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Teamwork: 5 Steps Put Together a Great Team

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How to Manage a Team - Project Management Training

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An organizational assessment is a process for obtaining accurate and concise information about the performance of a business and the factors that affect an organization's productivity. The report identifies areas of competence, room for improvement, and risks to modify decisions and support investment. It serves as an answer to the question, "How are we doing as an organization?" It demonstrates what you do well and highlights areas with low performances. The report is an internal feedback process to identify a company's strengths and weaknesses. The organizational framework encompasses four areas: external environments, capacity, motivation and performance.

Write the organizational assessment's title, author name and date on the cover, in addition to the name of the organization. Provide the duration length and overall project budget on the first page.

Identify any assessment donors and write who commissioned the report. Provide an evaluation objective on the first page. Write a two to three sentence summary detailing the report's mission, goals and objectives.

Include an introduction that outlines the organization's history. Discuss the methodology that will be used to evaluate the organization's effectiveness. Cite any previous assessments that have used similar methods.

Meet and interview a variety of stakeholders, including clients, human resources managers, support staff and beneficiaries. Utilize quantitative and qualitative measurements to discuss diversity, interpersonal conflict and employee needs in the report. Observe and record the dynamics among people and their levels of participation.

Tour relevant facilities including project sites, buildings and information systems. Describe the interior and exterior in great detail. Emphasize technological or structural advancements.

Write how the work paradigm is affected by spaces. Identify relevant equipment, hardware, electricity and lightning.

Assess the formalities under which the organization operates, including the legal framework, intellectual rights and labor rights. Identify the company's norms and values. Provide its mission statement as well as any causes or organizations it supports. Describe the economy, labor market and environmental constraints that affect the organization.

Identify the strengths and weakness of the organization capacity, beginning with leadership within the organization. Uncover how tasks are done, how goals are set and which direction the company wishes to take. Observe the operating expenses and how they are managed by company leaders. Find out who is accountable for finances. Forecast monetary requirements and needs.

Collaborate with the human resources department to determine how recruiting, staffing and training take place. Decide if there are opportunities for career development and staff evaluation. Describe the quality of working life and uncover any issues concerning diversity, health or safety. Identify any inter-organizational linkages such as partnerships, memberships and online networks.

Analyze the organization's history and document its significant awards, achievements and setbacks. Identify changes in leadership and size. Uncover the employees' general attitudes concerning work, colleagues and values. Question opinions on prestige, intellectual freedom and remuneration. Evaluate the mission statement to see how effectively it shapes the organization.

Ensure company sustainability by measuring the effectiveness of its programs, client expectations, services and responsibilities in relation to its mission. View data on staff productivity, including reports or turnover rates and absenteeism. Identify any room for improvement in the financial and managerial reports. Measure the efficiency of work procedures and goals.

Determine whether the organization has kept its relevance over time regarding the stakeholder needs, reputation and sustainability. Review data to see if the organization is financially viable, as well.

Offer recommendations and future courses of action based on what was revealed in the report. Provide specific sources, including appropriate implementations, budgets and key audiences that will benefit from such recommendations.

Use an appendix to cite any sources in a references section. Include biographies for the organizational assessment team, as well.

Conduct a follow-up assessment to determine areas of improvement and, if necessary, areas where additional improvement is needed. Communicate the report in a manner that can be easily understood by everyone.

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How to Write an Organizational Assessment Report

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An organizational assessment is a process for obtaining accurate and concise information about the performance of a business and the factors that affect an organization's productivity. The report identifies areas of competence, room for improvement, and risks to modify decisions and support investment. It serves ...

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How often have you used brainstorming to solve a problem? Chances are, you've used it at least once, even if you didn't realize it.

For decades, people have used brainstorming to generate ideas, and to come up with creative solutions to problems. However, you need to use brainstorming correctly for it to be fully effective.

In this article, we'll look at what brainstorming is, why it's useful, and how to get the best from it.

Click here to view a transcript of this video.

What Is Brainstorming?

Madison Avenue advertising executive Alex Osborn developed the original approach and published it in his 1953 book, "Applied Imagination." [1]

Since then, researchers have made many improvements to his original technique. The approach described here takes this research into account, so it's subtly different from Osborn's approach. [2]

Brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving with lateral thinking. It encourages people to come up with thoughts and ideas that can, at first, seem a bit crazy. Some of these ideas can be crafted into original, creative solutions to a problem, while others can spark even more ideas. This helps to get people unstuck by "jolting" them out of their normal ways of thinking.

Therefore, during brainstorming sessions, people should avoid criticizing or rewarding ideas. You're trying to open up possibilities and break down incorrect assumptions about the problem's limits. Judgment and analysis at this stage stunts idea generation and limit creativity.

Evaluate ideas at the end of the session - this is the time to explore solutions further, using conventional approaches.

Why Use Brainstorming?

Conventional group problem solving can often be undermined by unhelpful group behavior. And while it's important to start with a structured, analytical process when solving problems, this can lead a group to develop limited and unimaginative ideas.

By contrast, brainstorming provides a free and open environment that encourages everyone to participate. Quirky ideas are welcomed and built upon, and all participants are encouraged to contribute fully, helping them develop a rich array of creative solutions.

When used during problem solving, brainstorming brings team members' diverse experience into play. It increases the richness of ideas explored, which means that you can often find better solutions to the problems that you face.

