10 Effective and Responsive Organic Project Conversations

A project is usually an endeavor that is undertaken by a number of people, and therefore, it involves the creation of a social construct. In order for it to be successful, it has to be managed with the right methods of communication. Conversations have to be executed in such a way that they can facilitate better understanding, coordination of efforts and resources, and management of commitments. The success of a project is very much dependent on the interaction and efforts of everyone who is involved, and it can only be possible if the right conversations are occurring at the right times and places. Here are 10 aspects of a project that you should have conversations about:

1) Purpose

As a project manager, you have to make sure that everyone who is involved has a clear idea of the purpose of the project. Both stakeholders and project workers have to align their efforts and goals to the main purpose of the project.

2) Understanding

You need to establish a common understanding through conversations. This is especially important if the project requires the formation of different functional groups or has a complex social construct. A gap in understanding can result in serious errors and eventual failure.

3) Problem Solving

It is essential that you know how to use conversations to solve problems. You can invite people who have good problem-solving skills to take part in conversations and explore possible ways to overcome unfavorable situations.

4) Competing Concerns

Competing concerns may arise during the course of a project, and you can deal with them by identifying a result that is satisfactory to both parties and understanding the assumptions behind everyone's perspectives.

5) Enrollment

Conversations on enrollment should serve to align the stakeholders and project workers with the project and determine the level of commitment that is required to make the project a success.

6) Flow

When work is not moving as smoothly as it should, you should have conversations to coordinate hand-offs more tightly. Also, you have to identify the factors that are disrupting work and make the necessary changes to improve flow.

7) Planning

When you are conversing about planning, you need to define resource requirements, estimated effort, dependencies, and outcomes. Everybody who is involved in the project must have the same understanding of the planning horizon. Try not to confuse planning with committing, because it can cause the project workers to pad efforts. The padding of efforts can lead to lost gains and accumulated losses, as well as longer completion time.

8) Promising

Conversations about promises begin with a negotiation on the specific nature of a request. Promises should only be made after the requestor has created a schedule and the required resources and skills are available.

9) Status

The customer has to be constantly updated on the progress of the project. You have to show that you are able to complete the project according to schedule, and the customer has to let you know if there is a change in requirements.

10) Completion

You have to inform the customer when a certain phase of the project is complete. This conversation is usually overlooked, but it is actually very important. If completion is ambiguous, the people who are assigned to work on the next phase will not know when to begin, and this can result in wasted time and rework.

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Lynn Kelly is an IT project management consultant and contributor for Vantage, promoting the Social Approach to Project Management. Visit http://projectvantage.com to learn more and signup for a free trial of Vantage project management software at http://www.projectvantage.com/index.php/pricing to get started. Go get social with your projects today.

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