Programs and projects form the core of operations for organizations. These have the potential to make or break the organization’s success, and growth metrics, and the ultimate results. Programs are crafted to ensure an organization’s vision as mission-related objectives are met and succinct, and a multitude of projects are orchestrated to ensure the program’s successful implementation. Thus, a well-planned strategized project management is key to holistic organizational success. We will be discussing the role of Smartsheet software in successful project management at length!
To manage projects successfully, it is imperative to understand the stages of the project life cycle.
Project Initiation – This is the very first phase of project management which holds utmost significance. During this phase, all the organizational stakeholders and key decision-makers collaborate to see how feasible the project is. In addition, a feasibility study may be undertaken to ensure the same. Once the project receives approval, a Project Initiation Document (PID) is crafted to outline all the intricacies involved in the project.
Project Planning – In this stage, the entire roadmap of the project is laid out and it is ideally the most time-consuming phase in the entire project management lifecycle. The critical tasks involved in this phase include identifying the technical requirements, developing a detailed project schedule, crafting an effective communication plan, setting up goals/objectives, etc.
The projects must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) and CLEAR (Collaborative, Limited, Emotional, Appreciable, Refinable). The project scope might be altered to ensure that the objectives are met; however, any change at this phase must be approved by the project manager or the key stakeholders. The project manager also has to make provisions for any unwarranted delays or roadblocks and see how to overcome them.
Project Execution – This is the phase where actual work begins. The project manager is entrusted with creating tasks, subtasks and establishing a robust workflow to ensure a smooth and efficient project execution.
Project Monitoring – This is the phase where project task deliverables start to come in, and those need to be validated from the quality, quantity, and other relevant aspects. This phase is closely interlinked with the project execution phase. The project monitoring phase doesn’t need to follow a sequential approach to the execution phase. Instead, project managers must establish Critical Success Factors (CSFs) or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) so that there are no scopes for ambiguity or deviations.
Project Closure – This is the final phase, which marks the closure of the project. Organizational stakeholders and the clients may come together to analyze the project outcomes and identify the gaps in understanding or execution so that these lessons can be leveraged for future project planning, management, and success.
Project Managers have to administer due diligence across all the above-mentioned phases to ensure greater success. And, in this quest, the Smartsheet software plays a pivotal role. This enterprise platform connects organizations on a flexible, no-code platform that empowers anyone to create the solution they need with the control and security IT demands.
Be it the management of a single project or a multitude of them, Smartsheet is a highly robust, resilient, and scalable platform to accommodate the same. It lets project managers create unlimited projects, create tasks, and sub-tasks, assign them to the team members. It also helps in keeping a tab on the time invested on each task, so that project managers can take judicious decisions in further streamlining the workflow. It also offers data-driven, real-time, insightful reports. It also supports end-to-end solutions for content and resource management, which also holds much more significance from the project management perspective.
Now, we will be discussing Smartsheet features at length.