Project Management 101

I'm continually reminded of the importance of understanding how a large group of tasks are accomplished in unison and in synchronization with each other. This is what a typical project is, isn't it? However, one of the KEY success factors is PRIORITIZATION. And, prioritization can't be done without understanding: WHAT needs to be done, HOW will it be done, and WHEN it needs to be done.
According to classic, tried and true, project management techniques, this translates into SCOPE (what needs to be done), COST (how it will be done), and TIME (when it needs to be done). Time and again, we want everything done immediately at minimal cost. This departure from reality places our faith in the most unlikely places, doesn't it? Yet, I recently had another conversation that transcends the natural by assuming we can actually do everything yesterday with just one person.
Prioritization comes when we decide among these three project attributes which is flexible, somewhat flexible and INFLEXIBLE. For example, the Sunday morning service time is inflexible - it's going to be on Sunday morning. The cost (or how) of the event is somewhat flexible - we plan to have a pastor speak, but that pastor may be unavailable and require an alternate. The scope (or what) of the event is most flexible in the sense that if the first pastor is unavailable, a layman may need to lead a short devotion instead.
The point is: as we understand the priorities of a project, we can make the right decisions for the right reasons as we seek to deliver on the promises and expectations of the project - whatever it may be.

Comments

Eleanor Burne-Jones said…
What a useful blog! Read back a few entries, blessings.
March 30, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Storehouse of Goodness

Image
How great is Your goodness which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in You. Psalm 31:19 When I think about the LORD and His goodness to me and those around me, I am so thankful. And yet, I'm not sure I've thought often about how He stores up goodness for me.  Have you? If we fear Him alone (and that's a BIG IF), then we can be assured of this promise: that He will store up goodness for us! The doctor gives bad news. God has goodness stored up for us. A spouse asks for a divorce. God has goodness stored up for us. Children make decisions that grieve us. God has goodness stored up for us. Fellow students or colleagues at our place of employment treat us with contempt or worse. God has goodness stored up for us. Dreams and goals we thought were important are no longer possible. God has goodness stored up for us. No matter what we encounter along the Way - whether calm or storm, peace o
Read more

Lessons of Trust

As promised, here are a few of the lessons learned after the challenges wrought in the experience on Thursday night's Living Last Supper: When we do something intentionally to God's glory, He receives the glory and protects us. Continue to put trust in God alone. As we trust God, if an outside organization desires access to the church, one must perform due diligence to verify who they are and what they intend to do. If there is no time to perform due diligence, then the offer remains unaccepted. The farther away an interviewer/videographer lives, the more due diligence is required. Interviewers or videographers rarely (if ever) pay you to do their work. If sufficient due diligence is performed, review ALL waivers before signing or making them available for signatures. If after due diligence, a group is allowed on site, increase security to ensure the group behaves as promised. And, the oldest lesson of all: people may not do what you expect them to do, but they will do what you
Read more

Who is your king?

  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”    Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”    Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” John 18:36-38a In a culture that stresses having the “right” identity, you and I have many.    For example, I am a son of my parents, husband to my wife, father to my children, grandfather to their children, a neighbor, a friend, a pastor.    You get the idea.    All of these relationships mark us – identify us.    While we might like to consider all of these identities equally, there is a hierarchy whereby one identity overshadows or has priority over another.    As we raised our children, my k
Read more