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10 Things I Know About… Project Management

David Kassel is principal of Accountable Strategies Consulting LLC in Harvard. He can be reached at dkassel@earthlink.net.

10. Question Everything

Make sure your project addresses a real problem and is the right solution. Regularly question your presumptions about those issues.

9. Plan Adequately

Don’t be in such a big hurry to get results that you shortchange the planning process. Enduring the pain of adequate project planning will save more pain later on.

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8. Be Realistic

Avoid the almost universal tendency to be overly optimistic about the cost and timeline of your project. You will save yourself much embarrassment down the line.

7. Know The Law

Consult regularly with your legal staff about your project. Complying with legal requirements is painful, but evading requirements will cause more difficulty later on.

6. Communicate

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Maintain the support of the project’s stakeholders by keeping them informed and seeking their consent throughout the project. Hiding bad news doesn’t work in the long run.

5. Build A Team

Don’t let personal friendships or political considerations drive the process of selecting project team members, contractors or consultants. A competitive selection process for personnel will get you the best results.

4. Have Integrity

Train your project team in ethical business practices and encourage information-sharing from the bottom of your organization to the top. Corrupt practices and secrecy go hand-in-hand.

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3. Measure

Measure your project’s progress consistently against the budget and schedule. Don’t panic when variances occur. They happen on all projects. Make the corrections thoughtfully.

2. Maintain Quality

Avoid the temptation to reduce systems testing and other quality processes in order to meet schedule or cost goals. Reducing quality will just make matters worse.

1. Think Longterm

Long-term maintenance of infrastructure and other assets created by projects is a major area of neglect in this country. Proper maintenance will save major costs down the road.

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