Two Tips to Effectively Manage the Schedule of Multiple Projects

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How to effectively manage multiple projects' schedules?

I believe that we should divide the issue into two parts: managing multiple projects on one hand and controlling their schedules on the other. This is similar to one person handling/responsibility for multiple projects simultaneously. In this article, we will discuss the following approaches: OKR goal management, multiple project management, PDCA cycle principle, and the Pareto principle.

The initial step in managing multiple projects is to define the priorities and management approaches for each project. Secondly, it is crucial to oversee the overall project schedule to handle them with ease.

I. Managing Multiple Projects

Whether we are project managers or managing tasks in our personal and professional lives, we often face various tasks and projects of different sizes. Starting multiple tasks simultaneously can be highly inefficient for our brains. Just like a computer processing multiple tasks simultaneously with multithreading to enhance overall performance, the system heats up and breaks down when the number of threads exceeds a certain limit. To avoid downtime before starting a project, the first step in managing multiple projects is to learn how to manage them effectively.

Multi-project management involves an extension of time management thinking.

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In multi-project management, we can apply the four-quadrant rule of time management, which involves prioritizing projects. However, Lao Yuan made some adjustments to the primary elements of prioritization. Nevertheless, the core principle remains the same:

1. Prioritization = importance * urgency, which is crucial in arranging project management priorities.
2. Proactively look for potential issues and address them promptly. Starting multiple projects simultaneously when we are constantly handling urgent matters is like adding fuel to the fire, causing us to lag behind and be driven by the projects.

In actual project scenarios, there are three key elements in prioritization:

1. The company's strategic priorities (giving priority to strategic projects)
2. Return on investment of the project (prioritizing projects with a high ROI)
3. Importance of the customer (giving priority to key account projects).

Ⅱ. Schedule Management and Control

Once we have prioritized, sorted, and summarized all the tasks related to each project, we transfer them to a tool for processing. This frees up the project manager's time to focus on more important tasks, such as managing the project's schedule and mitigating its risks.

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There are individuals who focus on streamlining forms while neglecting the development of management skills, resulting in stagnation. It is essential for everyone to work towards enhancing their knowledge and skills collaboratively, which can lead to personal and professional growth.

1. Assign tasks and define key milestones based on OKR

To ensure the success of a project, it is crucial to assign tasks and define key milestones based on the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework. It is essential to follow the rules and write a clear schedule to determine the clarity of the task. Starting a project or task without proper planning can cause harm to others and oneself. Therefore, it is necessary to take the time to find and remedy any potential problems before commencing the task.

To achieve this, the following six steps can be helpful:

• Step one, consider all team members

  It is important to ensure that the rights and interests of all team members are protected. To achieve this, the team members should be included in the discussion of the schedule so that a consensus can be reached. This helps to avoid situations where decisions are made arbitrarily without full consideration of all relevant factors, and facilitates the timely correction of any deviations from the planned schedule.

• Step two, consider all aspects of the project scope

  The project manager should ensure that the requirements of all stakeholders, including customers and the company, are taken into account. This involves communicating and confirming the demands in advance in order to establish the framework for project execution. There are two main advantages to this step: firstly, having a general framework helps to predict future requirements; secondly, having an established framework provides a basis for dealing with any changes to requirements that may occur later on.

• Step three, establish key milestones

  The project should be divided into stages with event tracking set throughout the project lifecycle for the purpose of monitoring progress and assessing results. The project manager should set up tasks for each stage, with each stage representing a small project within the larger project. At each milestone, the project should be checked to ensure it is on track.

  There are two main advantages to setting milestones: firstly, it helps to monitor and correct the schedule in a timely manner, and secondly, the completion of each milestone keeps the team members focused and motivated, as they receive positive feedback for their progress and are able to maintain their enthusiasm for the project.

• Step four, evaluate the project schedule

  Once the initial schedule is completed, it's essential to evaluate the overall project to make a preliminary assessment of the project's needs. To accomplish this, historical information can be reviewed, and other project experiences can be researched.

  By doing this, we can gain a level of comfort in knowing what is needed before starting the project.

