Project Management for the Technical Communicator

By Sita Chandrakant Bhatt

An apt definition of project management is the “approach used to manage work with the constraints of time, cost and performance targets.”

Tasks need to be managed to be completed on time, with available resources to achieve the required result. If we go by this assumption, every project or task would need to be managed. Which means every individual is a project manager.

Sounds good to me as an individual. But, when we talk of professional project managers, we are looking at a select group. Today, technical communicators often find themselves in a situation that demands systematic project planning. Since such situations often give very little lead time to get acquainted with new responsibilities and available information resources, the technical communicator has to train on the job or seek guidance. Hence the project management tips at www.projectkickstart.com/html/tips.htm is a good source for those need some help.

There are some excellent tips on this page, such as “What are the things I should be monitoring regularly on my projects?” and “How to get support from managers.” These tips would enable any individual to practice the basics of project management. The Project Planning Checklist gives a comprehensive list of questions one could possibly think of, even for a project brainstorming session. Such clear direction covering all aspects of project management would definitely help a reader to question with focus.

Having a comprehensive list of tips will enable project managers to face risk with certain degree of confidence. Risk pops up where you least expect it. The only way to handle it is to have a structured project management process in place. And creating such a process would definitely be possible using the guidance this comprehensive list provides.

To conclude, I think the definition of a PROJECT is optimized using the guidelines given on www.projectkickstart.com/html/tips.htm.

P Planned

R Rational

O Objectives &

J Justified

E Expectations

C Coordinated &

T Team Driven

Source: http://www.projectkickstart.com/html/ten_steps.htm

Sita Chandrakant Bhatt is a Senior Technical Communicator with Infosys.