Short List and Key Ideas

In our last segment we embarked on the overall picture of managing a project (applying Project Management to your project). Today, we tackle creating a short list as a great tool to focus the group and team on the key goals and objectives for the current project, whether it would be phase one or the entire life cycle of the project. The short list will not only summarize the intentions of the team, it will provide clear focus of your objectives and what needs to be completed (and when) to achieve the desired next steps…a core Project Management practice. The short list does not have to be a literal “short list”, as it can take many forms, from a top ten list of actions to a well-prepared synopsis that would need to be presented to the Project Management Office committee. In either case, the process of completing the short list leads the group through the necessary steps of goal refinement and closure (on those ideas to be shelved and/or postponed).

The key ideas are another valuable product of the short list. To fully understand the most important goals and objectives of the project, one must solidify the key ideas – the purpose, the reason for pursuing the project. Some questions might be “why do we have the need for the project?”, “why was this question posed to the team/company/organization?”, or “how will this resolution improve the status quo?”. When those key ideas are agreed upon by the team, each member should have a clear vision of why they are on the team, what you hope to accomplish, and what value you hope they will contribute to the end results.

Now that we have a short list containing key ideas, key goals, and a clear summary of the team’s intentions, we are ready to discuss the length of time for the objectives and what milestones might pertain to each of those goals and objectives. We will not finalize dates and milestones, yet, but we will begin to assign milestones (even if there are steps for further discussion). At this point the discussions will center around quantifying the steps within each milestone and the approximate time needed to complete each step. This brings us to another important Project Management practice – defining milestones and their time lines. In the next step, Defining Goals, Steps, and Strategies, we will continue to refine our progress and ensure that we remain on-track with the original intent of the project.