These tips are from Pursuing Project Excellence: Six Ideas to Improve Your Projects by Bob Jewell, PMP (with permission).
- Define the word "scope" carefully. It is "the ... work to accomplish the ... deliverables (product, service, or other results) to the agreed-upon requirements."
- Get clear requirements. "Assign each of the project's deliverables to a team member and give them the responsibility to [elicit] and manage requirements."
- Don't rely too much on the critical path. Without accurate sequencing, estimates, and resources the critical path may be misidentified.
- Never build a schedule backwards. The end date is most likely not real, so determine what it really takes first.
- Gantt charts are optional. Develop an Activity on Node diagram first. "... when you create it with sticky notes in a room full of engaged project team members, you'll have greater ownership ... trade-off fancy visuals for engagement and ownership ..."
- Don't fumble on delivery. "Whatever you do, make sure the handoff ... is smooth, which guarantees a satisfied customer."
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