Project management, both a job title and a methodology which can be applied by any person, in any role, within any industry to more effectively manage projects, or campaigns.
As an operations professional you are the hub of the company; creating and delivering killer campaigns to live up to your sales teams promises and delight your clients. Not an easy job but someone has to do it.
From keeping your workflow running smoothly and mitigating hiccups, implementing a project management process into your operations will improve internal communication and translate to superior results for your clients.
So, sales have come to you with a request:
Yes, sales people can lack details so the onus has to come back to you to qualify the specifics; probe them for details and fill in any gaps. Remember they know the campaign and have had the conversation, it is easy for them to forget you don’t know everything, too. Ask them! Then write it down and re-confirm with them via email to ensure there are no misunderstandings.
Make a list of everyone who will need to be involved; technical team? Design team? Network manager? Connect with them all and arrange a time to go over the details
You know your stakeholders, now identify who is going to help you (if anyone) and take on key roles in the delivery of the campaign.
Once the team and key stakeholders are identified, lock in a meeting (whether phone or in person) to bounce around ideas and identify each person’s tasks.
No campaign is immune to hiccups. Use the insights from each key area to identify what potential hurdles could come about and are out of your control (whether workflow, competitors or market trends).
Who needs to be involved? Are there particular programs or equipment required? How much time needs to be allocated?
Based on all of your collected information, what is the best way to proceed? Identify your path, resources required and timeframes for each
You have identified your team, your path and your objectives. Confirm everyone is on the same page and committed to delivering their piece of the campaign on time and within the parameters set out. If anyone has hesitations or obstacles, work out what they are and solve them now.
Determine predecessors; which tasks must be completed before others and successors; which tasks cannot start until another has been completed
Make a list of these tasks and their outcomes, confirm with each member which is their responsibility and the timeline required to have the task completed.
If there are any delays you need to know about this before it is over time. Do not wait until the day tasks are due for completion to follow up on their progress. Do this regularly and ask them for realistic timelines of completion.
If there are any hurdles or delays they must be communicated ahead of time to avoid disappointing the customer. Communicate the campaign status with the sales team so that they can keep open lines of communication with the customer.
Again, if there are any delays or set-backs, keep everyone in the team aware as one task may impact another.
Follow the steps to effectively communicate, deliver your campaign and celebrate with your sales team on a job well done!
The main goal of project management is to keep your work organised and communicating effectively to ensure your stakeholders are informed and happy.
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About the author
Nicci Barnes
Director
Nicci Barnes has been working in strategic project management both online and offline for almost a 10 years. Specialising in her passion of internet marketing and making her mark on the digital world with her company Upside.Digital she manages the operational side of the business and one of the biggest network of publishers across Australia. She is passionate about ensuring if the business has the ability to succeed, then they should also have the opportunity to succeed. One word of advice from Nicci would be ‘Be stubborn about your goals and flexible about your methods’ and ‘Just Do It’
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