Project Management: the Key to Startup`s well-being

Any startup is a project. So if you are good at project management, you`re likely to build a successful startup. It includes a number of processes you should simultaneously hold and control. Wondering how to do it? Let us tell you.

What is project management?

This process includes project planning, organization, and implementation aimed to achieve the set goals within a certain deadline and budget framework. To do this, project managers supervise one or several teams involved in the project development cycle.

PM possesses several key functions for business:

Initiating: turning an abstract idea into meaningful goal. In advance, it is crucial to assess how viable the project is and whether it`s actually worth implementing.

Planning: developing a strategy and marketing plan, allocating resources, setting the budget and deadlines.

Executing: implementing the plan, preparing the team, providing information exchange.

Monitoring: assessing the work quality, controlling deadlines and budget, and doing reports.

Closing: finalizing the project and delivering it.

Most often, project management is needed when developing a prototype, MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and modules (functional blocks) of a software product, individual features, and components. Sometimes a company is looking for a project manager who will be responsible for several projects implemented within the same product solution.

Why do you need project management?

Project management enables businesses to go from point A to point B through the most favorable way for the company. It helps entrepreneurs focus on a specific goal, allocate resources correctly, and get the desired result in a timely manner. These are tasks that can be accomplished by PM:

• to manage project goals;
• to control the budget to avoid unplanned expenses;
• to determine the project timing;
• to assign tasks and responsibilities;
• to predict possible risks and identify threats beforehand;
• to monitor the project implementation process;
• to establish effective communication among team members.

Project management stages

As we`ve mentioned earlier, PM consists of 5 key stages. Let us elaborate on each of them.

Project initiation

You might think at the first stage you need to make a plan and set deadlines. However, first and foremost, you should initiate an idea and confirm it. Consider the project in general terms and evaluate its prospects. It`s important to understand whether the idea is worth taking up. To do this, define the following things:

• Business scenario of the project;
• The benefit of its implementation (what business purpose it serves);
• The main supply products;
• Success indicators

All these aspects can be reflected on the project map. Your team can occasionally look at it to keep the overall picture in mind.

As soon as you`ve analyzed these factors, it's time to ask yourself whether the project is feasible and whether it's worth taking on.

If yes, the team should receive project confirmation (if necessary) and proceed to the next stage. If not? No need to worry. The team just needs to start over and think about other ways to solve the problem. In this case, it is helpful to use the project map template.

Project planning

Once you`ve described the project in general terms, it's time to get into details. At this stage, make a concrete action plan for the implementation.

Even if you are impatient to get to work, do not save time at the expense of quality. Effective planning helps you prevent the main causes of project failure. These include inadequate vision of perspective and purpose, poorly established communication, and inaccurate assessments. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the purpose of the project?
• What are the key performance indicators (KPIs)?
• What is the project area?
• What is the budget size?
• What are the risks?
• What team members will be involved?
• What tasks do you need to accomplish?
• What milestones do you need to pass?

After you answer these questions, divide the project into practical tasks and set responsibilities for each of the participants.

Project execution

Here, your team should focus on achieving the set goals. Based on the information collected before, create a project through constant collaboration.

Make sure the workflow seamless and establish the interaction system so that the team can quickly access resources and communicate in one place. Chronology software and other project mapping tools will help employees visualize each stage.

Next, introduce the methodology for tracking and determining success to your team so that everyone clearly understands how success will be measured. These can be specific performance indicators that you plan to track, or goals that should be achieved at the end of the project.

Since the deadlines and scope of work can change, be sure to update the project schedule as needed and close dependent elements after they are completed. If you have strict deadlines, schedule the work of the team according to priorities. It would be useful to regularly check with the performers to make sure that the project is going according to plan, and the tasks are being fulfilled.

Schedules may change, but in any case it is important to stay as close as possible to the original deadlines in order to prevent the expansion of the work scope. In other words, don't go too far beyond the initial project scope.

Project control

It`s impossible to make a brilliant project without constant monitoring. Each of the tasks should be coordinated among team members to make sure you`re moving to a common goal. It is also important to evaluate the tasks and overall progress at every stage to avoid crucial mistakes and discrepancies. Ensure that deadlines are met, your team is performing correct tasks, and you keep the budget.

If you use project management software, monitoring becomes much easier as all information is stored centrally.

In addition, it is worth holding regular meetings to keep all team members informed. The weekly meeting protocol template will simplify the recording of the topics discussed, decisions taken, and actions determined.

Project close

You did it! Your project is almost ready. But before celebrating, it is necessary to go through the completion stage to finalize the project. Do the following.

• Conduct a retrospective to discuss successfully completed tasks and aspects that might need improvements;
• Do a final report on the project and show it to your stakeholders if necessary.
• Save all project documentation in a safe place and freely available for future use;

Once all tasks have been completed and left behind, you should summarize the project to find out weak and strong points to do even better next time.

Project management challenges

Inadequate risk management

Risk management is strongly intertwined with project management. Without assessing and optimizing risks the project is doomed to failure. Therefore, it`s crucial to evaluate and manage risks well to anticipate problems and provide seamless work.

Budgeting issues

Sometimes the team lacks necessary resources to implement a project. This means not only money but also time and technology needed to make the idea happen. Frequently, you can realize it only after the work started and waste a lot of resources. So calculate your budget in advance to ensure you have enough resources to implement the project.

Lack of communication

Any project requires numerous responsibilities and tasks that should be coordinated. Without talking to each other, it`s impossible to create something in align with the set goals. That`s why throughout the entire workflow it`s essential to provide constant communication among team members to make sure they`re moving toward a single goal.

Lack of clear goals and success criteria

By setting a project purpose, you create a sort of beacon that guides the entire team on the way to success. Without a clear understanding of the goals, your team is likely to get lost. Besides, it`s necessary to set success indicators that will help them independently control and assess their work.