Tips to Reduce Project Chaos

People problems, business pressures, and creating unique results come with unexpected challenges. Dealing with chaos is one more thing project managers must do. Here are a few tips for reducing project chaos.

Research past lessons learned. Capturing lessons learned is often like wishful thinking. People talk about doing it, but rarely get around to it. If that’s the case in your organization, don’t give up. Instead, ask project managers and sponsors in your business about the problems they’ve seen on their projects. If your organization has a lessons learned database, examine it thoroughly. By understanding past issues, you can build insightful risk and contingency plans. And those plans can help you quickly identify the root cause of potential issues and address them before they create chaos in your project (and your life!) 

Watch for changes in stakeholder behavior. When stakeholders get stressed, their behavior usually changes. They might get more talkative, less talkative, or voice concerns about your project out of the blue! Don’t just wonder what that’s about. Initiate 1-on-1 discussions with stakeholders to identify what’s going on with them. Showing compassion for your stakeholder and your project outcomes creates trust, which can lead to learning more about potential problems. That leads to greater insights and less chaos!

Evaluate and respond to baseline variances. Be sure that you understand your baseline metrics for scope, schedule, cost, and quality. When Those metrics are off by more than 5%, determine the cause of that variance. And when the variance goes beyond 5%, jump into gear to get things back on track -- and share the status and your actions with your project sponsor. Proactive communication about issues and responses can instill confidence in your project leadership, which means fewer “please explain” type of meetings, and – you guessed it -- less chaos!

Focus on what’s important versus what’s urgent. If something is important and urgent, by all means, focus on that first! After that, work on important issues and don’t get distracted by urgent yet unimportant things like a ringing/chirping telephone. Minimize distractions by turning off your phone, pausing email notifications, and hanging a do not disturb sign on your door. That way, you address the most vital tasks on your project. Less chaos! 

Projects will always involve unexpected or sudden changes. These tips can calm things down for you and your project team. Do you have tips to share for reducing project chaos? If so, share them in the comments!!!

For more about reducing project chaos, check out Chris Croft’s Project Management: Solving Common Project Problems course.

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