Does this to-do list look familiar?
-Milk
-Dry cleaning
-Phone bill
Disconnected, no particular order, no structure, no plan. Usually just one person responsible – you. Many people work from a to-do list. Sufficient for the basics, but not enough for complex projects within a marketing or product development team.
How about this to-do list?
-Brainstorm ideas
-Write copy
-Approve copy
This to-do list is the beginning of a more sophisticated and complex project plan. It will have more than one responsible party, it may have more sub-tasks. It probably has more steps to get to a final product. When your task list start to resemble this one, it is a flashing red light telling you that you are a prime candidate for project management software.
What is a project plan? A project plan may be an approved document signed off by all involved, of what the project should accomplish and how it will be accomplished or a generally agreed upon set of steps in a large process. It may include appointing a single individual as the project manager to oversee the process or using a project management tool to alert individuals when their task is ready to be completed. According to Techopedia, it explains the Who, What, Where, Why, and How of the project.
How are tasks organized in a project plan? Most projects are broken into a series of tasks and sub-tasks. These tasks will all contribute to the completion of the project and give direction to each responsible party doing them. The project management plan will define the next task necessary to accomplish the project using the same criteria.
[text-blocks id=roi-calculator]The project plan presents more information about the task than the simple to-do list. It also defines the next task towards the ultimate completion of the project. By providing the additional information about why the task is necessary and when it must be completed the project plan brings more importance to the task.
Integrated project plan systems provide everyone associated with the project information on the status of every step of the project. This helps keep everyone on track and makes each person more accountable for the tasks assigned to them. More is accomplished when the whole team knows the status of every step of the project.
Maturing
To-do lists work great as a way to get your basic tasks done like the list above and also a great way to get a team used to project management and accountability. But when the need arises (and it will) for more sophistication, online project management software like Workzone is ready to help achieve your business goals.
Steve Pogue is the Marketing Operations Manager at Workzone. He writes about project management tips and the buying process. When not at Workzone, you can find him playing vintage base ball or playing with his daughter.
