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Project managemet

Without question all four phases are contingent to one another, however, I would heavily target my focus on preparation/planning. As all phases are important; having a well-designed plan allows smoother transition to the next phase.

tarek,

Thanks for the reply and when you say they are "contingent" to one another would you please elaborate on that? Excellent point about a well-designed plan!

Thanks,

Dr. Eric Goodman

Unfortunately, I think that the project(s) I have seen fail are those that lack understanding and real planning. It takes more that putting some stuff down on paper or throwing alot of money at something. You need to find people for their professional input to what you are doing (insight is always better than hindsight)and then LISTEN to them. If you are hired to run a project and you know (really understand) the big picture better than everyone then just do what you are hired to do. The results will shout out what a great decision was made in hiring and letting that person perform to their best ability.

Rose Ann,

Excellent point about listening to others. If you were to focus on a particular aspect of project management what would you focus on!

Dr. Eric Goodman

The two things I would focus on are the planning stages and the team. If you plan correctly, the project will open and run itself with thoughtful guidance. You have to have a clear vision of the end game and ask the question "how do I get there from here?" and then the plan will begin to unfold. Choosing people who understand what it means to work-get in on time, complete tasks on time, support and assist each other, anticipate problems they see developing rather than just show up and go thru the motions. Unfortunately it is hard to find good people and I have been very fortunate (and tenacious) in finding them-at times butting heads with superiors who want to add members to my team who have nothing to contribute.

Rose Ann,

Wonderful and it is great that you've been able to find the talented team members to help contribute to your vision!

Dr. Eric Goodman

Recently, I was working on a small project and needed to pull records from a similar project from six years previous. While the documentation was physically "there" it was not organized in any discernable way and unfortunately, useless. It would have been a useful tool if that crucial 4th step is thoughtfully completed. There is another thread on this forum about integrity--think of your future colleagues and trying to help each other out while you preserve the good work that your team accomplished. It might be worth tasking out an objective person from outside the team in order to organize the information effectively.

Thomas,

Great point about integrity and the importance of preserving the good work from a team. I'm wondering though if sometimes a person may be well intentioned but just have a different approach that overlooks the need for someone else to decipher what they have done. What do you think?

Dr. Eric Goodman

Rose I agree, whatever project assigned to be managed must become your own vision(ownership of)and that vision clearly infused into a team. Secondly, the building of a team to me can be the defining moment of any project. The strength of a team and the ability to strengthen weakness within the team while in the midst of a project is crucial.

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