Project Management: Begin at the end

Can you manage a project backwards? Would it make more sense to do so?

Well think about it this way, if you know what the end result is going to be you can work your way backwards to your current starting point. If you've already tried to work out your project plan in the normal - forward planning kind of way, you will be able to compare the two lists, and you will be able to see which is the more detailed version.

Why are details important?

Well - time and money for starters.

If you get your time line wrong it will blow the budget. If you get the details wrong it will extend the time line and therefore the budget. So it's essential to fill in as many of the blanks before you start.

So, lets look at the hindsight approach for a minute.

Your project is going to have an outcome. Well it should at any rate. Take the building of a house. The final outcome is a house you can live in...or are you planning on building it so you can rent it out. It makes a difference to the decisions you will need to make.

So, you know you want a house.

• Do you know what the house is going to look like?
• What do you see when you drive up to it?
• What kind of letter (mail) box does it have, what kind of garden / drive way / windows / bricks / roof / does it have?
• What do your neighbours houses look like?
• Does it have outside lights?
• What kind of front door?
• What do you see when you open the door?
• Does it have a carpet or tiled entrance way?
• What colour are the walls? What colour is the carpet and tiles?
• What colour is the bathroom suite?
• Does it have built in wardrobes?
• What kind of light fittings, bathroom fittings does it have?
• Where is the house going to be situated? What block of land do you need to buy?
• Who do you need to speak to about financing it?
• Which builder are you thinking about?
• Are you having an architect build it for you?
• Which one?

Each of these sets of questions, gives you a new set of things you need to do, think about and organise.

Now, would you have thought about the colour and style of your driveway if you had "planned" your project forwards?

Of course you may not be planning on building a house, but what about building a bridge? Or rolling out a new computer system?

You can plan every kind of project backwards because it gives you a whole new insight into your planning. Of course if you are fortunate to have someone who has been there and done that - all the better, but most of the time we have to start from scratch, and that can be extremely hard.