Viper Marketing & Communications Group

5Rs of Project Management

Author: Neil Wilkins

Neil learnt his marketing with the likes of Orange, NatWest, BP Castrol and Ordnance Survey and now helps individuals and businesses to communicate more effectively. He trains and mentors marketers on professional Chartered Institute of Marketing qualifications through to post-graduate level.

The most effective project management is not about Gantt Charts and Microsoft Project, it's about consistently applying simple yet fundamental principles that ensure you are doing the right thing at the right time, with the right people for the right reasons.

We have come up with the 5Rs as a simple filter to ensure that whenever you set out on the journey of running a project, be it small and just you, or with a large team with different levels of commitment and interest, you keep control by focusing on things that matter.

Research

Audit the situation and the real reasons why you are doing this project. What real value will you be adding by doing it?

Resources

Ensure you have the right level of budget and time to make it happen, as well as the support of the right people

Risk

What could possibly go wrong and what will you do when it does? Assess the likelihood and impact of of each risk and build contingency plans

Results

Set measurable, specific, achievable and time bound objectives and make sure everyone knows how it's going, every step of the way

Reporting

Learn from the good stuff and the bad and be prepared to fine tune both as you go and if you run a similar project again in the future. 

Whilst considering the 5Rs is crucial to help you run great projects, remember that most projects are also about the control, commitment and communication with others. What are you going to do to help them to help you in your next project?

- Posted on Saturday 20 Aug 2011 at 14:00 by Neil Wilkins

Tags: project management (8)