7 Valuable Tips for Any Project Manager (+ Free PDF Guide)
Is your project running on-schedule or falling behind? Are you new to project management? Overwhelmed by the tasklist in front of you?
Being a project manager is one of the most challenging roles in today's economy. It can feel like spinning plates when you are trying to balance every aspect of a project while keeping everything moving along. Every project manager seeks ways to deliver savings, run projects smoothly, and complete projects on-time.
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Project Management courses by instantly downloading our PDF brochure, "A Guide to our Project Management Courses and Certifications".
In This Article:
7 Useful Tips for Project Managers of All Levels
Whether you're new to project management or a seasoned project manager, you will always seek faster, less stressful, better ways to complete your projects.
There is no "one size fits all" solution for amazing project management, but there are some core truths which carry across all businesses and industry sectors.
1. Select a project management approach that suits your working environment
There are many project management methodologies available, such as
Agile,
PRINCE2®,
Scrum (a form of Agile).
Each method has pros and cons, and each is suited to a different kind of environment.
Do a little research into the project management framework that will give you the
best results.
2. Play to your team's strengths
Each member of your team has their areas of strength and weakness. To get
optimal results from your projects, think about who will work best in each role, who will complete which tasks efficiently, and assign accordingly.
3. Prepare for the unexpected
This falls under the heading of
"risk management". It's impossible to know what unexpected elements will crop up, but it is inevitable that they will appear at some point.
While you can't plan for specific occurrences, you can
allow time and cost within your project scope to give you
breathing space when problems arise.
4. Take time to close
In a busy working environment, it can be tempting to skip the step of closing the project. Try to allow as much time as you can squeeze in for this important aspect of project management.
Time spent closing is
valuable learning time. You can evaluate what worked and what didn't, and take these useful nuggets of information into your next project.
5. Keep things light
Keeping a sense of humour and a pleasant atmosphere within your team leads to lower stress, better communication, and higher morale. These elements add up to higher productivity and improved problem solving.
6. Try out project management apps
There are many
excellent project management apps on the market today and most offer a free use platform, so that you can use the app without needing to spend a cent.
Our favourite apps include
Trello,
Asana,
Evernote, and
Omniplan.
7. Reap the benefits of training
Taking a short time out to train in your chosen project management method will give you a
higher level of knowledge and support when implementing the framework.
In addition, you'll add weight and credibility to your skills with a recognised project management certification.
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How Can You Get the Most from Every Project?
Without question, attending practical project management training is the best way to sharpen your skills fast.
Experience and continued study will certainly enhance your project management capabilities on a daily basis. However, building yourself a solid foundation of project management knowledge and skills through training equips you with a sureness and competence that could otherwise take years to develop.
New to Project Management?
If you are completely new to project management, or have limited experience in this area, we recommend our Certified Project Management Course. This is consistently one of our most popular courses. Here's why:
- Strong focus on practical project management skills
- Short, intensive format (4 days)
- Draws from the respected PMI® project management framework
- Leads to a recognised QQI Level 6 Project Management Certification
- Delivered by project management experts
Experienced Project Manager?
If you've gathered experience in project management and are looking to both expand your skill-set and gain an international certification, you might want to consider one of other intensive exam preparation courses:
- Designed for project managers with 3+ years of experience.
- The use of the PRINCE2® methodology is mandated in many government and multinational organisations.
- Ideal for anyone who wants to acquire an understanding of Agile methods along with a recognised qualification.
You'll find more information about getting started with these courses, and on all of the project management courses we offer by downloading our brochure. If you would like to get in touch with our training consultants about a specific question, click below to Ask A Quick Question.
