Seeking Coastal Utopia

“green train on a railroad” by Sai Kiran Anagani on  Unsplash In parts 1 and 2 of “easy” project management and what are the methods to support the word “simple.” Simple project management is Who Does What By When . We’ve also talked about how to hold people accountable — focusing on the WHO and WHEN it is due. Now we focus on the items that arise during the project that we had not originally planned or intended to address. These are the surprises and discoveries that have been identified after the project has started, adding to our need for attention and forcing us to apply due diligence to get the “new” things completed. A tool to use that works easily is typically called a RAIL. No, No, we are not going to have to tie somebody down to the RAIL and wait for the train to come and run them over (or maybe we are). This is called RAIL or R olling A ction I tem L og. A log that you use to track things that pop up during the project. It isn’t necessarily that common or normally ...

“four person fist bumping” by rawpixel on  Unsplash Project management is all about executing projects and completing actions. Success is not possible without a robust plan to manage the accountability of people that own particular tasks. In a previous post, we described simple project management as being who does what by when . The second part of the “simple” project management is to focus on the requirements of getting the WHO to do the WHAT by WHEN to generate the successful outcome of the expected results. When it is due. The key? Communication. Often. Early and often. There you go, that’s the trick. Seriously, there is nothing else. Okay, maybe that is a little too global. Too ephemeral. We assume people know how to communicate and do it effectively. No, we are humans and we are train wrecks. Messy, messy, messy . You communicate clear expectations based on the owner. WHO . They know they own it, and there is no question that they own it. In this, we as...