- Start with a clear goal statement.
- Define your stakeholders.
- Determine your deliverables.
- Figure out the resources required to complete the project.
- Map out your schedule and milestones.
- Hash out your project budget (including direct and indirect costs)
What is a Project Checklist? Project Management in Under 5
Why is a project management checklist important?
The following advantages can be gained by the project manager of a business or department project:
What is a project management checklist?
To keep track of all the tasks, deadlines, resources, and objectives required to complete a project, use a project management checklist. Project management checklists are frequently used by project managers, team leaders, and supervisors to plan and track the development of a project’s various components.
How to develop a project management checklist
Here are 12 guidelines to follow when creating efficient project management checklists for project managers, team leads, supervisors, and other project leaders:
1. Research the project
Before you develop your checklist, conduct research on your project. Learn about industry reports, project strategies, records of previous projects completed by your team, and other pertinent documents or information. Gain knowledge of the previous successes related to your project, whether they occurred within your company or the broader industry.
2. Get to know the stakeholders
Discover the project stakeholders’ priorities, interests, and expectations. Stakeholders in a project can be both people who are actively involved in its development and people who will be impacted by its outcomes. Depending on the particular project, these project stakeholders may be:
If possible, converse with all the projects stakeholders. Meeting with these stakeholders can help you gain a better understanding of how each one affects the course or result of the project.
3. Know the project requirements
Determine in advance the precise specifications for each project component. Recognize the project-related variables that might point to success. Various tasks may have numerical or data requirements, such as test specifications or the number of deliverables, depending on the type of project and your business. Note these in your documentation about the project requirements.
4. Design the project vision
Make a project vision statement, also referred to as a project charter. The project vision should clearly state the project’s overall objective as well as how each project component interacts with the others. The majority of project vision statements are only a few sentences long, but some may be longer to communicate more intricate or extensive ideas.
As you write your project vision, think about the:
5. Set project objectives
Create the goals and objectives for the project. Devise goals that are ambitious, but also achievable. Your objectives should take into account your available or allocated resources, as well as the amount of time you have to complete the project. SMART principles, which call for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-specific goals, may be helpful when creating them. With each aim and goal, try to convey:
6. Create the project plan
The project plan is a detailed document outlining the overall goals, tasks, and scope of the project. Additionally, project plans go into greater detail about elements like:
7. Make a budget
A project budget makes an estimate of all project-related costs, including direct and indirect costs. Payroll, software, transportation, materials, and research are examples of direct costs that are associated with completing a particular good or task. Expenses incurred along the way that aren’t directly related to the project are known as indirect costs. Examples include office leases, utilities, and license fees. The budget should indicate where each cost is likely to occur in relation to the project’s timeline.
8. Plan the use of resources
According to each participant’s skill set, experience level, and position within the organization, assign tasks to them. All the workers on this project may already be familiar to you; you just need to assign them certain duties. Other times, you might need to choose which company employees to include in the project.
Consider allocating additional resources like machinery, software, production materials, or schedules. You might need to alter your resource distribution, hire contractors, or place an inventory order if you notice a resource shortage or scheduling conflict.
9. Set the project schedule
Make a project schedule that gives an estimate of how long each project component might take. You can more accurately predict your project’s overall schedule by knowing the length of various project components and which tasks must be finished before others. Explain how to complete each task on the project schedule, including the technique to use and the people you should involve. You might need to modify the project schedule as different phases of the project start to reflect adjustments or brand-new information.
10. Create a communication plan
A project communication plan enables all professionals involved in the project to communicate updates, successes, and changes to the project in an efficient manner. The communication plan may include the following items, depending on the project’s size, scope, duration, and related factors:
11. Lower the risks
Use a risk management plan to reduce any potential liabilities, accidents, or hazards for your project. A risk management plan outlines strategies for proactively avoiding risks or lessening their effects as well as identifying project risks and analyzing the likelihood that they will materialize.
12. Keep track of progress
As soon as the project starts, keep an eye on its various tasks, assignments, and due dates. Keep the project plan in the same physical or digital folder as other project-related paperwork, like work reports, time sheets, or meeting notes. Update the project schedule, vision statement, and other documents as necessary to help keep everyone involved in the project informed of its progress and developments.
Examples of a project management checklist
Depending on the type of project, the stakeholders, the deadline, and other factors, your project management checklist’s specific items may change. You should include the following items on your project management checklist, for instance:
FAQ
What are the 7 phases of a project?
The five phases of project management were created by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and consist of conception and initiation, planning, execution, performance/monitoring, and project close. The largest nonprofit membership association for the field of project management, PMI was founded in 1969.
How do you start a project checklist?
- Phase # 1. Project Identification:
- Phase # 2. Project Preparation (Project Formulation):
- Phase # 3. Project Appraisal:
- Phase # 4. Negotiations:
- Phase # 5. Project Approval:
- Phase # 6. Project Planning:
- Phase # 7. Project Implementation:
What are the 9 elements of project management?
- Define your project. When creating a project startup checklist, start by outlining the objectives and vision you have for the project.
- Create a work breakdown structure. …
- Identify your stakeholders. …
- Schedule resources. …
- Assign roles. …
- Select a communications platform.
