Why Post-it notes are a Project Managers best friend!
Why Post-it notes are a Project Managers best friend!
In this blog, I'm going to outline why I think post-it notes are the project managers best friend and why you should have them in your bag at all times.
The world of project management is changing fast, with new apps being developed on a monthly basis, which is helping businesses improve productivity and keep everyone aligned and on track. Although, not necessarily keeping everyone engaged or ensuring everyone is invested in the project delivery.
Have you ever been in a meeting where a project manager brings out a gantt chart in Microsoft Project and most of the meeting it's spent by the project manager trying to explain to everybody what is displayed on the screen and trying to navigate through the plan?
I have been in this position as both a project manager and as a team member but then I found the Post-it note which changed the way I planned my projects forever and for the better.
There are three areas when planning for which I will 100% use post-it notes;
The first is capturing all tasks within the project. This may be done over one or two meetings depending on the size of the project. I would invite my whole project team and we would brainstorm together to capture all tasks.
Once all tasks have been captured, the second activity I would then work with my project team to agree on the best order in which the tasks will be delivered. We would also start capturing the amount of time each activity will take and who would complete this task. So by the end of the brainstorm and planning session, all tasks have been captured and laid out in a post-it diagram as illustrated below.
As the Project Manager, the next step would be to review the schedule and identify the critical path. The critical path is the longest overall duration of a project, this will then help you to also determine the shortest time possible in which the project can be completed. The critical path has been marked in red on the post-it diagram below.
These three activities are the foundation of any delivery plan. This information would then be extracted and a gantt chart would be created, on a spreadsheet or inputted into a project management app of your choosing.
What do these activities achieve? This ensures that everyone in your project team is invested in the delivery plan and the overall project outcome. This makes it much easier for the project manager to communicate progress and improve the chances of your project being delivered on time and within budget.
This approach with post-it notes can be applied both in an office environment and can also be achieved via Zoom or Microsoft Teams call.
