You've called your team members into your office and asked them to coordinate a special project. It's a new sort of task for them, unlike your team's typical work, and they're unsure where to begin …
Some people think expensive, sophisticated software is a must for managing projects. They're wrong. There are powerful tools right on your desktop that will keep your projects on track. Learn how Microsoft® Excel® can be your secret weapon.
Follow these 10 steps to manage the project to success:
1. Determine the goal. Make sure everyone understands what they're trying to accomplish. With your help, they should state and define the goal in specific terms. Ask how things will be different for your team or company once the project is completed.
2. Define success. How will a positive outcome manifest itself? What metrics will change for the better? Will productivity go up? Employee turnover go down? Will spending be cut by 5%? Error rates by 10%? Identify the best ways to measure and verify that you've achieved your goal.
3. Strategize. Now it's time for your team members to retreat and develop a plan of attack. Ask them to plot the steps they'll take to make the outcome a reality, keeping in mind any limits (such as time and budget restrictions) you've set for the project.
4. Develop a project calendar. Have your team establish a deadline for each step they've included in their action plan. If you don't think they've allowed enough time to complete a task, say so. Keep this calendar in Microsoft Outlook or Excel, so everyone can share and update it on their computers. A calendar will help them assess the viability of their action plan and stay on track during its execution.
5. Set up a monitoring system. How are your team members going to keep track, on an ongoing basis, of where they stand on the project? And how are they going to keep you informed? Help them establish both an electronic schedule and a method for checking in with you and each other. Use an online collaboration system, like Slack, so you can easily communicate about the project and share files.
Excel is great at the two things you absolutely need to create a project management tool: date math and maintaining lists. Open Excel and search for the word "Project" in online templates, and you will find dozens of templates that can help you tame your project planning and tracking tasks. Join us Thursday, December 15, for Microsoft Excel for Project Management.
6. Communicate. Now's the time for you and your designated leaders to brief the rest of the work group on the project. Aim to dispel fears, answer questions and generate as much enthusiasm about the project as possible, along with a sense of pride among the employees who'll carry out the plan.
7. Delegate. You've already delegated to the leaders you've chosen; now help them delegate to the rest of the team. Provide support as they give team members their individual assignments, but don't make those assignments yourself.
8. Have a kickoff. A special staff meeting, written project bulletin or social occasion helps build morale for the effort. Nothing fancy is required, but even small projects attain a sense of importance when you give them an official kickoff.
9. Monitor. Make sure you follow the monitoring system you devised—which means being available when your leaders need to check in with you. Stand ready to assist your leaders in coaching and counseling employees who are having difficulty meeting their expectations.
10. Evaluate and follow up. Get together with your leaders to talk about lessons learned from the project. Make sure you share that end product with your own boss—and that your team's good efforts and results are recognized and praised.
Whether you're an Excel expert or just getting started, project management techniques are easy to implement. You'll discover valuable tips and tricks for letting Excel handle a lot of your more challenging project management tasks!
Learn features like: - Conditional formatting
- Time and date math functions
- Table formatting
- Filtering
- Charts and graphs.
Tech expert and Microsoft® Certified Trainer Melissa Esquibel will walk you through using templates… understanding time and date math... at-a-glance status information… and best practices for lists. In just 75 minutes, you'll learn how Excel can help you: - Create a project list that lets you know where things are at a glance
Use date math to calculate time spent and time remaining on key tasks- Find templates with powerful project management features already built in
- Repeat success by capturing your own repeatable projects and tasks to use over and over.
Electronic project management is the way to go. Now's your chance to be more productive, make your job easier and streamline your project management process. Register now for Microsoft Excel for Project Management.
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