It can also help you get buy-in from team members for the solution chosen - after all, they're likely to be more committed to an approach if they were involved in developing it. What's more, because brainstorming is fun, it helps team members bond, as they solve problems in a positive, rewarding environment.

While brainstorming can be effective, it's important to approach it with an open mind and a spirit of non-judgment. If you don't do this, people "clam up," the number and quality of ideas plummets, and morale can suffer.

How to Use the Tool

You often get the best results by combining individual and group brainstorming, which we explain below, and by managing the process according to the "rules" below. By doing this, you can get people to focus on the issue without interruption, you maximize the number of ideas that you can generate, and you get that great feeling of team bonding that comes with a well-run brainstorming session!

To run a group brainstorming session effectively, follow these steps.

Step 1: Prepare the Group

How much information or preparation does your team need in order to brainstorm solutions to your problem? Remember that prep is important, but too much can limit - or even destroy - the freewheeling nature of a brainstorming session.

First, choose an appropriate and comfortable meeting space. This can be in the office, or virtual. Consider what would work best for your team. Make sure you have the right resources beforehand; you can use virtual brainstorming tools like Miro or LucidSpark, and you'll need pens and Post-Its for an in-person session.

Now consider who will attend the meeting. A brainstorming session full of like-minded people won't generate as many creative ideas as a diverse group, so try to include people from a wide range of disciplines, and include people who have a variety of different thinking styles.

When everyone is gathered, appoint one person to record the ideas that come from the session. This person shouldn't necessarily be the team manager - it's hard to record and contribute at the same time. Post notes where everyone can see them, such as on flip charts or whiteboards; or use a computer with a data projector.

If people aren't used to working together, consider using an appropriate warm-up exercise, or an icebreaker.

Step 2: Present the Problem

Clearly define the problem that you want to solve, and lay out any criteria that you must meet. Make it clear that that the meeting's objective is to generate as many ideas as possible.

Give people plenty of quiet time at the start of the session to generate as many of their own ideas as they can. Then, ask them to share or present their ideas, while giving everyone a fair opportunity to contribute.

Step 3: Guide the Discussion

Once everyone has shared their ideas, start a group discussion to develop other people's ideas, and use them to create new ideas. Building on others' ideas is one of the most valuable aspects of group brainstorming.

Encourage everyone to contribute and to develop ideas, including the quietest people, and discourage anyone from criticizing ideas.

As the group facilitator, you should share ideas if you have them, but spend your time and energy supporting your team and guiding the discussion. Stick to one conversation at a time, and refocus the group if people become sidetracked.

Although you're guiding the discussion, remember to let everyone have fun while brainstorming. Welcome creativity, and encourage your team to come up with as many ideas as possible, regardless of whether they're practical or impractical. Use thought experiments such as Provocation or Random Input to generate some unexpected ideas.

Don't follow one train of thought for too long. Make sure that you generate a good number of different ideas, and explore individual ideas in detail. If a team member needs to "tune out" to explore an idea alone, allow them the freedom to do this.

Also, if the brainstorming session is lengthy, take plenty of breaks so that people can continue to concentrate.

Individual Brainstorming

While group brainstorming is often more effective at generating ideas than normal group problem solving, several studies have shown that individual brainstorming produces more - and often better - ideas than group brainstorming. [3]

This can occur because groups aren't always strict in following the rules of brainstorming, and bad behaviors creep in. Mostly, though, this happens because people pay so much attention to other people that they don't generate ideas of their own - or they forget these ideas while they wait for their turn to speak. This is called "blocking."

When you brainstorm on your own, you don't have to worry about other people's egos or opinions, and you can be freer and more creative. For example, you might find that an idea you'd hesitate to bring up in a group develops into something special when you explore it on your own.

However, you may not develop ideas as fully when you're on your own, because you don't have the wider experience of other group members to draw on.

Tip:

To get the most out of your individual brainstorming session, choose a comfortable place to sit and think. Minimize distractions so that you can focus on the problem at hand, and consider using Mind Maps to arrange and develop ideas.

Individual brainstorming is most effective when you need to solve a simple problem, generate a list of ideas, or focus on a broad issue. Group brainstorming is often more effective for solving complex problems.

Group Brainstorming

Here, you can take advantage of the full experience and creativity of all team members. When one member gets stuck with an idea, another member's creativity and experience can take the idea to the next stage. You can develop ideas in greater depth with group brainstorming than you can with individual brainstorming.

Another advantage of group brainstorming is that it helps everyone feel that they've contributed to the solution, and it reminds people that others have creative ideas to offer. It's also fun, so it can be great for team building!

Group brainstorming can be risky for individuals. Unusual suggestions may appear to lack value at first sight - this is where you need to chair sessions tightly, so that the group doesn't crush these ideas and stifle creativity.

Where possible, participants should come from a wide range of disciplines. This cross-section of experience can make the session more creative. However, don't make the group too big: as with other types of teamwork, groups of five to seven people are usually most effective.

Other Brainstorming Techniques

If you're not getting enough good quality ideas, try using the approaches below to increase the number of ideas that you generate:

These techniques help you in specific situations:

The Next Step - Taking Action

After your individual or group brainstorming session, you'll have a lot of ideas. Although it might seem hard to sort through these ideas to find the best ones, analyzing these ideas is an important next step, and you can use several tools to do this.

Use Affinity Diagrams to organize ideas and find common themes.

Decision Matrix Analysis and Paired Comparison Analysis will help you choose between different options. You can also use the Six Thinking Hats technique to look at ideas from different perspectives; and the Modified Borda Count and Multi-Voting can help you choose between options as a team, particularly where the differences between options are quite subjective.

