How small business owners can optimize processes with project management tactics

There’s nothing worse than trying to run a small business utterly unorganized. Chaos can lead to frustration and wasted resources. That’s the last situation a business person desires to be in.

For those who struggle with keeping operations in order, there are project management tactics and frameworks that can greatly optimize your processes and way of getting things done. The idea is to do less busy work by getting organized. Doing so will enable you to find a balance of boosting productivity and wasting less time and resources. Consider the following tips to get started on your way to eliminating as much chaos as possible.

Develop a project management mindset

Instilling project management tactics within your organization starts with introducing the process to your entire staff. Call a meeting to give everyone a heads up that a new way of handling day-to-day operations will include housekeeping, using tools and documentation to cover the progress of tasks from initiation to completion.

This can look like a more complex to-do list organized by who does what and what the deadlines are for each task. Search the web for examples so you don’t have to start from scratch and then tweak the template to suit your organization’s needs.

Create a template and use it and reuse it that works for your organization

There are numerous productivity tools and PM software you can choose from, but if this doesn’t fit your budget you can turn to excel sheets. Think of project management in phases.

Know the five phases of project management

Initiation. This phase entails when you define goals and expectations, identify stakeholders and resources.

Planning. The second phase involves getting to the nitty gritty of assigning tasks to the appropriate team members, scheduling timelines and setting a budget.

Execution. This is the production phases. The optimal way of handling this phase is with over communicating with team members to ensure they are on track and if they are not it is up to you to remove any barriers preventing the tasks from getting done. Be sure to avoid micromanaging your team as this will only slow productivity down. Instead figure out the best way to have your staff report their progress whether that’s will weekly progress meetings, email. Decide what is best for you team and organizational needs.

Testing. Not all projects need to be tested, it depends on what service and/or product your company delivers. In the event, say you develop mobile applications, this phase would involve constant feedback and adjusting workflows accordingly to meet timeline within budget constraints.

Closing the project. This is when deliverables are sent to stakeholders and clients. It’s an excellent time to celebrate the team’s success and to reflect about what worked and what didn’t so you can improve your processes.

In conclusion

One of the key components of using project management tactics is employing clear communication, stellar organization and remaining flexible because change to even the best of plans is inevitable. By having a flexible mindset, you’ll save yourself the stress of getting stuck and upset over things you cannot control. It’s hard, but you can do it. Consider the aforementioned tips to help you better run your business.