5 Steps to Managing Multiple Projects

So you've been handed a suite of new projects to manage. What's next? Take these 5 steps to make sure you don't end up working around the clock and pulling your hair out while you're at it...

 Step 1: Define Your Projects

 Right from the start, you need to have a "crystal clear" understanding of the scope of each project, the deliverables to be produced and the timeframes to be met.

 Document all of this in a Project Charter for each project you're responsible for. Make it detailed and get it approved before you kick-off.  By getting your boss to agree exactly what it is that you have to produce, you'll have the goalposts neatly defined, ready for touchdown!

 Step 2: Create a Master Plan

 Now you know what you have to produce, the next step is to tell the world how you're going to it - and that's by creating a "Master Plan".

 A Master Plan lists all of the phases, activities and tasks for each project. It show any dependencies between projects and it summarizes all of the milestones you're going to meet along the way.

 When you're ready, create a "baseline" of your plan. This is a version of your plan which is saved today. Then in the future, you can compare your progress against your baseline, to see where you're slipping and where you're ahead.

Step 3: Manage Resource Workloads

When you're assigning resources to tasks on multiple projects, it's easy to over-assign them. So poor old “Bob” ends up with 16 hours of work scheduled for Monday and 2 hours on Tuesday!

To avoid this, you need to keep an eye on your resource allocations, so you can see for every day in the week the total number of hours that each person is working. You need to keep track of this daily! Your team can only work effectively if they are assigned work evenly.

Step 4: Gain visibility of your projects

You need visibility of what's happening in your projects at all times. Is every task on time, is every resource balanced and is every milestone on track? Are materials and equipment available when needed and are any risks, issues or changes getting in the way?

 You need to know the answers to these questions on a daily basis, because if something slips then you need to be informed right away so you have the opportunity to correct it.

 Step 5: Communicate

When managing multiple projects, communication is key. Everyone needs to know exactly what must be done and by when. If something slips, then others need to know about it. If something is delivered early, then other tasks need to come forward. Almost everything is linked to everything and you're the glue in the middle, holding it all together.

 So you need to communicate. It's your number one job. Work out upfront how you're going to communicate clearly with your team and stick to the plan.