Key Points

When managed well, brainstorming can help you generate radical solutions to problems. It can also encourage people to commit to solutions, because they have provided input and played a role in developing them.

The best approach combines individual and group brainstorming. During the process, there should be no criticism of ideas, and creativity should be encouraged.

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Brainstorming: Generating Many Radical, Creative Ideas

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How often have you used brainstorming to solve a problem? Chances are, you've used it at least once, even if you didn't realize it. For decades, people have used brainstorming to generate ideas, and to come up with creative solutions to problems. However, you need to use brainstorming correctly for it to be fully effective.

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Every process, notion, thing, etc. start from something. That moment began not now, days or years ago, and things looked differently - not like they do now. Looking, for instance, at a car, we realize that at the beginning its appearance was contrasting: at first all began with an idea, then there was discussion, designer's work, assembly operations, etc. It's just an insignificant example that, however, perfectly clarifies the situation - everything starts from something.

Project management is not an exception. Being a complex chain of tasks and processes, it should have the first step where everything begins. This step is project plan and planning.

In this article we will discuss a plan and planning and clear up issues connected with a How to create a project plan question. Actually, we described it in 7 steps.

What is a project plan?

But let's distinguish two notions right away. Speaking about a plan, we encounter such notion as planning. Is there any difference between them?

Project planning is the process of defining the scope, objectives and ways in general to achieve them. This process goes before a plan as it is here where everything is discussed. All crucial planning points and outputs then make up a plan.

A project plan is a formal document that contains all planning decisions, approved project scope and costs. Apart from mentioned things, its main goals are to guide control, facilitate communication between stakeholders and schedule baselines.

Creating a project plan, a manager should have a good command of key knowledge and skills from the very beginning. Knowing them, he/she will raise the bar for successful project's implementation. It will also help to foresee and avoid unnecessary mistakes and wrong decisions as well as simply help to save time and reduce costs.

Project plan purpose

A well-prepared plan should address and consequently answer the following questions:

This question is about the reasons why a project is sponsored and the problem it addresses.
Why?
This question is about the work that is to be done to deliver products/results, etc. and deliverables themselves.
What?
This is about involved people, their roles and responsibilities as well as the way they are supposed to be organized.
Who?
This is about project's schedule/timeline.
When?
How to create a good project plan?

Starting a new project plan, a manager should be aware of great amount of questions and the ways to answer and solve them. Each question can be singled out and paid attention to. But there are some common patterns where they can be referred to. So, let's distinguish what goes into a project plan and planning and what a manager should do.

Successful project planning should start with communication with a team about goals, participants, tasks, etc. A manager should know best who will be responsible for any given task, be aware of deadlines and stay always in touch with everything that is going on in a project.

Moreover, this step of project planning should be addressed during the whole project implementation. Remember, communication is the key to successful management.

Identify stakeholders and determine goals

Sometimes there are so many stakeholders that it gets difficult to be aware of everyone. Moreover, they can be direct or indirect with greater or less impact on a project respectively. That's why it is important to identify those who directly influence on a project plan and then seriously take their needs into account.

A sponsor - an individual who actually funds the whole project and approves it;

A project manager - an individual who directly makes planning with the following creation, execution and control over a project;

Project team that creates end product. They participate in many crucial aspects like development, quality, design issues, etc. But usually they do not approve a project;

End users who actually use end product;

This can be a long list of people who take part in a project: risk analysts, procurement specialists, etc.

What can be done here? Conduct interviews with key stakeholders what will help to realize requirements and goals that have to be achieved. The easiest way to manage and achieve objectives (goals) is to use Smart technique for goal setting.
Who can be a stakeholder?
During interviews a manager realizes what problem is addressed by the project and why it is actually sponsored.

This is our WHY question.

Obviously, the most important part of any planning. The project plan basics are pointed out and discussed here: justification, product description, acceptance criteria, objectives (deliverables), exclusions, constraints, assumptions, cost estimates and some others. All stakeholders, both direct and indirect, should come to a complete understanding and agreement during this stage. As soon as it is accomplished, all those points make up a project scope statement.

As a result, this step implies not only crucial moments to agree upon, but also it establishes good communication between stakeholders and diminishes any risks of misunderstandings that may lead to scope creep.

This is our WHAT question.

Define roles and responsibilities

When we speak about project team, a project manager's duty is to assign tasks to everyone involved. Team members should know their roles and set of responsibilities. Of course, each task should have a definite number of participants.

This is our WHO question.

This is the continuation of the previous point. As soon as a manager defines roles and responsibilities for team participants, the next step in a project plan is to set work duration for each resource with start/end dates.

This is our WHEN question.

Moreover, here managers set milestones, critical path - to say in general, this is work with timeline. Thus we are approaching the next point - what online project software to use for project scheduling.

Visualize a project plan with Gantt chart

Note: some people refer to their projects only as a schedule. This concept is wrong. The schedule with its visualization is only part of planning. The entire project is much more complicated entity.

GanttPRO online project planning tool is an effective way to schedule timeline. With this app a manager is able to:

Create tasks and assign them to team members;

Set duration with start and end dates for each task;

Set dependencies between events. A manager tracks all actions and knows where one event comes to an end and gives a start to the other action;

Track progress in each task and in the whole project;

Identify resources needed for each task;

Define cost for each resource;

Collaborate with team members and view all changes made by them;

Follow milestones - any significant events that can't be lost as they have direct impact on a plan;

Enable critical path - the shortest period of time needed for project's completion.

