Are your marketing projects often stressful, late or over budget? Do you find it difficult to align resources, schedule events, manage changing circumstances or brief your agency?

Projects are often undertaken using an instinctual and unstructured form of project management. If problems occur regularly it may be worth borrowing from classical project management. Originally developed through large-scale engineering and defence jobs, project management techniques can be effective at a smaller scale too. Project Management offers a framework for projects to be completed on time, within budget and with a sense of achievement within the context of the organisation.

Creating a vision

Project Management attempts, amongst other things, to create a guiding vision for projects – one that is aligned with the overall objectives and company brand values. This vision is used to motivate and align all the stakeholders, whether they are different departments, companies or partners to work together to meet the mutually agreed aims of the project.

Defining the project

Projects can now be defined and planned to fulfil the vision. The priority and scope of each project will then be seen as part of a whole, resources can now be agreed and key roles and responsibilities can be set. The likely impact of the project on the business can be assessed and criteria can be put in place to measure success whether it be an increase in sales, a reduction in costs or a repositioning of the brand.

Planning and design

When producing the plan, go for the ideal but be prepared to be flexible, you may have to work towards what is possible in the short term. Prioritise what you need /want to achieve and prepare a contingency plan should conditions change over the duration of the project. Dependent on the complexity of the task, or if there are new people or cultural differences involved, be prepared to pilot the project. Testing a campaign to a sample, for example, can throw up some surprising results, as can putting together a new team from two recently merged companies. When producing the plan look at constraints, draw an activity list and check resources. Try to pre-empt any problems and then produce a schedule and plan for validation. This plan will need to be signed-off by all the important stakeholders.

Implementation and execution

At the outset ensure that everyone knows what is happening and their role in the project, its targets and milestones. Once a project has started it is important to ensure that information flows to the right people at the right time. Any less or any more information than is needed can have a detrimental effect on the project. Once the information has been shared it must be stored effectively so that it can be reused or passed on quickly if need be. Ensure that the lines of communication or reporting structure are understood and adhered to, and that there is visibility on changing circumstances.

Leadership

The project will not exist and will not run without leadership. Leadership is needed to sell the project in the first place, to unite disparate opinions and to manage change that is the goal of every project. Projects can follow process, but without leadership they will become overly complex and lose effectiveness.

Monitoring and managing

The success of the project will depend upon monitoring and control, information needs to be gathered in time to ensure that it will not adversely affect the project plan. This information can be gathered by various means dependent on the stage of the job and the level of reporting – email, regular review meetings or review based on task. Review meetings need to have an agenda to ensure that reviewers keep focused. Information affecting the plan needs to be assimilated into the plan and the plan updated but other points can be left to another meeting. Create a climate where, when problems arise, (and they will) they can be dealt with quickly before they become critical. The review process needs to become a feedback loop allowing for review, decision-making, adjustment and review ensuring that all milestones are met along the way.

Closing

Once the project has finished make sure that it is formally closed and look at what has worked and what hasn’t – it is essential that the experience is documented and capitalised upon; if the team breaks up or the project gains experience in new fields this is especially important. The information gathered by the team needs to be reported on and conclusions drawn against the original criteria for success, the conclusions, whether they are positive or negative, are valuable for future projects. Look at cause and effect of problems you have encountered and try to learn from your experience. Similarly, make sure that the positive things the team have learnt are used as best practice.