Are you responsible for getting jobs of work done?

In the workplace, have you reached the stage where you are empowered to get things done without supervision? Are you also being asked to carry out assignments where you need the help of others? Are you being asked what is involved? How long will it take? What could go wrong? Who is involved?

If you are working alone, how do you decide which tasks to do first? How sure are you that you can get the assignment complete before the due date? If you are spending money, how do you predict how much you will need?

If you are leading a team on this job, how do you divide up the work? More to the point, how do you keep track of what everyone is up to and prevent them falling over each other? How do you ensure that the boss knows where you are on the job?

You could be working on Projects!

If you are answering yes to a lot of these, you might actually be working on projects. A project is a temporary endeavour – it has a beginning and an end – and it leads to a product, service, or result that has some sort of unique aspect to it. For instance, you might be installing a robot on an assembly line of a type your company has never used before. Or it might be delivered by a new supplier.

If this sounds like what you are up to, you should really be thinking about how to manage this sort of work.

Have you agreed what you are going to have to achieve on this assignment? Or do you find the boss is always asking for more during the project?

Have you identified the tasks that need doing and put them in a schedule? How about the cost of the project? How do you know how much is going to be needed?

Do you know what is going on? Even if you trust the people helping you to do good work, how do you keep track of what they are doing?

If these are the sorts of issues that keep you awake at night, then you should try to get yourself on Velopi’s Project Management Essentials, two-day course. This is very much a hands-on course that will introduce you do the basics of managing these sorts of assignments. You will learn how to tie down what you are expected to get done (scoping) and what work is involved in getting it done (scheduling).

Armed with these insights, you should be able to kick off a project with confidence and also improve your chances of getting the sorts of outcomes that the boss is looking for.