Starting a new project is not easy. It’s even harder when you have a small team to execute your tasks. But this can also be a blessing in disguise. A small team is not only easier to manage, but also has reduced risks. As long as you have sufficient resources for the size of your project, you can achieve what you set out to do without hitting unwanted roadblocks.
To help you ensure smooth sailing for your project, here’s an overview on project management processes for small teams.
Define Your Project
To set your project up for success, you need to define its scope from the get go. When you are able to outline exactly what you are trying to achieve, you can answer big questions like what is the cost of customer software development or how much time it takes to do competitor research for your project. This can also help you take care of other important aspects.
Set Clear Goals
Once you have defined your project’s scope, you can start setting its goals and milestones. This is where you should take your time to determine what are your primary and secondary objectives. For example, your primary goal can be developing a perishable product, but your secondary goal could be using an accelerated aging calculator to determine your product’s quality over a specific timeframe.
Build Your Team
After your project scope and goals are all set, it’s time to build your team. Typically, you may choose people from your own organization. But if you are a startup or have limited resources, you can use an online staffing platform to find new talent. This is where you need to put your project’s requirements first and make your decision based on merit.
Put Together a Timeline
You should also take a beat to put together a project timeline that leads to a proper roadmap for your project. For this purpose, you can use solutions like a roadmap builder. This gives you a visual representation for your project’s timeline and keeps all stakeholders on the same page about staying on top with their responsibilities.
Assign Responsibilities
Speaking of responsibilities, your team needs to know exactly which deliverables they need to submit by their respective deadline. This leads you to assign proper tasks to each member of your team. With that, you should also delegate any tasks you don’t strictly have to perform yourself. You can also use project management software to properly track these responsibilities for everyone.
Welcome Feedback
Even when your project is in its infancy, stakeholders can hold some opinions about it. In some cases, these opinions in the form of constructive criticism can also help you shape your project in a better way. From hearing suggestions about different types of software testing to the options you have for website development, you should welcome feedback on every aspect of your project.
Choose Your Tools
For almost every type of project, you need specific tools to manage it in an ideal way. This can lead you to tools that are related to social media monitoring, customer feedback, and product testing. Before choosing anything, you should do proper research and make sure that you select something that truly addresses the needs of your project.
Have Regular Check-ins
No matter the type of project that you are managing, you have to make sure that you do regular check-ins with your team. You can do them as weekly meetings and as monthly reviews. But whenever you touch base, you need to put accountability above everything else and make sure that you get and share accurate updates with your team.
Modify Your Processes If Required
During your meetings, you can get a good handle of where your project stands. If something is not working, you can and should make the decision to change it until it does. This ensures that your project isn’t negatively affected by unwanted problems. As a result, you can complete your tasks on time and even make decisions like hiring top IT outsourcing companies before it’s too late.
With this guide, you can know exactly what to do in order to execute an ideal project for your small team. Over time, you can also add your own tips and tricks to these steps in order to build a flawless project management plan.
