Over the years, I've had various requests from many colleagues and clients alike asking for the 'magic formula', to ensure they themselves can deliver projects successfully. The fact is (and sorry to disappoint), there is no such thing. Project Management is a profession, like Accountancy, HR or Operations, that takes years of practice to accumulate necessary experience and earn internationally recognised qualifications; that allows one to manage projects effectively.
But like other professions, there are basic, common sense approach that one can take to ensure you have better chance in achieving success. So, for the mass of 'non-project managers' who often get lumbered with a 'project' to deliver by their organisation, I thought I'll post this as an aid. (But only use it for small, non-complex project. Anything else, leave to the professionals).
Instead of setting out the fundamentals in a list, and bore you; I thought instead I'll set it out as a video below. However, note that I only set out the very basic steps and have intentionally avoided key project elements (and jargons) like 'creating network diagram' or 'identifying critical path?' or 'how to manage project performance' etc; in other words, it is set out in layman terms and excludes many things that any project managers would be familiar with (and as a result probably will be crying out 'blasphemy' at this article). But it should serve its purpose in ensuring you get the fundamentals right.
So enjoy:
