Transforming Chaos into Results-How to Handle Multiple Projects?

The job of a project manager is the most complex one. Each project brings a new set of challenges and a new team. A manager doesn’t just need the basic knowledge of the project, but they are supposed to plan the entire project around the deadline, budget, employees’ availability status, and other factors. Sometimes, you must juggle multiple projects to ensure all tasks are accomplished.

But do you know handling multiple projects simultaneously, irrespective of their complexity, is possible? You just need the right management strategy, and you are good to go.

Handling Multiple Projects

In this post, we will discuss some effective tips for managing multiple projects at the same time. Let’s take a look.

Plan and Prioritize

Planning is key to the successful completion of a project. Just knowing that you have to finish a project by the specific deadline won’t do. It’s important that you prepare a project charter that lists all tasks with the estimated deadlines and the budget you need for the entire project. You should dedicate at least an hour to project planning daily. Remember, if you plan well, your team will execute the project without mistakes.

While creating the list, prioritize the tasks. See which task needs to be finished urgently. You can set reminders for each project so that you can keep up-to-date with the deadlines. This way, you will know which projects must be finished and delivered first. Check the task list and work on projects (first) that will take minimal time and are easy to complete.

Delegate Everything at the Beginning

Each employee should know their roles and responsibilities in different projects from the start. You should also set a date for feedback and approvals, as these are often neglected when working on an urgent project. Delegating your responsibilities to the employees will make your part easier. You can use a project management tool, such as nTask, to ensure that every employee knows and understands their responsibilities, the deadlines for the project, and the description.

Be Flexible

So, you have assigned the duties to each employee according to their bandwidth and skills. However, the priorities you set at the beginning of the project can change at any time. A project manager and team must be flexible enough to work according to these changes.

That’s why a centralized system is necessary. That is where you can get a clear view of which employees are assigned what duties, an update on the pending task, and changes on the priority list. You can evaluate these metrics and reassign duties to employees that are free to take up more work.

Ensure Proper Communication

Everyone in your team should know which job is completed at what time. They should know about cross-departmental work. This keeps them up-to-date with the project’s progress. Poor communication affects the project negatively. When your employees don’t know why the deadlines on the priority list are shifting and why the duties are re-assigned, they won’t be able to execute their jobs properly.

Not just the team but also the stakeholders need regular updates about the progress of different projects. Using a project management tool that provides regular updates about the work status is the easiest way to keep everybody informed about each project without having to update everyone manually.

Managing Your Human Resources

Your project’s success depends largely on how well you manage your workforce. Most projects fail because the manager doesn’t utilize employees’ talent. Some employees are overloaded with tasks they can’t manage on time, while others who are equally talented do not have much on their plate.

It’s easy to manage your team when working on one project at a time, but if it’s different projects with the same deadlines, you need to use a project management tool. Keeping up with the employees’ work status will help you avoid missed deadlines. Check each project, the different tasks, how many are assigned to each employee, and so on. You can make changes to each task accordingly.

Pay Attention to Project Schedules

Common problem managers report when working on different projects simultaneously is a delay. It’s difficult to handle multiple tasks at a time. You will have to prioritize one over the other, and the one you don’t do first will get delayed. That happens when you don’t pay attention to the project schedules. Each project has a deadline.

You need to schedule the tasks within each project according to these deadlines. Ask your team how much work they can handle and assign work accordingly. Tasks don’t only get delayed, but it’s difficult to maintain quality when you are juggling multiple projects. You need to be very careful about the deadlines and delegation to ensure your employees’ skills are utilized well and each project is completed as and when required.

Save Your Workflow

Imagine you have just finished a project for the quarter, and now you are starting work on a similar project for the next quarter. But you have no clue how you managed work for the first quarter. So, there’s no way you can replicate the workflow. It’s important to track your workflow from the start and save the templates explaining all the tasks in a clear format.

This will help you use this template for future projects, especially when you are working on more than one project at a time. Keep this template and make changes as you incorporate new strategies or add more roles. Also, allow access to this template to your entire team so that everyone can manage the project efficiently. Customize this template and use it for all projects.

Conclusion

Managing multiple projects with different requirements and deadlines is not a cakewalk. Managers often have to assign multiple duties to the teams, and they might have to work beyond office hours just to get all the work done on time and without compromising on quality. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed with a list of pending projects. The above tips will help you transform the chaos into a well-planned project with clear specifications.