Sometimes it’s a handover from sales to the project department, sometimes it’s a handshake with a project sponsor. Sometimes it’s your own private idea that needs to be taken to the next phase. Regardless, there is some magic point where we accept a project and it’s then our responsibility. Before accepting, it might be an intriguing idea, you may help out on certain parts. But once you’ve accepted the project, then it’s suddenly live and you’ve commited.
Here are my top five questions I ask myself before taking on new projects.
- Who’s it for?
- Do I believe it’s worth doing?
- Are the resources there?
- What is considered to be a success?
- What is considered to be a failure?
Who’s it for?
Not in a disrespectful sense, but more in an intriguing sense. You need to know who is the receiver/receivers of the project and its outcome. It will affect your decision-making priorities, stakeholder analysis, and communication. Actually, it’ll affect everything since we are not doing projects without a receiver at the other end.
Do I believe it’s worth doing?
Is this something you get excited about at any level? Either due to the challenge, the subject, to the people you’ll work with? It can be any reason but you need to think it’s worth doing before it starts. Because when it gets tough, you need some sort of motivation.
Are the resources there?
It could be anything from finances to people to building materials or time. Your project will need resources of some sort. Maybe you’ll get some input from the people you are accepting from, or maybe you need to verify some things with your team, but in the end, you want to know if the resources are enough and secure. The reason is that in order to focus on the work that needs to be done, you don’t want to worry, chase or put energy into just getting the needs to do the work.
What is considered to be a success?
It’s about knowing the expectations of the stakeholders. Your view might be something entirely else than the receivers of the work. Ask the questions to figure out the difference and write it down for when it gets busy. Success might not be what you think it is. It might have nothing to do about being on a budget or delivering on time, but rather to get everyone on board or a certain feature. Or just the other way around.
What is considered to be a failure?
Again, ask the questions to figure out where the expectations are from the stakeholders and yourself. Write it down. In the end, it’s going to matter more about what the stakeholders think. Everything might be correct, but it’s still considered a failure due to lacking a certain feature. Or everything is there but it’s a failure due to going over time or budget. Get down to the real feelings and perceptions of the people involved.
