Plan your attack

by Kera McHugh, of somethingelse web+graphics

Ok… those deadlines… they're a difficult thing to keep until you get into a routine - and unless you have routine work it's even more difficult. But… there is hope. There are proven methods for structuring a project with a deadline to enable you to have half a chance of meeting the deadline - on deadline!

Work Backwards

Get out your calendar and find the deadline date. Get out your project book (whatever you use: notebook, company guide book, whatever) and outline the project requirements (ALL of them). Then put the requirements in order (from start to finish, as accurately as possible). Estimate the time required for each part of the project.

On your calendar, starting at the deadline date, block off the necessary time for each requirement from Finish to Start. Overlap where possible and appropriate (obviously, unless you're doing the entire project alone, some parts can be accomplished simultaneously). If you end up going back in time (past today) you'll need to re-evaluate the project and either bring in more people, scale it down, or change the deadline to something more realistic.

Realistic? That's a word that I think many people who set deadlines have never heard before. As a web designer, I find often that people think I just snap my fingers or wiggle my nose and Presto! their website is built. They email or call me and say "I'd really like to add this to my website" and then a couple hours later, or the next day they email/call me again and say "I thought you were going to put this on my website". Same goes for non-web projects… If you are not the one actually DOING the project part(s), and particularly if you have no expertise in the project part(s), it can be almost impossible to set a realistic deadline without going through the above process with the entire project team.

Another reality: You can't just say "I need to do this" and pick a day you want it done by and expect that it will happen. In my experience 99% of the time, it will not happen by the day you pick. Why? Because you couldn't possibly have thought of all the things you need to include in the scope of the project during that split second you decide you need to do the project in the first place.

Planning is Priority #1

To effectively complete a project, you have to plan it. You wouldn't just decide to build a house one day and go out and buy a palette of wood for the siding, would you? No. So, just like a house, you have to plan a book, a website, a marketing campaign, a fundraising event, a conference - the same way. So how do you do that?

You need a goal. You need to know precisely what it is that the project entails, how it will be accomplished, who will be required to accomplish it, how much it will cost, what outside factors will be necessary to consider, and what your final ultimate desired outcome is. Let's use a conference as an example:

Ok. So ask yourself the following questions: A) who will come to this conference? B) where will we hold it? C) what date will we hold it on? D) is that a good date for the people who will come? E) how many people will we anticipate? F) what do we want to show/teach/give them? G) how many speakers do we need? H) which speakers will they be? I) how many seminars will we need? J) who will present those seminars? K) are those speakers and seminar leaders available? L) how much will they charge us for their services? M) how much will the venue cost us? N) will we provide break refreshments? O) how much will the venue charge us for those? P) will the venue charge us a minimum regardless of how many people show up? Q) what will we charge people to attend the conference? R) will they pay it? S) how will we market the conference? T) what will it cost us to implement that marketing? U) do we have enough time between now and our target date to effectively market the conference anyway? V) how will we handle registration? W) do we need a website for the conference? X) who will build that website? Y) who will design the conference materials? Z) who will coordinate the schedule for the conference? Aa) how many days will the conference go on for? Bb) who will be the onsite manager…

Do you see where I'm going? There's a lot to be considered.

So… if you have control over the deadline, do a realistic project outline FIRST, THEN set your deadline whenever possible. If you can't change the deadline, then work backwards and adjust the project or resources accordingly. If you can't do any of those things, then put in a call to your fairy godmother!

Happy planning!

Kera is the creator and owner of somethingelse web+graphics in the beautiful Sunshine Coast of Canada. She does everything from websites to print to bring her clients in the speaking and entertainment industries integrated creative promotional materials. In her spare moments, she tends her garden, does a little theatre and is a proud cadet mom to her amazing teenager. Find her online at http://www.time4somethingelse.com
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