How to plan a project timeline?
GanttPRO makes it easy to visualize important actions that make up planning process and a plan.

Project management consists of risk management - it is one of the most crucial steps for planning a project. Almost no stage in this complicated sphere can go without risks. Therefore, it is highly recommended to define what can go wrong on every step.

An experienced manager does not only assess risks, but also creates plans of how to handle them in case they occur. His/her team should also know possible reaction to any changes.

Too optimistic expectation about time and cost;

Unclear requirements and needs;

Unclear roles and responsibilities;

Changes in requirements;

New requirements;

Budget cuts;

Poor communication.

Stick with it

There are no two identical projects. One can be perfect with no risks and delays; the other can be a failure even with the same sponsors, project managers and teams, costs, timelines and deliverables. Plans will change, risks will occur. But what will ease planning is a clear project scope, schedule, good team work and assessed risks - this is supposed to be in a solid and at the same time simple project management plan. Then even such challenging things can bring fun and joy.
What risks can occur?
Learn how to create Gantt chart in GanttPRO:
Do you have any experience in planning? Do you have something to add? Share with us your ideas in comments - we will appreciate it 🙂

Every process, notion, thing, etc. start from something. That moment began not now, days or years ago, and things looked differently - not like they do now. Looking, for instance, at a car, we realize that at the beginning its appearance was contrasting: at first all began with an idea, then there was discussion, designer's work, assembly operations, etc. It's just an insignificant example that, however, perfectly clarifies the situation - everything starts from something.

Project management is not an exception. Being a complex chain of tasks and processes, it should have the first step where everything begins. This step is project plan and planning.

In this article we will discuss a plan and planning and clear up issues connected with a How to create a project plan question. Actually, we described it in 7 steps.

What is a project plan?

But let's distinguish two notions right away. Speaking about a plan, we encounter such notion as planning. Is there any difference between them?

Project planning is the process of defining the scope, objectives and ways in general to achieve them. This process goes before a plan as it is here where everything is discussed. All crucial planning points and outputs then make up a plan.

A project plan is a formal document that contains all planning decisions, approved project scope and costs. Apart from mentioned things, its main goals are to guide control, facilitate communication between stakeholders and schedule baselines.

Creating a project plan, a manager should have a good command of key knowledge and skills from the very beginning. Knowing them, he/she will raise the bar for successful project's implementation. It will also help to foresee and avoid unnecessary mistakes and wrong decisions as well as simply help to save time and reduce costs.

Project plan purpose

A well-prepared plan should address and consequently answer the following questions:

This question is about the reasons why a project is sponsored and the problem it addresses.
Why?
This question is about the work that is to be done to deliver products/results, etc. and deliverables themselves.
What?
This is about involved people, their roles and responsibilities as well as the way they are supposed to be organized.
Who?
This is about project's schedule/timeline.
When?
How to create a good project plan?

Starting a new project plan, a manager should be aware of great amount of questions and the ways to answer and solve them. Each question can be singled out and paid attention to. But there are some common patterns where they can be referred to. So, let's distinguish what goes into a project plan and planning and what a manager should do.

Successful project planning should start with communication with a team about goals, participants, tasks, etc. A manager should know best who will be responsible for any given task, be aware of deadlines and stay always in touch with everything that is going on in a project.

Moreover, this step of project planning should be addressed during the whole project implementation. Remember, communication is the key to successful management.

Identify stakeholders and determine goals

Sometimes there are so many stakeholders that it gets difficult to be aware of everyone. Moreover, they can be direct or indirect with greater or less impact on a project respectively. That's why it is important to identify those who directly influence on a project plan and then seriously take their needs into account.

A sponsor - an individual who actually funds the whole project and approves it;

A project manager - an individual who directly makes planning with the following creation, execution and control over a project;

Project team that creates end product. They participate in many crucial aspects like development, quality, design issues, etc. But usually they do not approve a project;

End users who actually use end product;

This can be a long list of people who take part in a project: risk analysts, procurement specialists, etc.

What can be done here? Conduct interviews with key stakeholders what will help to realize requirements and goals that have to be achieved. The easiest way to manage and achieve objectives (goals) is to use Smart technique for goal setting.
Who can be a stakeholder?
During interviews a manager realizes what problem is addressed by the project and why it is actually sponsored.

This is our WHY question.

Obviously, the most important part of any planning. The project plan basics are pointed out and discussed here: justification, product description, acceptance criteria, objectives (deliverables), exclusions, constraints, assumptions, cost estimates and some others. All stakeholders, both direct and indirect, should come to a complete understanding and agreement during this stage. As soon as it is accomplished, all those points make up a project scope statement.

As a result, this step implies not only crucial moments to agree upon, but also it establishes good communication between stakeholders and diminishes any risks of misunderstandings that may lead to scope creep.

This is our WHAT question.

Define roles and responsibilities

When we speak about project team, a project manager's duty is to assign tasks to everyone involved. Team members should know their roles and set of responsibilities. Of course, each task should have a definite number of participants.

This is our WHO question.

This is the continuation of the previous point. As soon as a manager defines roles and responsibilities for team participants, the next step in a project plan is to set work duration for each resource with start/end dates.

This is our WHEN question.

Moreover, here managers set milestones, critical path - to say in general, this is work with timeline. Thus we are approaching the next point - what online project software to use for project scheduling.

