Good planning is necessary to deliver a good project on time and on budget. The facts or scope of the project need to be determined and a baseline measured so the process can be measured for success later on once the changes are implemented.
Overall, the project management position is one not unlike an orchestra where every musician is in a different union.
It can be said that metrics aren’t for breakfast anymore. OR more clearly, they aren’t just to be used during the control phase of a project. Metrics can actually be used throughout the development of a project including the planning phase! Although many project management metrics will be measuring discrete data, (yes-no, completed or not), the fact that the milestones etc. are measured adds a definite sophistication to the project.
Metrics can be used to measure the status of the project or progress, or even progress toward reaching the milestone goals through the variety of project activities necessary to more a project forward. By using metrics during the total project effort, teamwork is promoted and team morale can be increased just by seeing the progress that’s being made. Ultimate success could depend on keeping your team resources motivated and focused on the positive outcomes expected from the project.
Although there are many factors and details that determine the ultimate success or failure of a project, the following steps are typically found in successful efforts.
1. A project manager will have a clear scope of the project that outlines the success factors of the work to be done.
2. Project Management demands a clear definition of what constitutes success. How will the team know tha the project has been successful?
3. Project should have measureable metrics that permit success criteria to be measured and recognized.
4. Metrics should also outline where the data will be found, what data will be used, how it will be used and what it means once analized.
5. Project Management metrics will focus on all important points of the project. Developing a measurement for just one aspect of the project while ignoring other important points is not acceptable.
6. Gain acceptance and support of the proposed metrics from the team.
7. Prioritize all metrics created. This is to ensure that everyone stays focused on the most important parts of the project.
8. Have a baseline. A good program manager will propose metrics that have data to create a baseline. Baselines give your project a starting point from which to measure success.
9. Consider a scorecard type of report. By boiling down all the metrics into a single sheet scorecare, the benefits of your project will be clearly and easily understood by management.