Project management: the basics

1. What is a project?

Small businesses are commonly involved in two types of projects.

• Internal projects. These are temporary pieces of work which fall outside 'business as usual' day-to-day operations. They can range from developing a strategy, moving offices, building a website, restructuring the organisation or launching a product, to implementing new systems and processes, carrying out research, or major construction work.

• External or client projects. Some businesses provide a project-based service when delivering for individual customers or business clients, and will be contracted to complete a specific piece of work. This is a common way of working in sectors such as interior design, construction, event management, consultancy, marketing, architecture and engineering.

2. How project management can help your business

Good project management helps you to:

• work effectively and efficiently with all the elements within your control

• mitigate risk and make it easier to adapt to any unpredictable events.

This makes it more likely you will successfully deliver a quality output, within the required time and allocated budget and resources.

For external projects, when estimating or tendering for work, your prospective clients may: 

• expect you to explain your approach to project management and how you use project management systems

• seek evidence of staff capability, qualifications or accreditation and your track record of delivery for other customers

• require you to work within their chosen approach - for example, for UK government digital services, suppliers must use an agile approach.

Therefore, investing in your approach to project management can support your sales process.

3. Project management methodologies

There is no single approach to project management and the best methodology will depend on the type of project. There are three main categories.

Linear project management

• Sometimes referred to as a ‘waterfall’ approach, common frameworks include PRINCE2 and Critical Path Method. 

• These generally use sequential approaches where each stage of the project is completed in a set order. 

• It is ideal where the requirements and scope of the project are clear and unlikely to change, there is a set deadline and budget, and some project stages depend on others being completed. 

• One example would be construction, where higher levels of a building cannot be put in place before the foundations.

Iterative project management

• Agile, Scrum and Kanban are frameworks using a more flexible approach where key stages and tasks may run at the same time, with feedback and data from initial outputs informing ongoing activities. 

• It is useful where there may not be sufficient information to confirm the full scope and requirements up front, where some testing and learning is needed to inform the next stage, or where technology is likely to evolve during the project, which then needs to be incorporated. 

• This approach is also useful where a software developer or other product or service designer needs to test whether customers are likely to use a feature and if so, how they use it, before investing more in developing it.

Hybrid project management

• Often projects will combine elements of linear and hybrid approaches. 

• For example, some elements may go through linear stages to align with regulatory requirements, but activities within each stage can be delivered in an iterative way. 

• Or, it may be used to make quicker progress, for example, a large website development may deliver certain site sections or functionality in an agile way, so they can be live as fast as possible rather than waiting for other sections. 

Whether delivered through a linear, iterative or hybrid approach, projects have a start and finish point within which their objectives need to be fulfilled. Any successful project will deliver its goals and objectives within the lifecycle of the project.

4. Appointing a project manager

The project manager is the focal point of any project and a vital link between staff, stakeholders and the project steering group or project board. They are responsible for planning, developing, implementing, controlling and closing the project.

A project manager does not usually directly participate in the activities which produce the end result, but drives progress and manages the processes of the project instead. For example, a gifted designer may not be a good choice to manage a design project as this may not be where their strengths lie.

As well as having generic management skills, a good project manager should be:

• confident and able to engage with and build relationships both internally and externally

• flexible and able to balance and prioritise often conflicting project constraints such as time, quality and cost

• well organised and diligent when it comes to time management and paperwork.

For small projects in small businesses, a member of staff will often take on this role temporarily, alongside their existing duties with adjustments as needed. However, if the resource or skill set is not readily available, then you could consider hiring a project manager either for a specific project or on a longer-term basis. This could be on a freelance or fixed-term contract if you're not likely to require a full-time position.

5. Project stages

Most projects go through similar stages and every project needs some form of project management. However, the level of detail you need at the various project stages should remain appropriate for the size and complexity of the project. 

If it is a low cost, low risk internal project in a small business involving only a few staff, then this can be quite informal. However the more people, organisations and budget involved, the more resource, expertise and documentation will be involved in the project management.

Initiation and defining scope

Usually one area of the business, or a client, will have a written brief explaining the need for a project to be set up.

If there is agreement that the project is necessary, a senior person (sometimes referred to as the project sponsor) usually takes overall ownership and ensures there is authority to develop a business case and allocate resources to initiating and continuing the project. 

Project mandate

There should be something in writing describing the purpose of the project - sometimes referred to as a project mandate. This is a high level document which should include key information.

• Objectives. The main point of any project is to achieve specified goals and objectives. Goals and objectives should be clearly defined, measurable and achievable - perhaps using the SMART format. Without this, any project is likely to suffer from a lack of focus and reduced success. Once objectives have been established, they should be clearly communicated and agreed with all stakeholders on the project.

• Scope and constraints. This is everything that the project (team) will change, deliver and is responsible for. It is sometimes helpful to spell out what is not in scope and any constraints to ensure clarity.

• Resources. An overall budget should be included and timescales for delivery.

• Key personnel. Internal or external project managers may be appointed. Stakeholders need to be identified. A project steering group or project board may be set up.

For larger projects and some methodologies, this project mandate provides the basis for developing a more in-depth Project Initiation Document (PID).

Planning and development

Project plan

The process of delivering the scope should be factored into a project plan. A project plan is a detailed proposal for the key stages and specific tasks involved in delivering the project objectives explaining what needs to be done, by whom, and when. This is key to successfully managing the work. The main focus should be on ensuring that time, cost and resources are available, committed to the project, and sensibly managed.

Project plan templates can vary, but there are many examples available free or from professional bodies.

Project management software

Project management software is now routinely used to keep track of tasks and progress. There are many options on the market to suit different industries, sizes of business, types of project and methodologies. Examples include Microsoft Project, Trello, Jira and Asana.

AI

AI is increasingly being used to help project managers with many tasks including idea generation, scheduling, documentation, estimates and report writing. As it can process huge amounts of data, it can assist effective analysis to inform decision making. It is also useful for creating and explaining visual content such as page layouts and infographics.

Production and implementation

Successful implementation of a project plan requires effective management of resources and information.

• Communicating with team members and stakeholders. This needs to be actively managed and the channels and frequency of communications involving each team member and stakeholder will be critical to success.

• Creating a project library. Keeping track of and allowing appropriate access to the relevant documentation is vital. Without a proper, centralised system of storing information about a project, important data can be lost. Poor version control can result in duplication of effort and conflicting iterations of project documents in circulation.

• Maintaining risk and issue registers. These are important to identify, analyse and manage risks (something which has not yet occurred) and issues (something which has already occurred).

• Monitoring and controlling. Project performance should be regularly observed and measured against the predicted expectations of the project plan, as well as any quality measurement mechanisms also in place.

Closing

This is when a phase, sprint, or the project itself comes to an end and the work is formally accepted. It’s always worth carrying out a 'lessons learned' exercise and inviting input from all involved. It should provide a valuable reminder of things that worked well, what was less effective and why, and what this teaches you so that you are better equipped to undertake another project in the future. Sometimes it is a good opportunity for some form of celebration to thank those involved.

6. Find support

Business Gateway regularly runs events and webinars to help business owners to acquire the knowledge they need to identify and progress key projects to grow their business.