Visualize a project plan with Gantt chart

Note: some people refer to their projects only as a schedule. This concept is wrong. The schedule with its visualization is only part of planning. The entire project is much more complicated entity.

GanttPRO online project planning tool is an effective way to schedule timeline. With this app a manager is able to:

Create tasks and assign them to team members;

Set duration with start and end dates for each task;

Set dependencies between events. A manager tracks all actions and knows where one event comes to an end and gives a start to the other action;

Track progress in each task and in the whole project;

Identify resources needed for each task;

Define cost for each resource;

Collaborate with team members and view all changes made by them;

Follow milestones - any significant events that can't be lost as they have direct impact on a plan;

Enable critical path - the shortest period of time needed for project's completion.

How to plan a project timeline?
GanttPRO makes it easy to visualize important actions that make up planning process and a plan.

Project management consists of risk management - it is one of the most crucial steps for planning a project. Almost no stage in this complicated sphere can go without risks. Therefore, it is highly recommended to define what can go wrong on every step.

An experienced manager does not only assess risks, but also creates plans of how to handle them in case they occur. His/her team should also know possible reaction to any changes.

Too optimistic expectation about time and cost;

Unclear requirements and needs;

Unclear roles and responsibilities;

Changes in requirements;

New requirements;

Budget cuts;

Poor communication.

Stick with it

There are no two identical projects. One can be perfect with no risks and delays; the other can be a failure even with the same sponsors, project managers and teams, costs, timelines and deliverables. Plans will change, risks will occur. But what will ease planning is a clear project scope, schedule, good team work and assessed risks - this is supposed to be in a solid and at the same time simple project management plan. Then even such challenging things can bring fun and joy.
What risks can occur?
Learn how to create Gantt chart in GanttPRO:
Do you have any experience in planning? Do you have something to add? Share with us your ideas in comments - we will appreciate it 🙂

Every process, notion, thing, etc. start from something. That moment began not now, days or years ago, and things looked differently - not like they do now. Looking, for instance, at a car, we realize that at the beginning its appearance was contrasting: at first all began with an idea, then there was discussion, designer's work, assembly operations, etc. It's just an insignificant example that, however, perfectly clarifies the situation - everything starts from something.

Project management is not an exception. Being a complex chain of tasks and processes, it should have the first step where everything begins. This step is project plan and planning.

In this article we will discuss a plan and planning and clear up issues connected with a How to create a project plan question. Actually, we described it in 7 steps.

What is a project plan?

But let's distinguish two notions right away. Speaking about a plan, we encounter such notion as planning. Is there any difference between them?

Project planning is the process of defining the scope, objectives and ways in general to achieve them. This process goes before a plan as it is here where everything is discussed. All crucial planning points and outputs then make up a plan.

A project plan is a formal document that contains all planning decisions, approved project scope and costs. Apart from mentioned things, its main goals are to guide control, facilitate communication between stakeholders and schedule baselines.

Creating a project plan, a manager should have a good command of key knowledge and skills from the very beginning. Knowing them, he/she will raise the bar for successful project's implementation. It will also help to foresee and avoid unnecessary mistakes and wrong decisions as well as simply help to save time and reduce costs.

Project plan purpose

A well-prepared plan should address and consequently answer the following questions:

This question is about the reasons why a project is sponsored and the problem it addresses.
Why?
This question is about the work that is to be done to deliver products/results, etc. and deliverables themselves.
What?
This is about involved people, their roles and responsibilities as well as the way they are supposed to be organized.
Who?
This is about project's schedule/timeline.
When?
How to create a good project plan?

Starting a new project plan, a manager should be aware of great amount of questions and the ways to answer and solve them. Each question can be singled out and paid attention to. But there are some common patterns where they can be referred to. So, let's distinguish what goes into a project plan and planning and what a manager should do.

Successful project planning should start with communication with a team about goals, participants, tasks, etc. A manager should know best who will be responsible for any given task, be aware of deadlines and stay always in touch with everything that is going on in a project.

Moreover, this step of project planning should be addressed during the whole project implementation. Remember, communication is the key to successful management.

Identify stakeholders and determine goals

Sometimes there are so many stakeholders that it gets difficult to be aware of everyone. Moreover, they can be direct or indirect with greater or less impact on a project respectively. That's why it is important to identify those who directly influence on a project plan and then seriously take their needs into account.

A sponsor - an individual who actually funds the whole project and approves it;

A project manager - an individual who directly makes planning with the following creation, execution and control over a project;

Project team that creates end product. They participate in many crucial aspects like development, quality, design issues, etc. But usually they do not approve a project;

End users who actually use end product;

This can be a long list of people who take part in a project: risk analysts, procurement specialists, etc.

What can be done here? Conduct interviews with key stakeholders what will help to realize requirements and goals that have to be achieved. The easiest way to manage and achieve objectives (goals) is to use Smart technique for goal setting.
Who can be a stakeholder?
During interviews a manager realizes what problem is addressed by the project and why it is actually sponsored.

This is our WHY question.

Obviously, the most important part of any planning. The project plan basics are pointed out and discussed here: justification, product description, acceptance criteria, objectives (deliverables), exclusions, constraints, assumptions, cost estimates and some others. All stakeholders, both direct and indirect, should come to a complete understanding and agreement during this stage. As soon as it is accomplished, all those points make up a project scope statement.

As a result, this step implies not only crucial moments to agree upon, but also it establishes good communication between stakeholders and diminishes any risks of misunderstandings that may lead to scope creep.

