Harvard Business Essentials Managing Projects Large and Small: The Fundamental Skills for Delivering on Budget and on Time

10

Getting Off on the Right Foot

Project Needs to Keep in Mind

Key Topics Covered in This Chapter

• The importance of the project launch meeting, and what should be addressed
• Integrative mechanisms that encourage collaboration and bonds of trust between project team members
• Norms of team behavior

PROJECTS that get off on the right foot have a greater likelihood of success. Project planning, a formal charter, work structure breakdown, careful scheduling, and risk management are part of that process. But there’s more, and it’s covered here.

Once a team has been formed, the charter delivered, and the work scheduled, several important things must be done before work commences. First, the project needs a launch—a special event that marks the official ...