Fundamentals of Project Management: What’s the one thing to get right?

My favourite question to ask an expert in their field, an engineer, a plumber, would be: “what is the single most important thing to get right?”  
Usually, experts disagree or find it hard to narrow it down. But if you are patient, acknowledge that there are many facets to any problem and many things you need to get right, the discussion will eventually point to the one single most important thing: That thing that is so fundamental that if you don’t get it exactly right you may as well forget about anything else. 

So when I reflected on project management, something I have 30 years' experience in, I had to think about it for a while. Here is what I came up with: When most people think of project management, they usually picture Gantt charts, budgets, timelines, risks and all the moving parts you need to juggle. Those things are important but when you distil it down to absolute fundamentals, if you don’t have the right team, none of it will get you over the line or even matter. 

At the end of the day, project management is about people. Every project succeeds or fails, meanders or soars thanks to the people working on it. If you can get the right collaborators together, people who bring their skills and experience to the project then this is the single most important thing in my opinion. 

My 3 Fundamentals of project management success really boils down to three things: 

Clear Objectives 

Objectives should stem from the “why” – why are you doing this project? What is the purpose. Objectives should be specific and as much as possible should be measurable. If your objectives are well defined there should be no doubt as to whether the project has been a success when you finish. Another way to think about it is to think about how the project could fail, that way you can steer clear of those pitfalls.  

A Good Plan 

A plan, (the word plan being interchangeable with Strategy) is the roadmap for realising the objectives. It outlines a sequence of actions and resources that need to be taken in a specific order by specific people to successfully meet the objectives. Planning is more than just drawing up a Ghant Chart and working out the critical path. A good plan integrates scheduling, drawings and documentation, people and resources. 

The Right Team 

If you’ve got the right team someone in that team will ask you: what is it that you actually need? Interrogating your objectives if they are not clear. They will help you create a plan and execute on it. They will fill your blind spots, fill gaps and tell you who or what might be missing. An experienced team will see problems before they develop and predict outcomes. 

If you’ve got the right people, and they know what success looks like, they probably also know what failure looks like. 

Thats why if you only get one thing right, make sure it’s the team. A strong team can adapt when things don’t go as expected. They’ll find solutions, fill in the gaps, and keep moving forward, even when the objectives might change, they will adapt to a new plan on the fly. 

Ready to make your project stress-free? Get in touch with Ballast Point and let’s guide your build from concept to completion.