Project Management and Attention to Detail

by Arthur Cooper

Published on this site: September 15th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

Project management is about getting things done on time and to budget. Success or failure is measured by how closely the predicted finish date and the predicted overall cost have been met.

Project management is therefore a process of making a plan, of measuring progress against the plan, and of making constant adjustments to correct any deviations from the plan. Each deviation from the plan is a potential cause of trouble. Each delay is a potential cause of time overrun.

With any project there is an order in which certain tasks must be done. You cannot, for example, put the roof on a building before the walls are built. You cannot fully test a new computer program before each module has been written.

For a two-stage project stage 1 must be completed before stage 2 can begin. But even if stage 2 is completed perfectly to its planned budget and timescale, if stage 1 is completed late or its costs overrun then the entire project will be late and over budget. It doesn't matter how much you break down the project, into two stages or two hundred stages, the truth remains that if one stage goes wrong it has the potential to wreck the whole project.

Certainly it is true that by breaking down a project into a series of smaller manageable parts it is much easier to keep track of what is going on, and this you must do. The fact remains, however, that for overall success you must get every little detail right.

You might think that a small budget project of a few weeks duration that fails to meet its objectives is unlikely to have major consequences, but don't be complacent. In the real world even a small project rarely stands alone. There is nearly always something else that depends on it. Being late delivering the results of tests of a new prototype product might hold up the planning of an entire production line. Being a week late installing new computer software for the man who issues the monthly invoices might have major effects on the cash flow for an entire company.

Paradoxically the larger the overall project the greater the damage that can be caused by little things. For example, a project to build an airliner could be thrown weeks off schedule if ordering the necessary testing tool has been overlooked and it is not available at the moment needed. A project to build a bridge could be delayed by months if the specially manufactured bolts turn out not to fit and they have to be remade. Small oversights can cause big problems. Pay attention to details.

No detail is too small to be important. No project is too small or too large for this to be true.

Pay attention to every little detail. If the project is too big for one single individual to check every detail then divide it up into smaller sub-projects each with a delegated sub-project manager. Instil in the sub-project managers the importance of attention to detail. It is essential that every sub-project is given the detailed examination that is required. Details must not be overlooked or neglected. The overall project manager's job becomes one of coordination, of setting check points, monitoring feedback from his sub-project managers, and making absolutely sure that they are doing their job of looking after the details.

The key to successful project management is a well thought out and detailed plan taking everything into account and neglecting nothing. This must be followed by constant monitoring of progress against that plan. At the slightest sign of deviation or slippage the project manager must go straight in to fix the problem. He must not let it drift or he will be in big trouble further down the line.

If there is any uncertainty at all at the planning stage the project planner must allow for it as part of his plan. He must build in a contingency of time or money. In the real world the unexpected does sometimes still happen. But his job is to minimise the unexpected by thinking through every eventuality and examining every detail in advance. The more he does this the better the plan will be and the less contingency slack he will have to allow for.

Attention to detail is the key to successful project management. Attention to detail at the planning stage and attention to detail once your project is up and running.

Arthur Cooper - is a writer and publisher. For his mini-course `Better Management' go to:
http://www.barrel-publishing.com/better_management.shtml