monday.com Project Management Demo & Set up Guide

Herding Cats or Managing Projects?

Overview - monday.com Project Management

Project management streamline your projects efficiently. For many, project management may seem as straightforward as handling tasks with deadlines. However, as you multiple projects, stakeholders, and contractors to the mix, things can quickly become complex.

What is a Project? Well, google's definition is individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim.

Project Management is relevant for PMO, IT, Marketing, Product, Sales and really any department that has a deliverable with a deadline or timeline.

Comprehensive Project Management Demonstration in monday.com by the legendary Doron Eliezer - Regional Director of Customer Success at monday.com

5 Step Guide to get started with monday.com Project Management

Step 1: Project Intake

Let's start with how a project actually becomes a project. Typically Projects begin with an idea that is vetted and prioritised based on criticality, impact and benefit.

It is critical to be able to create a funnel of all submitted ideas and project requests in a single place. This helps ensure that when a project idea is submitted it is standardised and all relevant information to help prioritise the project is captured.

monday.com helps with capturing all relevant details and documents that relate to the project using a customisable form to capture information like:

• Budget
• Timeline
• Priority
• Approval chain
• Business Case
• Benefit or Expected outcome

This information helps brief the project team on what the project charter is to avoid the back-and-forth communication you typically see via email, chat or even in person, helping streamline project requests to avoid bottlenecks and saving your team time.

Step 2: Project prioritisation

Remember, prioritisation is an ongoing process, and it requires continuous monitoring and adjustment. By following these steps, you can effectively manage multiple projects and allocate your time and resources wisely.

1. Understand project requirements and goals.
2. Evaluate project deadlines and identify flexible timelines.
3. Assess the potential impact and importance of each project.
4. Consider project dependencies and resource availability.
5. Break down projects into smaller tasks or milestones.
6. Prioritise based on urgency, importance, and feasibility.
7. Communicate priorities and manage expectations.
8. Regularly review and adjust project priorities as needed.

Step 3: Resource Management

Load-balancing resources to ensure your projects are efficiently delivered can be a juggling act, luckily there are a variety of tools like monday.com that can help automate and visualise your resources in a way to help make sure team members are not being overworked or underutilised.

1. Identify resource requirements for each project.
2. Assess resource availability and constraints.
3. Prioritise resources based on project priority and deadlines.
4. Create a resource plan with assignments and timelines.
5. Optimise resource utilisation and balance workloads.
6. Monitor and track resource allocation using tools.
7. Communicate and collaborate with the team and stakeholders.
8. Anticipate and adapt to changes in project dynamics.
9. Review resource performance and make improvements.
10. Continuously refine resource management processes.

monday.com Workload view for Resource Management

Step 4: Project Type & Delivery methods

No project is the same, a great way to think about this is with project T-shirt sizing

In this example we can see depending on the estimated time in weeks that a project is classified as Small, Medium, Large or Extra Large

To keep things simple, let's break down 2 Size types of projects BAU or Minor Projects and Large Projects.

BAU & Minor Projects

These projects tend to be smaller scale and higher volume.

Examples could include:

1. Conducting small-scale market research.
2. Organising a team-building event.
3. Updating website content.
4. Launching a social media campaign.
5. Conducting training sessions.

Higher Volume Minor Projects in monday.com

Large Projects

These types of projects tend to be larger in scale, involve more stakeholders, include more stages /steps such as milestones and affect or touch more than one team/department within the organisation.

A few examples of large projects could include:

1. Launching a new product or service.
2. Opening a new branch or location.
3. Mergers and acquisitions.
4. Developing and launching a large-scale marketing campaign.
5. Implementing a company-wide digital transformation like a new CRM or ERP

Example Stages of a Large Project

Agile Project Management

Agile project management requires an adaptive mindset, close collaboration, and a focus on delivering incremental value. By following these steps and embracing the core principles of Agile, you can effectively manage projects with flexibility and responsiveness.

Can monday.com be used for Agile?

Yes, Monday.com can be considered agile business software due to its flexibility, visual task management, collaboration features, support for iterative work, and agile metrics and reporting capabilities. It aligns well with agile principles and can be adapted to various agile methodologies such as Scrum and Kanban.

Here is a 30,000-foot quick guide on how to Agile project management:

1. Define project vision and goals.
2. Form a cross-functional team.
3. Break work into iterations (sprints).
4. Prioritise and plan the backlog.
5. Conduct sprint planning.
6. Execute the sprint and hold daily stand-ups.
7. Embrace continuous improvement through sprint reviews and retrospectives.
8. Adapt and iterate based on feedback and changing requirements.
9. Foster communication and collaboration.
10. Monitor progress and metrics for data-driven decisions.

5. Portfolio and Reporting

Creating a portfolio and generating reports are essential components of project management. They help stakeholders understand project progress, make informed decisions, and evaluate overall performance.

1. Define Project Objectives: Divide groups of related projects into programs this hierarchy helps create a portfolio that will make up your Portfolio.
2. Determine Key Metrics: Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics that align with project objectives. Common metrics include budget, schedule, resource utilisation, quality, and customer satisfaction.
3. Reporting Tools: Choose appropriate tools and software to collect, analyse, and present project data effectively. Project management software, like monday.com can help effectively present your data with an easy user experience
4. Collect and Validate Data: Gather accurate and up-to-date data related to project activities, milestones, resources, costs, and risks. Ensure data integrity by validating its accuracy and completeness.
5. Develop Reporting Templates: Create reporting templates or formats that suit your project's needs. Templates can include sections for project summary, status updates, progress against milestones, risks and issues, budget and expenses, and upcoming tasks.
6. Establish Reporting Frequency: Determine the reporting frequency based on project timelines and stakeholder needs. Weekly, biweekly, or monthly reports are common, but adapt the frequency to match project dynamics.
7. Generate Status Reports: Prepare regular status reports that provide a comprehensive overview of project progress. Include information on completed tasks, ongoing activities, upcoming milestones, and any deviations from the plan. Highlight risks, issues, and mitigation strategies.
8. Portfolio Management: If managing multiple projects, develop a portfolio management approach. Consolidate information from individual projects into a portfolio dashboard to track overall progress, resource allocation, and interdependencies.
9. Executive Reporting: Create executive-level reports that focus on high-level project summaries and strategic insights. These reports should highlight key achievements, challenges, resource utilisation, financial performance, and impact on organisational goals.
10. Present Reports: Share reports with relevant stakeholders, including project sponsors, team members, executives, and clients. Schedule regular meetings or presentations to discuss the reports, address concerns, and ensure alignment among stakeholders.
11. Continuous Improvement: Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your reporting approach. Solicit feedback from stakeholders, refine report templates, and identify areas for improvement to enhance the value and relevance of project reporting.