The incubator approach to successful project planning

Project Planning: Keys to Success

When planning a project, there are many things to consider. Among those things are the keys to success that have to be carefully addressed so they can provide the most value possible. Without them, it can be very difficult to plan a project effectively. Unfortunately, many people do not understand these keys to success and how simple they can be. Because of this, they miss the keys and end up making their project planning much more difficult than it would be otherwise. That not only slows down the project and costs money, but it can also cause the project to be completely ineffective in the long run. That could go as far as to derail the entire plan and harm the company well into the future. Fortunately, there are a few things that can be done in order to make sure the project planning is effective and successful. These keys to success have to do with using the proper approach and process while making sure the risk is distributed correctly.

Use the Incubator Approach

The first key to project planning is to use the incubator approach. It is very difficult to make changes all at once, because there is always resistance to that level of change (Lavell & Martinelli, 2008). Part of the resistance comes from not being sure the changes would be effective, and part of it comes from a lack of understanding of how to make those changes quickly and effectively. Instead of pressuring the higher-ups to change everything around, it is better to "incubate" the changes (Lavell & Martinelli, 2008). In other words, suggest them at the very lowest level of the project. Once small changes have taken hold there, one can move to higher levels within the project. It will not take long before those at the upper level of the project see that something is working, and they will want to get involved with whatever is causing healthy changes to be made.

By that point the changes will have been incubating for long enough that they will be ready to be used throughout the project, even at the highest levels (Lavell & Martinelli, 2008). That will provide value to people at those levels, and also to people at the lower levels where the project changes actually got their start. This incubation of ideas and changes is one of the keys to successful project planning, because it helps to avoid the resistance that would commonly be seen if a person were to try to make changes and provide new ideas at a higher level of management (Lavell & Martinelli, 2008). However, once the ideas start to do well at lower levels of the project, those who are at higher levels will only see the success and not spend as much time concerned about why the changes were made or whether they should have been made at all (Lavell & Martinelli, 2008).

Streamline the Process

The second key to project planning success is to streamline the process (Scott, 2009). All too often, a project has too many overlapping issues that have to be properly addressed in order to make the project operate more smoothly. Until and unless a person addresses those issues, though, they will never be corrected (Scott, 2009). Once a project is being planned, and especially after that project is up and running, many people just assume the status quo is good enough, so they do not try to make any changes (Scott, 2009). The problem with that is it could cause a lot of extra time and effort to be put into a project (Scott, 2009). That ends up costing the company in quite a few ways, and it is extremely inefficient -- which just adds to the total cost in other ways that are more difficult to quantify (Scott, 2009).

In order to streamline the process, though, all the issues must be discovered. That can be done through a careful and thorough analysis of the project, and must be performed by someone qualified to do so (Scott, 2009). Once that has been done, it is easier to see where the overlaps and issues lie. Then one can begin to remove the overlaps and adjust the issues that are being faced, in order to make the project more efficient. The more streamlined a project is, the less it will cost, the faster it will be completed, and the better it will operate overall (Scott, 2009). However, one must also be careful not to streamline something so much that vital components are removed (Scott, 2009). The key to success in this particular part of the project planning is to make sure all extraneous and unneeded steps are removed but that nothing really needed is taken away.

Conclusion

As can be seen, there are several issues that have to be addressed when it comes to making a project operate smoothly. Most of these can and should be undertaken when the project is still in the planning phase, but it is also possible to make adjustments to them after the project has begun. One has to consider these key aspects of success if the project he or she is managing is going to have the best chance of doing well. While these factors are not a guarantee of success with any particular project, they are the keys that are most likely to be effective when it comes to proper planning. Projects large and small can benefit from these methods, as they will be highly valuable no matter what type of project is being addressed. By making sure the project manager is aware of how to incubate ideas, helping him or her to outsource control and, therefore, risk, and ensuring that the process is as streamlined as possible, fewer problems will arise. Those problems that do appear -- as can happen on any project -- will be easier to correct and can be evaluated and addressed more easily when proper planning is used.