Vital Signs: 5 Essential Project Management Tools

As a project management professional, I’m sometimes confronted by the perception that the practice can be too complex and burdensome. And, in many cases, this perception is reality. Over many years working with clients, I’ve seen many over-engineered and complex project management processes, so much so that the administration of the process takes more time and effort than the actual work needed to deliver the project. Don’t get me wrong: there are times when highly sophisticated and advanced project management is essential; nevertheless, there are also times when simple structure and deliverables are all that is needed.

When working with clients on project management, I like to share an analogy of paramedics responding to the scene of an accident. Upon arrival, the paramedics attend to those involved and check five vital signs – Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, Respiratory Rate, Temperature, and Oxygen Saturation. These are the most critical measures always needed to ensure the paramedics can determine patients’ immediate care and next steps. Other steps may be beneficial and likely needed down the road, such as x-rays, MRIs, brain scans, or blood tests. But for starters, the most important things are the vital signs.

Similarly, there are five essential tools that are needed for all projects. Regardless of the project, team, or maturity of your capabilities, these vital tools are the most important things needed to drive successful outcomes. Before we cover them below, one caution: these tools can easily become complicated and lengthy if you aren’t disciplined. It is important to tailor them to fit the needs of the project and capabilities of your team.

1. Project Charter: Provides the project definition and measures of success. It should include key information on purpose, goals and objectives, deliverables, resources, anticipated milestones, target dates, and some type of sign-off or approval to indicate alignment.
   
2. Project Plan: Details the tasks, assignments, and timelines needed to complete the work. It is important to keep in mind that the project plan should clearly indicate the primary owner of the task (e.g., multiple owners can create confusion around who is responsible for the work), be easily accessible to those who are assigned tasks, and updated in a timely manner.
   
3. Meeting Agenda & Notes: Agendas provide a clear purpose for the meeting and topics to be covered. They help ensure the right participants are included and prepared to maximize the productivity of the meeting. Notes capture the key updates, action items, and decisions resulting from the meeting. These are helpful for team members that were unable to attend and reduce the likelihood of revisiting closed topics multiple times.
   
4. Status Report: Supports project visibility, communicates progress, and escalates issues and potential risks. I typically include key accomplishments, planned activities not completed, issues and risks needing attention, and upcoming activities. I also find it helpful to provide a visual representation of where we are in the project timeline, as well as consumption of budgeted hours and funds.
   
5. Project Close Report: Summarizes project outcomes, highlights successes, and identifies areas for future improvements. This approach fosters continuous improvement in your project management capabilities and practices. Additionally, these summaries can be utilized to celebrate team achievements.

Like any good “top – whatever the number” list, I’m sure this will generate conversation and opposing views around what was included and what was left off, as it should. My rationale is that it is easier to add more sophistication and complexity when needed than to reduce it when not needed. Remember the perception that project management can be too complex and burdensome? If you start with complexity, especially if it is not needed, you run the risk of perpetuating that perception and creating resistance. As a result, my recommendation is to crawl, walk, and then run. And, in some cases, crawling may be all that is needed. I heard a colleague say not too long ago that “you don’t get extra credit for complexity, keep it simple.” How true!

-Written By: Phil Salvatore, FarWell Senior Advisor

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