Project Management : The Power of the Checklist

Checklists, when thoughtfully created and diligently maintained, offer your team a simple yet powerful tool to accomplish a variety of project management tasks, such as tracking communications, accommodating unexpected absences of key team members, and overseeing resources. Depending on the needs of your project, checklists may take many forms. They might be tweaked to accommodate the specifics of a project, expanded or reduced based on scope, and created anew when the need arises. The versatility of the simple checklist is what makes it a useful, constant fixture in any project.

Good resource management keeps the project management consulting team running at full speed. Vendors and collaborators may change from project to project, and even from phase to phase, but checklists ensure your team knows the resources that are needed at any given time, and where to find them. Maintaining supplies, managing documentation and quickly locating a properly outfitted meeting space can all be facilitated through the use of checklists.

The minimalist concept of a task list evolves handily into a running steady-state report when used in a project setting. Activity checklists that are continuously maintained can be vital resources in the event a team member is unexpectedly absent, or when clients or executives request an informal progress report. The project moves forward without interruption, your client receives information quickly, and the returning team member is immediately updated on the project’s current status.

Relevant and timely communications are a basic underpinning of a successful project, and effectively managing the flow of communications throughout your project’s lifecycle is greatly streamlined through the implementation of a few simple checklists. Uses for communication checklists include ensuring your project data reaches the appropriate people (and no one else), confirming that responses and required information are received as needed, and that follow-up activities occur in a timely manner.

Also check out: (The Power Of The Checklist)


PMAlliance, Inc uses a team of highly experienced and certified professionals to provide project management consultingproject management training and project portfolio management.