project supervision For Smaller Businesses - Not Just For the Big Boys!

Effective task administration is basic to the success of all businesses, large and small. The process and results have an impact on many key areas - business growth and development, staff motivation and staff development.

Projects do not have to be capital arduous or involved but have a whole of key characteristics:

Boys Growth Charts

1. response to a business need - obviously, but it is leading to be clear about the business need. What are you trying to achieve?
2. a temporary activity - it has a clear start and end point. At some stage (and that needs clarity) the resulting process/product becomes part of the work activities.
3. a unique performance - there may have been something similar in the past but this is not part of the regular work activities.
4. there is uncertainty - risk - which needs to be managed.
5. usually involves other citizen - internal or external, requiring team and communication skills, and a defined task manager.

There are many training courses and qualifications ready to develop task administration skills, for example, Prince 2 is a well recognised task administration qualification (Projects In a Controlled Environment). However, for small businesses the cost of these opportunities is often prohibitive. They also require a level of time commitment which is often impractical for the smaller business. By applying a logical and structured arrival to their projects all businesses can perform the results they require.

The first point to recognise is that task administration is both an art and a science:

• Art - the task boss role of leading people
• Science - applying the process with appropriate tools and techniques

Which is the most complicated? Often the 'art' because leading citizen usually poses the most challenges.

But let us start with the 'science' - the process. In my perceive of working with large corporate organisations and small local businesses, applying a logical 5 step process will help perform a thriving outcome:

Define your task - we have mentioned the need to be clear about what you are trying to perform and that requires identifying the task goals or objectives. Smart is a well known acronym to help you buildings your goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timing). A key problem with projects is managing expectations and the 'Realistic' element of your goal setting will be identifying what the task will and will not do. It cannot be 'all things to all men' or will lose focus and therefore effectiveness. This is the 'scope' element of your task and, in my experience, is the biggest cause of task failure.

Writing down, and getting deal to, what the task will and will not cover is considerable before sharp forward.

Other aspects of the task to consider at this stage are:

• Alternatives - what are the options?
• Costs and benefits - depending> on the most sufficient option
• Timescales
• Responsibilities - who is task boss and what other resources will be required
• Risks - to the task success - identifying mitigating and contingency actions

When the 'definition' has been agreed by key stakeholders then you can move onto the next stage.

• Planning - this requires scheduling of activities and resources to meet the agreed timescales. There are a whole of tools you can use - Gantt charts and considerable Path pathology are well known tools - but an Excel spreadsheet is often sufficient. It is leading to share and get deal to your program to ensure other citizen involved know what is startling of them and by when. The Planning stage will also identify ongoing hold required after task closure.
• Implementation - you've planned the work, now it is time to work the plan! regular updates of advance are a key part of the task boss role. Depending on the project, this is likely to be the most time-consuming stage and will require close attentiveness to the citizen and process side of task management.

Full implementation may have been preceded by testing and/or piloting to ensure the final goods will meet the business needs.

1. Closure - bring the task to a close by handing over to the business 'owner'. The follow becomes part of the regular business process or offering. Part of the task boss role will have been to plan for any training etc.
2. Evaluation - often not done by any business, large or small! Have we achieved what we set out to achieve? What went well? What could we do differently next time? Celebrating success and sharing in the studying so that the business and its citizen can continue to develop task administration skills.

The 'art' side of task administration is the task boss role of leading citizen and, as we have seen from the process described above, requires many organisational and inter-personal skills and characteristics:

• Effective communication
• Delegation
• Integrity
• Enthusiasm
• Team construction skills
• Problem solving skills
• Influencing and persuading
• Organising and planning

Project administration can be a great occasion to develop staff and give them added responsibilities. It can also be an leading tool to help identify hereafter managers and key staff to develop the business.

In my experience, leading and managing a thriving task is one of the most rewarding activities in the workplace.

project supervision For Smaller Businesses - Not Just For the Big Boys!