Q&A: Applying Project Management Outside of Projects
How can I apply project management outside of projects?
Good project management provides the scaffolding to support people in reaching a goal, allowing for collaboration while keeping us focused on deliverables or outcomes. So many of the tools and techniques of project management are useful anytime we are pursuing a goal and/or working with others.
We can apply project management strategies outside of projects to:
Goal setting: Focusing on concrete outcomes as the driver of action is core to project management and can support us in setting concrete goals (ex., Exercising more vs. Running a 5K).
Task management: Breaking deliverables or outcomes into smaller and smaller elements until we get tasks is a key project management strategy and very useful in managing our own tasks. Many project management tools can also be used to manage non-project tasks.
Supporting engagement: Project management uses a project scope to establish a shared vision of success among stakeholders and project team members. Clearly defining a group or activity’s purpose can similarly be used to encourage engagement when working with teams, committees, and boards.
Meetings: Many project management strategies focus on effective meetings, offering meeting agendas for regular team meetings that support problem-solving and collaboration. The framework from a daily SCRUM meeting (covering 1) Yesterday’s Accomplishments, 2) Today's Plan, and 3) Any problems/concerns) can be applied to so many of our regular non-project meetings.
Need more support leading successful projects?
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