This video by project management expert Rita Mulcahy offers useful tips for project managers. As a project manager, you have a great deal of responsibility. You are responsible for every single person involved in the project, and you are responsible for bringing the project into fruition. The planning stage of a project is one of the most difficult for project managers. The video “Getting Started in Project Management – 3. Project Plan,” provides some useful information about the planning stage of a project.
The Planning Stage
The planning stage of a project requires just as much time and effort as the actual implementation of the project itself. In the video, Rita Mulcahy first discusses the fact that many people are put off by planning. She then moves on to say that planning is a necessary part of the process. According to her, planning makes things easier. It provides everyone on the project team with a clear plan, and allows them to visualize the project. It makes the project more likely to succeed.
Project Planning Process
Mulcahy then states that the planning part of the project also has its own process. There is a process to successful planning. This process, according to Mulcahy, can make planning quicker and help you to develop a more effective plan. She says that there is a trick to planning well, which is B.A.R.F. Mulcahy says that B.A.R.F, which is an acronym for “Bought into,” “Approved,” “Realistic” and “Formal,” is a project plan.
Mulcahy describes each of the aspects of B.A.R.F in the video, which can provide project managers with a clear plan. “Bought-into”, the first letter in the acronym, means that everyone is interested in the project. They have bought into it. “Approved”, means that every person you need to make the plan a success has approved it. “Realistic”, means that the project can be achieved with the plan you have at the moment, and within the time-frame outlined in the plan. “Formal,” the final letter in the acronym, means that you have made the plan formal, with some sort of document.
In the video, Mulcahy goes on provide a final piece of advice, which is another useful tip for project managers. She says that a project manager often does not break the project down enough for their team. This leads to the project manager and the team feeling overwhelmed, and having no idea how they’re going to complete the project. She says that project managers need to eliminate that feeling of being overwhelmed.