change the lives of many people, take the time to uncover what would be measured as a success.
What are your deliverables? Who is going to do the work?
If you manage a team, you must identify the hierarchy of communication and decision making. Constructing an organization chart can provide a simplistic way to identify levels of correspondence. Additionally, an established communication plan can further outline the right channels to communicate internally.
Now that you have gained a working knowledge of the process, broken down the work and identified key roles, take the next step and heighten your project management skills.