· Inexperienced or busy customers may assume that in routine
· projects their active involvement in developing project objectives is
· not essential.
· It is the responsibility of the project manager to ensure the customer's involvement.
· A competent project leader understands when to stop fixing and when to start devising a new plan.
· To get timely attention from senior management, don't hesitate to exploit any legitimate means.
· To speed up implementation, time and effort should be dedicated to early preparation.
· Short-term planning calls for very detailed planning and scheduling.
· A team that is organized and committed to a common goal, while genuinely involving the user early on, ensures quality decisions and rapid implementation.
· Even in fast and uncertain projects, it is essential to identify area where the search for optimal solutions can be worthwhile.
· Be selective, go for the big opportunities.
· The optimization process is basically simple and includes a dedicated effort to search for or create several options and to evaluate them according to a few important pre-selected criteria.
· You achieve effective project planning and implementation by simultaneously addressing and integrating all project areas at an early stage.
· To carry out such planning, you don't have to resort to sophisticated measures. All you need to do is start early and systematically involve all the related parties, employing simple procedures, tools, and analyses.
· If you do not plan for a certain area before making decisions in other interdependent areas, you will have to address that area later during execution, after constraining or contradictory actions have been implemented.
· Involving your customer in early planning facilitates project implementation and reduces the need for future changes.
· Maintaining and reducing a budget requires genuine review of project scope combined with systematic monitoring of project performance and cost.
· Even the most dedicated effort of a competent team cannot deliver a successful project without the trust and support of management.
· Unreasonable pressure from management to pursue unrealistic objectives does not ensure the achievement of those objectives. On the contrary, it frequently leads to failure.