This is our WHAT question.

Define roles and responsibilities

When we speak about project team, a project manager's duty is to assign tasks to everyone involved. Team members should know their roles and set of responsibilities. Of course, each task should have a definite number of participants.

This is our WHO question.

This is the continuation of the previous point. As soon as a manager defines roles and responsibilities for team participants, the next step in a project plan is to set work duration for each resource with start/end dates.

This is our WHEN question.

Moreover, here managers set milestones, critical path - to say in general, this is work with timeline. Thus we are approaching the next point - what online project software to use for project scheduling.

Visualize a project plan with Gantt chart

Note: some people refer to their projects only as a schedule. This concept is wrong. The schedule with its visualization is only part of planning. The entire project is much more complicated entity.

GanttPRO online project planning tool is an effective way to schedule timeline. With this app a manager is able to:

Create tasks and assign them to team members;

Set duration with start and end dates for each task;

Set dependencies between events. A manager tracks all actions and knows where one event comes to an end and gives a start to the other action;

Track progress in each task and in the whole project;

Identify resources needed for each task;

Define cost for each resource;

Collaborate with team members and view all changes made by them;

Follow milestones - any significant events that can't be lost as they have direct impact on a plan;

Enable critical path - the shortest period of time needed for project's completion.

How to plan a project timeline?
GanttPRO makes it easy to visualize important actions that make up planning process and a plan.

Project management consists of risk management - it is one of the most crucial steps for planning a project. Almost no stage in this complicated sphere can go without risks. Therefore, it is highly recommended to define what can go wrong on every step.

An experienced manager does not only assess risks, but also creates plans of how to handle them in case they occur. His/her team should also know possible reaction to any changes.

Too optimistic expectation about time and cost;

Unclear requirements and needs;

Unclear roles and responsibilities;

Changes in requirements;

New requirements;

Budget cuts;

Poor communication.

Stick with it

There are no two identical projects. One can be perfect with no risks and delays; the other can be a failure even with the same sponsors, project managers and teams, costs, timelines and deliverables. Plans will change, risks will occur. But what will ease planning is a clear project scope, schedule, good team work and assessed risks - this is supposed to be in a solid and at the same time simple project management plan. Then even such challenging things can bring fun and joy.
What risks can occur?
Learn how to create Gantt chart in GanttPRO:
Do you have any experience in planning? Do you have something to add? Share with us your ideas in comments - we will appreciate it 🙂

Every process, notion, thing, etc. start from something. That moment began not now, days or years ago, and things looked differently - not like they do now. Looking, for instance, at a car, we realize that at the beginning its appearance was contrasting: at first all began with an idea, then there was discussion, designer's work, assembly operations, etc. It's just an insignificant example that, however, perfectly clarifies the situation - everything starts from something.

Project management is not an exception. Being a complex chain of tasks and processes, it should have the first step where everything begins. This step is project plan and planning.

In this article we will discuss a plan and planning and clear up issues connected with a How to create a project plan question. Actually, we described it in 7 steps.

What is a project plan?

But let's distinguish two notions right away. Speaking about a plan, we encounter such notion as planning. Is there any difference between them?

Project planning is the process of defining the scope, objectives and ways in general to achieve them. This process goes before a plan as it is here where everything is discussed. All crucial planning points and outputs then make up a plan.

A project plan is a formal document that contains all planning decisions, approved project scope and costs. Apart from mentioned things, its main goals are to guide control, facilitate communication between stakeholders and schedule baselines.

Creating a project plan, a manager should have a good command of key knowledge and skills from the very beginning. Knowing them, he/she will raise the bar for successful project's implementation. It will also help to foresee and avoid unnecessary mistakes and wrong decisions as well as simply help to save time and reduce costs.

Project plan purpose

A well-prepared plan should address and consequently answer the following questions:

This question is about the reasons why a project is sponsored and the problem it addresses.
Why?
This question is about the work that is to be done to deliver products/results, etc. and deliverables themselves.
What?
This is about involved people, their roles and responsibilities as well as the way they are supposed to be organized.
Who?
This is about project's schedule/timeline.
When?
How to create a good project plan?

Starting a new project plan, a manager should be aware of great amount of questions and the ways to answer and solve them. Each question can be singled out and paid attention to. But there are some common patterns where they can be referred to. So, let's distinguish what goes into a project plan and planning and what a manager should do.

Successful project planning should start with communication with a team about goals, participants, tasks, etc. A manager should know best who will be responsible for any given task, be aware of deadlines and stay always in touch with everything that is going on in a project.

Moreover, this step of project planning should be addressed during the whole project implementation. Remember, communication is the key to successful management.

Identify stakeholders and determine goals

Sometimes there are so many stakeholders that it gets difficult to be aware of everyone. Moreover, they can be direct or indirect with greater or less impact on a project respectively. That's why it is important to identify those who directly influence on a project plan and then seriously take their needs into account.

A sponsor - an individual who actually funds the whole project and approves it;

A project manager - an individual who directly makes planning with the following creation, execution and control over a project;

Project team that creates end product. They participate in many crucial aspects like development, quality, design issues, etc. But usually they do not approve a project;

End users who actually use end product;

This can be a long list of people who take part in a project: risk analysts, procurement specialists, etc.

What can be done here? Conduct interviews with key stakeholders what will help to realize requirements and goals that have to be achieved. The easiest way to manage and achieve objectives (goals) is to use Smart technique for goal setting.
Who can be a stakeholder?
During interviews a manager realizes what problem is addressed by the project and why it is actually sponsored.

