Congratulations, you’re the Project Manager for an important new Federal Contract!
What do you do next?
Managing a Federal Contract can be a daunting task, what with juggling staff, deadlines, deliverables, budgets, and the unforeseen black swans. But with a little planning and flexibility you'll get through it and you'll get better every time. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Almost everyone is willing to share their knowledge. After more than 20 years in Federal Contracting, I've learned some valuable lessons about managing projects and I'd love to share some of that wisdom with you.
Here are 10 things to consider:
Scope. Ensure you clearly understand the project scope, objectives, deliverables and Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL). As soon as possible meet with the Government Contracting Officer (CO) to understand their expectations and address any concerns. Also, be clear with the client, known as the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) and teammates on what is not in scope to avoid scope creep. If the COR insists on adding to the scope, make sure it's documented properly such as a change management work order and that the additional requirements are approved by the Contracting Officer (CO) and funded appropriately. You may also need to add staff in order to accomplish the additional scope.
Team. Build a strong, capable and motivated team. Understand each team member's strengths and weaknesses to optimize output. Be prepared for staff to depart and keep a pipeline of potential replacements. For key positions, work with recruiting (either internal or external) to craft a job description before your key personnel leave, not the day after. Listen and learn from your team and provide the support, guidance, and leadership they require.
Communications. Encourage an open and transparent communication culture that respects the chain of authority, unless a crisis situation dictates differently. Establish well defined communication channels to avoid misunderstandings. If something is not clear, repeat it or reword it until it is clear to all parties. Provide regular updates to stakeholders on project progress, issues, milestones, and any schedule slippage. Communications will almost certainly include formal monthly status reports (MSR) and monthly budget reports to the COR and the CO.
Plan. Develop a detailed project plan with achievable timelines and milestones and budget projections. Use your communication channels to communicate the plan and ensure everyone understands. Be prepared for unexpected changes. Projects never go exactly as planned, so being flexible and willing to make adjustments are crucial to success. Depending upon the precision of your work, you'll want to use your project plan as a broad guideline or as step by step directions.
Goals. Clearly define achievable project goals and expectations. Ensure that team members understand their roles and responsibilities towards these goals and your expectations for due dates and for communicating issues as soon as possible so they can be resolved. Consider defining success by using S.M.A.R.T. Metrics (Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound).
Risk Management. Take into consideration potential risks and obstacles that may disrupt the flow of the project. Divide these into 2 categories, potholes and showstoppers. Potholes are bad but they can usually be avoided or recovered from without too much pain. Showstoppers are the real threat to completing your project on time and on budget and must be given the highest priority for avoiding or mitigating. Develop a Risk Management Plan that acknowledges and addresses each risk and shows how you will buy down the risk or eliminate it altogether.
Tools. Utilize project management tools to streamline processes, track progress, and manage tasks. Tools like Jira, Trello, or Asana can be beneficial, however, sometimes all you need is a spreadsheet. Remember the best tool is the one that gets used.
Learn from Experience. Continuously learn from your experience and other’s experiences. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice or help. Make frequent notes as you progress on what worked well and what needs improving and apply these insights moving forward on future projects.
Celebrate. Take time to recognize and celebrate successes with the team. In most cases, some team members will enjoy constant feedback and others can wait until the end, so I always think it's better to recognize achievements more often rather than less often.
Hot Wash. The Hot Wash is a review of the project soon after it wraps up so that everything is still fresh in everyone's mind and team members haven’t dispersed to new projects and locations. This is a great chance to learn from missteps, challenges, and yes failures; and use them as opportunities for improvement.
Being the Project Manager is a dynamic job that requires teamwork, leadership, communication, and organizational skills. Everyday is a chance to put those skills to work to push your project toward the finish line and success. If you read this far, I wish you best of luck as you set off on your new project.
Of course everyone of these 10 items could be broken down into their own lists. I'd love to hear from others on what else you would add to this list.
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Next blog post, coming soon.
