17
Must Ask Questions for Planning Successful Projects
by Adele Sommers, Ph.D.
Why do some projects proceed without a hitch, yet
others flounder? One reason may be the type and quality of the
questions people ask at the very start. Below are 17 insightful
queries that can expose the uncertain aspects of your project, and
thereby help you avoid expensive surprises later on.
1. How Would You
Describe Your Project?
Explain
as expressively as possible the ultimate, "big picture"
vision and purpose of your completed endeavor. How will it look,
feel, taste, sound, perform, increase productivity, help your customers,
or otherwise benefit human kind?
2. What Are Your
Goals and Objectives?
What are you trying to accomplish? List the project
goals and objectives in terms that are clear, concise, achievable,
and measurable. Example: "Produce a four-hour video training
series on self-defense along with a training resource guide and
database, to be accessible by college students on the Internet by
May 2006."
3. Who Will Benefit
From Your Project?
Examples of audiences or beneficiaries include: Clients,
customers, customers customers, local communities, wildlife,
students, and specific population segments.
4. Will You Be Creating
Any Products?
Examples include: Books, publications, studies, reports,
manuals, video, audio, multimedia productions, tools, instructional
materials, graphics, software and information systems, Web sites,
databases, widgets, and special equipment.
5. Will You Be Providing
Any Services?
Examples include: Providing telephone support, business
software training, day care, statistical analysis, copy editing,
and customer satisfaction surveying.
6. What Methods
Will You Use?
For example, will you start by researching your audiences
needs? Will you use phases for design, development, implementation,
pilot testing, and rollout?
7. What Kind of
Schedule Do You Anticipate?
Will your project or program involve an incremental
implementation process that might occur over many months or years?
If so, what long-term phases are you anticipating? Are there critical
milestones within these phases? Can you create a detailed schedule
for near-term tasks you will be performing?
8. Will You Need
Any Partners or Collaborators?
Many
types of projects will benefit from teaming up with partners who
can offer complementary strengths or a long-term track record in
an important area. Do you anticipate joining forces with other organizations,
consultants, or agencies to complete the project? If so, what experience,
expertise, credibility, funding, or other benefits will each party
bring to the table?
9. Will You Need
Specific Information or Advice?
Do you plan to seek information and help from subject
matter experts or other advisors? Will you need to perform research,
and if so, what sources will you tap? Examples include Internet
resources, company documentation, service reports, trouble logs,
customer feedback, surveys, focus group data, evaluation forms,
census data, libraries, and formal studies.
10. Will You Need
Special Systems or Equipment?
Some projects require setting up a technology infrastructure
to create or deliver the products or services. Examples of items
in your infrastructure might include: Servers, networks, computers
and peripheral devices, and multimedia, sound, or video systems.
11. Will You Need
to Use Special Tools or Templates?
Some projects require using a certain set of software
tools or a specific set of templates or techniques. Its important
to specify these at the beginning so that everyone will be clear
about whats required.
12. How Will You
Evaluate Project Success?
How
will you measure the progress and effectiveness of your project?
Will you collect information on how you are carrying out your stated
objectives (process evaluations), and how well you are serving the
needs of your target audiences (outcome evaluations)?
13. Who Needs to
Review and Approve Decisions?
Will there be a clear process for submitting items
for review and approval, and a set timeframe for receiving comments
back? What protocol will be used? A key consideration is whether
there will be a single responsible party with the authority to reconcile
differing opinions if a review team cant reach a consensus.
14. How Might Your
Project Evolve over Time?
Why
should what happens in the future be so important today? One reason
is that implementing downstream opportunities can be hindered or
helped by decisions that occur at the start. Its not unusual
for a short-lived, "one-time only" effort to take on a
life of its own by adding unexpected phases, variations, and versions
so why not plan ahead?
15. Who Will Be
Responsible for What?
This aspect is especially important when multiple
parties will contribute to the outcome, and even more so when they
are dependent on one another. For example, your detailed schedule
for Task X might specify that "Completing Task X depends on
Person Y in Company C providing the ABC Results by such-and-such
a date."
16. What Risks
Should You Plan to Manage?
Nothing is more difficult that anticipating, flagging,
and managing potential risks to a project as a whole, or to the
successful completion of your part of it. After all, no one wants
to admit potential failure, right? However, risk is a normal part
of everyday life, and with proper attention, we can manage it!
17. What Open Issues
Remain?
What issues and concerns remain after all topics above
have been considered? You and your team may be keeping a running
list of unanswered questions and unknowns. What are these items,
and how and when do you think they will be resolved? Do they present
risks until they are answered?
By thinking through the questions above, you
can achieve your project goals with much less guesswork and far
fewer problems than you may have experienced in the past.
To download the related checklist, click here.
~~~~~~~~~~~
About the Author
Adele Sommers, Ph.D. is author of Straight Talk
on Boosting Business Performance: 12 Ways to Profit from Hidden
Potential. To learn more about her book and sign up for more
free tips like these, visit her site at www.LearnShareProsper.com
This article may be distributed freely on your Web
site, as long as this entire article, including the links and full
About the Author section, are unchanged. Please send
a copy of, or link to, your reprint to Adele@LearnShareProsper.com.
Copyright 2005 Adele Sommers, The Enterprise Prosperity
Guild, All Rights Reserved.
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