This is our WHY question.

Obviously, the most important part of any planning. The project plan basics are pointed out and discussed here: justification, product description, acceptance criteria, objectives (deliverables), exclusions, constraints, assumptions, cost estimates and some others. All stakeholders, both direct and indirect, should come to a complete understanding and agreement during this stage. As soon as it is accomplished, all those points make up a project scope statement.

As a result, this step implies not only crucial moments to agree upon, but also it establishes good communication between stakeholders and diminishes any risks of misunderstandings that may lead to scope creep.

This is our WHAT question.

Define roles and responsibilities

When we speak about project team, a project manager's duty is to assign tasks to everyone involved. Team members should know their roles and set of responsibilities. Of course, each task should have a definite number of participants.

This is our WHO question.

This is the continuation of the previous point. As soon as a manager defines roles and responsibilities for team participants, the next step in a project plan is to set work duration for each resource with start/end dates.

This is our WHEN question.

Moreover, here managers set milestones, critical path - to say in general, this is work with timeline. Thus we are approaching the next point - what online project software to use for project scheduling.

Visualize a project plan with Gantt chart

Note: some people refer to their projects only as a schedule. This concept is wrong. The schedule with its visualization is only part of planning. The entire project is much more complicated entity.

GanttPRO online project planning tool is an effective way to schedule timeline. With this app a manager is able to:

Create tasks and assign them to team members;

Set duration with start and end dates for each task;

Set dependencies between events. A manager tracks all actions and knows where one event comes to an end and gives a start to the other action;

Track progress in each task and in the whole project;

Identify resources needed for each task;

Define cost for each resource;

Collaborate with team members and view all changes made by them;

Follow milestones - any significant events that can't be lost as they have direct impact on a plan;

Enable critical path - the shortest period of time needed for project's completion.

How to plan a project timeline?
GanttPRO makes it easy to visualize important actions that make up planning process and a plan.

Project management consists of risk management - it is one of the most crucial steps for planning a project. Almost no stage in this complicated sphere can go without risks. Therefore, it is highly recommended to define what can go wrong on every step.

An experienced manager does not only assess risks, but also creates plans of how to handle them in case they occur. His/her team should also know possible reaction to any changes.

Too optimistic expectation about time and cost;

Unclear requirements and needs;

Unclear roles and responsibilities;

Changes in requirements;

New requirements;

Budget cuts;

Poor communication.

Stick with it

There are no two identical projects. One can be perfect with no risks and delays; the other can be a failure even with the same sponsors, project managers and teams, costs, timelines and deliverables. Plans will change, risks will occur. But what will ease planning is a clear project scope, schedule, good team work and assessed risks - this is supposed to be in a solid and at the same time simple project management plan. Then even such challenging things can bring fun and joy.
What risks can occur?
Learn how to create Gantt chart in GanttPRO:
Do you have any experience in planning? Do you have something to add? Share with us your ideas in comments - we will appreciate it 🙂

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Every process, notion, thing, etc. start from something. That moment began not now, days or years ago, and things looked differently - not like they do now.

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How To Create a Project Plan: the foolproof way to guarantee the success of any project

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* Fresh water is distributed unevenly across the world

* Calculating fresh water availability of a country:

total water resources (m 3 )

total population

*Different levels of fresh water availability:

* water security : > 2,500 m 3

- a situation in which the country has adequate and sustainable fresh water for its need

* water vulnerability : 1,701 to 2,500 m 3

- a situation in which the country is at risk in obtaining adequate and sustainable fresh water for its need.

* water stress : 1,001 and 1,700 m 3

- a situation in which the water resources in a country are insufficient for its needs.

* water scarcity : < 1,000 m 3

- a situation in which there is the lack of fresh water resources to meet water demand in the country.

Impacts of water shortage on people:

o Increased difficulty in collecting water in Less Developed Countries (LDCs)

Mostly women & children had to travel long distances to get water

Time wasted on travelling far distances to collect water could have been spent on working(for women) or going to school (for children)

Insufficient water for entire household

Drinking unclean water can cause water-borne diseases such as cholera, and sometimes even death.

Water is made available only at certain times of the day e.g. Singapore in April 1963 water supply was cut off for 6 hours a day, 4 days a week.

People had to queue to collect water for their daily use

Inconvenient for elderly people & pregnant women

o Reduced agricultural yields (total amount of crops grown) in LDCs

Farmers' livelihood under threat

Insufficient food supply to feed entire population, may lead to starvation

Lower food exports decreases economic revenue for the country

o Increased cost of industrial production (cost of producing & manufacturing goods)

Limited water supply → higher power price → higher production cost

Power plants use a lot of water to cool parts of the generators. When there is water shortage, power plants have to cut power production or shut down for a few days. The cut in power production will cause an increase in the price of power & will in turn increase the cost of production in other industries.

Limited water supply → higher water price → higher production cost

Companies which produce soft drinks use a lot of water in their production. Besides being the main ingredient, water is also used in other parts of the process such as rinsing, cleaning, heating & cooling.

An increase in the water prices will lead to higher production costs.

o Conflict over water supply

 Local scale

Conflicts between farmers & factories over the use of common water resource, such as, groundwater or lake, e.g. India

 National or Global scale

Conflicts arise when countries tap into the same water resource such as a river.

One country's use of the resource could reduce the amount available to another country, e.g. the Mekong River.