• Step 5: Account for potential changes in time and scope

  Plans can never predict all changes. Despite extensive planning and preparation, changes in requirements, falling behind schedule, and unexpected situations can derail a project.

  Even the most experienced project managers may face obstacles, leading to a loss of progress made.

  Therefore, it's crucial to allow some extra time and buffer, rather than overscheduling the project.

• Step 6: Assign tasks to team members

  Task distribution requires more planning than just informing lower-level team members. Team members cannot give 100% effort every day during the project lifecycle, as there may be meetings, temporary communication, conflicts, and other extra time consuming activities.

  These activities are not recorded, yet their cumulative impact on progress can be significant. Ignoring the accumulated power can lead to regret later.

  According to the Pareto principle, 80% of work is done by 20% of key actions, and project planning in the early stage falls within this 20% range. Completing it perfectly will make the later stages much easier, whereas neglecting it will create problems in the future.

2. Visualize task progress with tools

Project managers rely on data-driven decision making, and visualizing data is one of the most effective ways to communicate.

2.1 Burn down chart

It is important for project managers to recognize that the world is constantly evolving and change is inevitable. As a result, it is necessary to continually adjust project plans in response to changes such as personnel changes, resource supply and demand changes, enterprise strategic development, inaccurate estimates, and scheduling changes.

However, the project should remain under control. Burn down charts are a valuable tool for project management that have been developed through continuous exploration and practice. A burn down chart is a method of visualizing the progress of a project and can be used to identify issues and areas where improvements are needed. The official explanation of a burn down chart is as follows:

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In general, a burn down chart illustrates the connection between the total estimate of tasks and the timeline of iterations. It serves as a reminder to the team of the project schedule and tasks to be completed.

The chart contains four lines, including three straight lines and one curve, to clearly demonstrate the relationship. It enables the team to identify and address issues promptly.

• The horizontal axis represents iteration timeline;
• The longitudinal axis represents sum of task estimates;
• The dotted line represents the ideal task remaining;
• The last one represents the actual task remaining.

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By comparing the actual curve with the ideal straight line, we can easily determine whether the project is ahead of schedule, behind schedule, or on track. This will also help us identify whether the project is off track or already overdue.

2.2 Gantt Chart

Gantt Chart is a well-known tool for project management. It has been widely used in various industries to plan and monitor project timelines. The chart consists of a horizontal axis representing time and a vertical axis representing the project. It is a great tool to visualize the overall progress of the project. As for which drawing tool is better, I won't go into detail. If you are interested, you can read my other articles where I discuss it in detail. In summary, data visualization helps us avoid making decisions blindly in the project.

Once we have the data, we need to come up with a solution strategy. In case of any issues with the project schedule, we need to correct them in time. In the next section, I will introduce PDCA and discuss how we can use it to address the problems.

3. The PDCA cycle is an essential tool for project managers, allowing for constant monitoring and adjustment.

The PDCA cycle consists of four stages:

• Plan: set goals and develop a plan.
• Do: execute the tasks and implement the plan.
• Check: evaluate key milestones and results throughout the process.
• Act: correct deviations, standardize the results, set new goals, and begin the cycle again.

Effective project schedule management requires constant monitoring, problem-solving, and goal-setting. Through continuous improvement, correction, and refinement, projects can achieve significant progress. This is accomplished through incremental, quantitative changes that ultimately lead to qualitative improvements. This approach can be applied not only to individual projects, but also to one's own life, where constant revision can lead to personal growth and improvement.

III. Conclusion

In conclusion, effective schedule control in multi-project management involves two key aspects: multi-project management and schedule control. Prioritizing multiple projects and distinguishing priorities is crucial in multi-project management.

To control all projects successfully, early preparation, process monitoring, and correction are essential. In the early stages, use OKR to plan projects and allocate tasks, identify key points and potential risks of each project, and develop contingency plans.

During the process monitoring stage, use dynamic and visual tools to monitor progress effectively. In the correction stage, use the PDCA cycle for continuous improvement and positive feedback.

Lastly, it's important to remember that our thinking determines our perception, which in turn determines our level of success. Promoting a growth mindset is not only essential in work, but also in life.