Project management means different things to different organizations. Not only are there tons of different project management techniques to choose from, but the right strategy for you will depend on your project goals, team members, and deliverables.If you’re a software development company, project management might involve designing a new product for external stakeholders. In other cases, you might apply project management strategies to an in-house initiative, such as hosting a company retreat or all-hands meeting.Successful project management involves budgeting, scheduling, and communication, so you’ll want to use the right project management software to help you out. Here are six project management examples to draw from as well as a few great project management tools you can use to get started.
Six project management examples from the real world
Everything’s better with examples, right? We could go on and on about workflows and methodologies, but without examples of how to apply them in the real world, they may not be of much use when it comes to managing projects of your own.That’s why we’ve found these six great examples of project management – ranging from simple projects to complex projects – that you can use to inspire your team.
Example 1: Event management
A great place to put a project management plan into action is when running a town hall meeting or organizing a company retreat. Planning ahead is everything. Look at your budget, your team’s needs, and your priorities for the trip.In 2017, Buffer put together a retreat for 75 team members who ordinarily worked remotely in dozens of countries around the world. By putting together a budget, coming up with criteria for accommodations and coworking spaces, and taking a scouting trip to prospective locations, they were able to streamline the decision-making process and avoid costly mistakes.They even designed a retreat app that participants could use for time management and scheduling – which they can use for future events and retreats.
Example 2: Resource management
Another type of project that calls for detailed project planning and resource management is architecture. However, you can set expectations regarding budget, time, and resources in any project.Monograph, which creates project management software for architects and landscape designers, explains how important it is to incorporate pre-design and create an architectural work plan before doing anything else. They say: “Setting up an agreed-upon, legally binding framework and requirements allows you to make educated predictions about how to budget time, money, [and] staffing.”Since your firm may only be involved in a specific phase of the project, this process is key for getting on the same page with stakeholders and ensuring project success.
Example 3: Staff management during transitional periods
You may be transitioning to a remote model, or you could be implementing a new model such as lean project management. Whatever the case, we advise a dedicated project team to oversee the transition.This team should be able to reassure employees that they’ll still get their needs met. They should listen to their concerns, answer their questions, and create changes to make sure everyone feels supported, people don’t burn out, and the new system does what it’s intended to do.At Project Imagine, the company transitioned to a remote style of work. They set ground rules around the work day: no virtual meetings before 10 am or after 6 pm or during lunch hours. To make it easier to work from home, they gave everyone a “care package” to help with headaches, eye strain, and other remote work issues.Creating a clear communication plan and roadmap for the transition can help you foster productive teamwork among remote employees and achieve milestones faster.
Example 4: Lean project management for manufacturing
Ok, but what if you aren’t a startup or software development company and you want to see some project management examples in manufacturing or engineering?The Project Management Institute (PMI) has a great example of project management in the electric car industry. Way back in 2011, a U.K. company called Liberty Electric Cars developed six iterations of an electric car prototype based on different designs.By developing multiple iterations and crash-testing them along the way, they made use of lean project management methodologies to conserve project resources.
Example 5: Using task management systems
Project management techniques aren’t just for group projects. You can also use them to stay on top of your own tasks and boost your productivity.
Kanban boards
One way to improve productivity is to use a task management system. Here’s an example of how one employee created a personal Kanban board using Trello. Here, you can see that the tasks are clearly divided into “planned,” “doing,” and “done.” That should make it easier to track how much work they need to do each day and let people know if they’re overloaded and need to reschedule a few things.Because Kanban boards look like a to-do list, they may be easier for team members to get on “board” with than other project management tools.
Gantt charts
One of the biggest issues facing projects for external stakeholders is scope creep, in which the goalposts keep changing and the project never seems to end.This post by Planio shows how you can create a Gantt chart in Excel to get ahead of scope creep and stick to the project schedule. By factoring in project milestones and dependencies, you can see the whole project lifecycle in one place.PMs can use a Gantt chart to estimate the duration of a project based on whether project activities are completed simultaneously or sequentially.
How to apply project management examples
Now that you have a few project management examples to draw from, how do you go about introducing them to your workplace? Here are a few tips for getting started:
Choose your methodology
Your project management methodology refers to the way you plan and structure your project. Manufacturing and construction projects may call for more traditional methods like the waterfall technique, while software development projects tend to use lean or agile workflows because they’re more flexible.There’s no right or wrong way to approach project management, but a project that’s paired with the wrong methodology could run into challenges. For example, a less flexible methodology like Waterfall may mean fewer opportunities to change course.When in doubt, look for templates or examples of each methodology in action and see how well it compares to your own project’s parameters.
Use the right tools
Project management tools are another thing that can make or break a project. Maybe you only need simple tools like a Kanban board to keep track of project tasks.But if you have a more complex project, you may need specialized tools that are built specifically for large teams or for a particular industry.A more advanced project management software offers everything from messaging and collaboration to Gantt chart development and time tracking.Be sure to consider pricing. Since many of these tools charge on a per-user basis, you’ll need to pay more if you take on new projects or hire new team members.
Take good notes
We can’t stress this enough: Get it all in writing! From communicating with stakeholders to messaging your team members, it’s important to be on the same page at all times.Verbal agreements aren’t enough, because a lot can be misheard – or misremembered – especially if your meetings take place in virtual spaces.Always create a team meeting agenda before important meetings, and use note-taking tools to take notes for you so you don’t miss anything.We even suggest creating transcripts of job interviews so you can easily review them before extending an offer to new team members.
Use Anchor AI to take notes for you
Project management can be tough, especially when you’re just starting out on a project and you don’t have all the information yet. By learning from these five project management examples, you’ll be well on your way to running a successful project of your own.While you’re at it, why not invite Anchor AI to sit in on your meetings with you and provide a word-for-word transcript for your records?Whether you’re having your very first meeting with stakeholders, or a recurring meeting with team members, Anchor AI’s automated note-taking tool will create a searchable, time-stamped transcript for you, complete with speaker tags and action items.With Anchor AI, you won’t have to go back and listen to the entire Zoom recording if you miss something, and you won’t have to assign one of your team members to take notes for you.Sign up today and use Anchor AI to take notes for your next project!