Project management
Project management checklist
Guide
Checklists are useful tools for building consistency in work practices. A project management checklist can help you whether you are starting your project from scratch, or taking over one that's already underway.
Quick project management checklist
This checklist focuses on top-line items grouped under a number of main headings. You will need to consider all of these, ideally before you start your project, to ensure that you can deliver it successfully.
Preliminary planning
- consider all stakeholders
- consider mandate, brief and business case
- check the 'lessons learned' from previous projects
- consider cost, resources and budget
Project brief
- draw up project scope and objectives
- agree outputs or outcomes with all parties
- define a project approach
- identify project weaknesses, constraints and risks
Project organisation
- build a project team, project group or a steering group
- consider appointing a project manager
- identify and assign clear roles and responsibilities to all involved
- consider staff training and management support
- agree milestones
- create a resource allocation plan
Project plan and execution
- set down a clear project plan
- identify key tasks and activities
- factor in time and effort needed to achieve these tasks, and create a timeline
- consider scheduling, task co-dependencies and critical path of the project
- monitor progress against milestones, schedules, cost, resources available
- respond to change and revise plan according to the changing needs
- use tools to help you present and keep track of the plan, eg charts and calendars
- log, monitor and report expenditure against budget
- assess against risks and plan how you will mitigate/minimise impact
- consider the need to document or audit trail the project
- devise the project document library, if needed, and assign responsibility to manage it
Project closure
- hand over work, responsibilities and deliverables, if appropriate
- identify relevant people and tell them 'what, when and how' they will inherit
- carry out a project review or 'lessons learned' exercise
To find out more on how to manage the different stages of a project, see five stages of project management.