Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/392122
28 It is important to seek feedback from time-to-time to inform your analysis and the quality of your work and recommendations. It is good practice also to refer back to and modify the plan as the project progresses, in order to be able to recognise and manage any deviations in scope or time. The beginning of the project (or earlier) is a good time to consider opposing results, namely, success and failure and how project management can affect the outcome. Should you wish to know more about project management techniques, consider visiting the Project Management Institute's website (www.pmi.org). Also useful is www.12manage.com. It is essential to understand what the client will consider to be 'success'. Remember that it is the client's opinion and not yours that matters. Typically success will mean the resolution of some core problem or the delivery of key information, but timescales may also be vital. If the client genuinely needs a report by a specified date, then delivering a brilliant report the day after is a failure. Considering what success means in a specific project may help you focus your efforts on the tasks that are most important to your client. Similarly, considering at the beginning how an assignment may fail will help you avoid this. Larger assignments may use formal risk assessment techniques. For smaller projects it may be sufficient to identify how the project may fail and then to take steps to minimise the chances of these happening. For example, if the project will fail if a particular piece of equipment is unavailable for a period, then book its use and check that it is not scheduled for any downtime. If any particular staff are needed to operate it, then check personally with them that they will be available and then re-confirm all of these points at intervals. Whatever your terms of business may say, your client is paying for the assignment to be successful. Management Assignment success does not simply 'happen' but is the result of active project management. This means you need the information to make management decisions. You need to have some form of internal reporting that gives an update on progress against plan and early warning of any impending difficulties. Equally it is important to ensure that all staff working on the project contribute fully. Managing and motivating people encompasses the old advice 'don't delegate tasks, delegate authority' – by ensuring that individuals feel ownership of their part of the project and are fully committed to its success. Operating Section 5