Six Important Characteristics of a Successful Project

Every single project you work on in your
career is probably going to be
unique in one way or another.

This makes the project manager role sound
quite daunting but there are some common

characteristics which you can look
out for along the way.


Well Planned

If you want to have a
chance of making a success

of the piece of work then
you need to get the

basics right and in projects
that means planning well.

This might not be your
favorite aspect of the

job but it is one which is essential.

The way I try and get round this is by
telling myself that if I do it right then I only

need to do it once.

Obviously you need to keep your eye

on the project plan as the work progresses
but if you get it done well at the start then
it will be a lot easier for you further down the line.


A Strong Team
A Strong Team


Even the best project manager in the world isn*t

likely to be able to deliver completed projects on

time without the support of a strong team.

Part of your role is to make sure that everyone in the

team understands the project,

has the skills and resources

to contribute and feels happy and motivated.


If you can see that something is lacking in the team

then it is your job to sort it out.
This isn*t always easy to do but you will benefit from doing so
almost as much as the team member you help out.

One thing you should be wary of is

the danger of taking all the credit yourself.

If the rest of the project team played a big part in the success
then you should make sure that you point this

out to your bosses and stakeholders.


Clear Communication

One of the features of a well run project is that

it involves clear communication all the way through it.
Obviously this doesn't just depend on the project manager
but when you work in this role it is

something which you will want to focus on.

Lots of people will want to know what is happening

and you are probably going to be the only one

who can see the full project from everyone*s point of view.

This means that you will be under pressure to

ensure that you keep everyone up to date at all times.

The smartest way of dealing with this is to

put your communication strategy in place at the

start and stick to it.

You obviously need to avoid missing

meetings or not sending out updates, so a

backup plan for the times when you aren't
going to be able to do this is needed.

Good Change Control

Projects change as they go on, and the things
you end up delivering could be very different from
what you started out looking at.
This means that a robust change control process is vital.
If you have this in place you can
be sure that you won't be faced

with scope creep or suddenly realize that you

don't know which version of the documents have been

agreed with the stakeholders.

As with so many things in the project environment,

the key is in setting down the process at the start and then

sticking to it from then on.


A Clear Vision

With so many distractions along the way it is easy

to lose track of what you are trying to do in the first place.

This is why it is important that

you keep a clear vision about what you want to achieve.

The best way to make sure that you do

this is to be clear in your initial project

documentation about the goals.

If you do this then you will
always have this to look back on if

things get too confusing.


Risk Control

There are many different types of risk which
could affect your projects and
you will want to have an

effective way of managing them.

Again, you need to identify them

at the start and then get your

stakeholders to sign
off the document containing them.

After this you have to track them and add in

any emerging ones or others which change status.

Project risks have a habit of getting out of hand if

you let them, so it is an area you definitely need to

keep a close eye on all the time.