Click here to see an interactive on the political conflict over the River Nile

Where is the River Nile located?

What is the water in the River Nile use for?

Why did the conflict arise?

How can the issue be resolved?

Water Rationing in Singapore in 1963

Impact of water shortage on agriculture in India

Political - conflict over water supply e.g. Mekong

Look at this article on " 2 billion people drinking contaminated water: WHO"

W here is the place mentioned in the article facing water shortage?

W hy is clean water not available?

W hat is the impacts of water shortage?

W ho are the people affected?

W hen did this occur?

H ow can this problem be managed?

"Today, almost two billion people use a source of drinking-water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio,Contaminated drinking-water is estimated to cause more than 500,000 diarrhoeal deaths each year and is a major factor in several neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma, "

Maria Neira, who head's WHO's public health department

Using solar power to desalinate water. Will this be solution for water shortage in Kenya?

https://youtu.be/P9I0CJSHd1E

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3. Impact of water shortage - Sec 1 Geog

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Fresh water is distributed unevenly across the world * Calculating fresh water availability of a country: total water resources (m 3 ) total population *Different levels of fresh water availability: * water security : > 2,500 m 3 - a situation in which the country has adequate and sustainable fresh water for its need * water vulnerability : 1,701 to 2,500 m 3 - a situation in which the country is at risk in obtaining adequate and sustainable fresh water for its need.

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Water Shortage PosesGlobal Risk to Businesses

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Water Shortage PosesGlobal Risk to Businesses

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Water is an economically strategic resource and a core element of natural capital underpinning many business activities. Water risks cut across all industry sectors including energy and extractives, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, pharmaceuticals, food and apparel. In the recent World Economic Forum Global Risks 2014 report, Chief Executives said the regarded water-related issues as one of the top five global risks to business.

Water risks are reinforced by concerns over failure of climate change mitigation / adaptation and by food crises, which are both intricately linked to water. Water shortages can limit production, disrupt supply chains, lead to conflict with other water users and harm corporate reputations. Safeguarding water and ensuring its availability in sufficient quantity and quality is a subject of vital interest to business.

Business and water: the relationships

What are the water-related challenges for business?

What are the water-related opportunities for business?

What do business sustainability leaders say?

Related links

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Business and Water: opportunities and challenges

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Water is an economically strategic resource and a core element of natural capital underpinning many business activities. Water risks cut across all industry sectors including energy and extractives, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, pharmaceuticals, food and apparel. In the recent World Economic Forum Global Risks 2014 report, Chief Executives said the regarded water-related issues as one of the top five global risks to business.

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With temperature soaring in the national Capital, several areas in the city are reeling under chronic water crisis. The worst hit are the unauthorised colonies including in Devli, Badarpur, Kanjhawala, Dwarka, Narela, Sangam Vihar, Burari, Khanpur, Bawana, Mohan Garden areas, which have very less piped water coverage.

Community taps installed for these colonies either run dry for days or just have water for a couple of hours, resulting in long queues for getting even drinking water.

Residents complain that they have to walk several kilometres in scorching heat to fill water to meet their daily needs. "I have to walk for over eight km every day in the afternoon to fill water for my family. The supply water only comes for an hour or two in the afternoon, that too not daily," said 50-year-old Kamla, who is a resident of Devli area.

The city has been facing acute water shortage ever since the summer kicked in, depleting the ground water in the city. The residents of other areas also complained of receiving a significant reduction in the supply water.

"There has been a huge reduction in the water supplied in our locality for over a month now. Even the flow of water has gone down significantly forcing us to keep the motor running for more hours, consuming more electricity," said Sandhya Verna, a Hauz Khas resident.

The Delhi government, however, said its water treatment plants are running at full capacity. "At the time the country is facing acute water crisis and all reservoirs have dried up, Delhi is supplying more water than its capacity," Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Vice Chairman Dinesh Mohaniya said.

He said that since this government assumed charge, the water production in national Capital has been increased from 830 MGD to 936 MGD. He also said that the DJB pipelines have connected 600 unauthorised colonies in Najafgarh, Bijwasan and Devli, and others, which has happened for the first time in the city.

Mohaniya added that DJB is increasing the water production by constructing new water treatment plants stressing that adequate raw water is available. "We will be building two water treatment plants -- one of 105 MGD in Chandrawal and another of 50 MGD in Dwarka phase II," he said.

He added, "Another water treatment plant of 14 MGD will come up in Okhla. Also, to resolve the problem of ammonia in East Delhi areas, sn ammonia treatment plant will be constructed, which will produce another 18 MGD," he said.

His comments came several hours after a BJP delegation held the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Nikhil Kumar "captive" for more than 10 hours at the utility's headquarters over alleged lack of water supply in the city.

"In the yesterday's incident, BJP MP Goel held hostage the DJB officials in their office, despite them not having a specific complaint. When they were asked about water contamination they couldn't tell us specifically. The people who accompanied him just wanted to disrupt the functioning of DJB," he said adding that the DJB CEO has lodged a complaint on the yesterday's incident with police.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the power and water woes being faced by the people in the city.

--IANS

pgs/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Several 'unauthorised' colonies in Delhi face water shortage

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Read more about Several 'unauthorised' colonies in Delhi face water shortage on Business Standard. With temperature soaring in the national Capital, several areas in the city are reeling under chronic water crisis. The worst hit are the unauthorised colonies including in Devli, Badarpur, Kanjhawala, Dwarka, Narela, Sangam Vihar, Burari, Khanpur,