Project
goals keep the focus on what is most important. However, on some teams these
primary goals are lost in their meeting's activities. Make sure each meeting is
structured so as to move the project forward. Even if the progress is only
inches rather than by huge leaps, the team must be pushing the project forward
as quickly, safely, and reasonably as possible.
Three
Goals of Every Project
Schedule (Finish the project within the scheduled timetable):
Your goal
should be to finish the project within the timeframe agreed upon. This means
you must do everything possible to drive the project to the end and stay on
time. Remember to avoid guessing and incompetence in the planning of the scope
so as to have a reasonable time schedule with which to work.
Budget (Finish the project within the scheduled budget):
Budgets
are set by some project teams while others inherit them. Whether you set the
budget or inherit it, you need to make sure you are doing your best to track
your expenditures and know where the money is going. When you finish the
project within the scheduled budget, you demonstrate your ability in running
the project responsibly.
Performance (Finish the project with the same level of quality):
Unfortunately,
when projects lag behind, quality is often sacrificed in order to catch up.
Project leaders sometimes feel that in order to pick up speed, pieces of the
project will need to be downsized or cut completely. True, the project plan
will have to be revised when problems arise, but the revision should never
compromise quality. While it is important to keep deadlines, it is equally
important to keep the project's quality high throughout the project.
