Project Planning: Execute the Project Plan

Now that you have your project plan ready, it is time to get started. Let’s learn some best practices that will help you manage each milestone of your project.

Task Breakdown

For the current milestone, you will need to perform a task breakdown. Don’t worry about future milestones yet, as that will be too much detail too soon and only slow you down. Here are the basic steps for performing a task breakdown:

1. Identify the major tasks required to achieve the milestone (this was mostly done during the planning phase, but review and add/remove tasks as needed)
2. Break each major task down into steps that can be accomplished quickly
3. Identify tasks that require more information before they can be assigned
4. Research these tasks or identify others that can help you research them
5. Identify and group tasks that depend upon one another, generating an order to your tasks
6. Assign specific team members to tasks that require their skill set or availability first
7. Assign the remaining tasks, or allow your team members to divide up the tasks themselves if desired

Repeat this process for each milestone. If your milestones are too large, consider breaking them into smaller “mini-milestones” or “iterations” that achieve the original milestone’s goal(s).

Track Progress

As you progress through each milestone, you will need to track completed and remaining tasks. You may want to report your team progress to your leaders or staff on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to keep them informed of any progress.

One step that is absolutely critical to keep your project on track is to check in with your team members occasionally. This can be done in a group setting, as we’ll discuss next, or on an individual basis. Find out what they have been able to accomplish, what remains, and what they may need help or more information to complete.

Project Meetings

Project meetings can either be a great thing or the worst thing your project may encounter. Meetings for the sake of meetings isn’t healthy. Here are some of my personal preferences on conducting successful project meetings:

1. DO use meetings to gather task updates
2. DO review the current milestone, the big idea, and the overall goals you are trying to achieve
3. DO set a time limit for your meetings
4. DO allow for time after the meeting for brainstorming and face-to-face discussions between team members. It is best to allocate an hour for the meeting, using the first half to focus on status, updates, and group-level communication
5. DON’T use meetings to point fingers or spread guilt about a project that is behind
6. DON’T allow meetings to turn into detailed discussions
7. DON’T allow members of your team to speak for more than 2 minutes at a time. Bring a timer if necessary and ask that any detailed discussions wait until after the meeting

A Final Thought on Tracking Your Project

Whatever method(s) you use to execute and track your project, don’t assume that things are getting done. Often, volunteers get busy with other things and might not have time to get your project’s tasks done. If so, allow your communication methods to find these situations early and locate others to assist where possible. The sooner you know, the sooner you can adjust your plan or locate others to help you complete your project.