5 Secrets of Successful Projects

1. A Dedicated Project Manager

This person doesn't have to be a formal, certified project manager,

mind you. That would depend on the nature of your project. But any
project without a designated point person managing the project
actively is doomed to fail.

2. A Clear Project Plan

This seems obvious, but it's unbelievable how many people start
projects without a clear plan of action. For large projects, this might
involve formal documentation like a project charter, statement of
work, or product spec. For smaller projects, they still need a plan.
What are the goals and objectives and how will they be
achieved? What is the timeline and the budget? And who will
execute these tasks? All of that needs to be defined before you even
start.

3. A Clear Project Scope

What is or is not in the scope of this project? For many teams, they
presume this is understood. "Well, we discussed we're doing this, not
that!" But unless it is clearly defined, the inevitable scope creep
happens. The CEO requests a change. An investor suggests a new
feature and suddenly the team is scrambling to adjust to new
requirements. When you clearly define the boundaries of what your
project will achieve, you can better manage scope creep.

4. A Process to Manage Change

 Some people hate process. But do you hate your project more? In
other words, if the success of your project depends on implementing
a simple process, would you adopt it? Of course! Well, change is
inevitable on projects. The aforementioned scope creep, for example,
is a classic case of change impacting a project plan. Sometimes
changes are beyond anyone's control: the stock market or the
weather brings unexpected delays and causes a change to the initial
plan. The bottom line is this: If you have no process for handling
change, then change will threaten your project. It's simple. Define
who gets to have input on changes (sometimes called a change
control board). Then define how you will manage and prioritize
requests for changes, i.e. will you review them as they roll in or in a
weekly meeting? or will you prioritize them according to urgency or
impact? Be sure to have those two simple processes in place, and
you'll be sure to control your project and not have it control you.

5. Get a Project Management Tool

All of the above secrets are essential, and yet without the right tools,
they are nearly impossible to achieve. The project plan should be in
a proper online planning tool, versus an excel spreadsheet on
someone's desktop or in the boss' head. Everyone in the team needs
to be able to update their tasks and see the project plan at all times.
They also need to be able to communicate about the project right at
the task level, and attach images and files, so that changes and
updates are visible by all. They need to see whether the project is on
track or behind schedule, so they can help the project manager
define areas of risk. All of this can be done with the right tools, and
the right tools can make or break your project.