Project management - Scheduling Simple Projects

Projects which involve only a few people with a few tasks over a short period of time are "simple projects" and are usually relatively easy to coordinate. Typically, such simple projects will have only a few tasks which are dependent on other tasks. Examples of such a simple project might be coordinating delivery of workbooks for a workshop session, creating and implementing a small marketing plan, painting a single room, baking a cake, or planning a weekend away for two. With simple projects like those above, tools like Gantt charts may make project scheduling too complicated. Unless project team members are trained in these tools then the inappropriate use of the tools will lead to poor communication and muddled projects. Task Lists, Action Plans and Timetables may well be enough to coordinate and implement simple projects. Anyone involved in carrying out the project should be communicated with, tasks identified and allocated, action plans drawn up and communicated, and timetables negotiated and agreed. Each timetable will have control points and deadlines, where progress can be monitored and measured. The control point is a time allocated or activity completion point where the project status is measured against the plan. If, and when, a deadline is missed then the overall impact on project completion time can be assessed. Action plans are lists of tasks that have to be carried out to achieve a single and focussed objective - in this case, the project completion. Action plans are different from To-Do Lists in that action plans focus on the achievement of a single goal, where to-do lists may cover many goals. To schedule a project, draw up a 3 column table. In column one create the Task List. In column two allocate an owner to each task then in column three identify a required completion date. Allow time for errors, delays, administration, sick leave and other priorities to impact on the completion dates. As completion dates are being drawn up, be aware of any potential dependencies, e.g. the walls cannot be put up until the foundations are laid. In the event that dependencies are shown, then it may be more appropriate to use the Gantt Chart format for scheduling. The timetable now created allows you to easily concentrate on the stages of that project, and provides a useful tool to monitor progress towards successful completion of the project. Timetables may be drawn up on MS Word (or equivalent) on MS excel(or equivalent) or on a more sophisticated platform, although not necessary.