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Zoho Projects Skills Check: Can You Answer Yes to These Critical Questions?
Ilan Gross
29 July 2024
Introduction
To stop the failure of your Zoho Projects implementation, it’s crucial to ask yourself: do you need Zoho Projects training? Effective training can ensure your projects stay on time, within budget, and within scope. Understanding the interactive relationship between execution and monitoring and controlling is key to project success.
Do You Know How to Maximize Zoho Projects?
Ask yourself if you know how to perform the following critical tasks within Zoho Projects. If the answer is no, you need training from Lumen Business Solutions to ensure your project management works effectively.
1. Setting Up and Managing the Feedback Loop
Continuous Feedback: Can you establish and manage a feedback loop during the execution phase to monitor performance, schedule, cost, and quality?
Example: If a task takes longer than planned, do you know how to identify this deviation and adjust the schedule or allocate additional resources accordingly?
2. Implementing Corrective Actions
Issue Identification and Resolution: Are you able to identify issues or deviations from the plan and take corrective actions in the execution phase?
Example: Do you know how to reassign tasks, adjust timelines, increase budget allocations, or revise quality control processes when needed?
3. Iteration and Continuous Adjustment
Cyclical Operations: Do you understand how to operate the execution and monitoring and controlling phases in a cyclical manner, continually adjusting based on feedback?
Example: If risk monitoring reveals a new risk or a higher-than-expected impact, can you implement new risk mitigation measures?
4. Driving Continuous Improvement
Learning and Adapting: Are you able to leverage the interaction between execution and monitoring and controlling for continuous improvement, feeding lessons learned back into the project plan?
Example: Can you adopt more efficient execution methods for similar tasks throughout the project?
5. Maintaining Stakeholder Communication
Regular Reporting: Do you know how to provide regular reporting from the monitoring and controlling phase to keep stakeholders informed about project progress, challenges, and changes?
Example: Are you able to manage expectations and ensure stakeholder satisfaction by making informed decisions about necessary adjustments?
Practical Example:
Imagine a Software Development Project:
Initiation Phase
Project managers identify the need of a project
Project managers create the feasibility study and project charter documents
Approval of the project is given by the project sponsors and the stakeholders
Planning Phase
Project managers and stakeholders define the scope and the deliverables
The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is created by project managers with developers
Project managers create Gantt charts to map out tasks progress, timelines and deliverables
Project managers create resource plans, budget plans, and risk management documents
Execution Phase
Developers are writing code based on the project plan.
Quality assurance teams are testing the software modules as they are developed.
If changes occur during the Monitoring and Controlling phase, the project reverts to the Execution phase to implement these adjustments.
Monitoring and Controlling Phase
Project managers are tracking progress using project management tools, comparing actual progress against the planned schedule.
Budget reports are generated to ensure costs are within the approved budget.
Testing results are reviewed to ensure quality standards are met.
Interactive Relationship
Bug Fixes: If testing reveals bugs, feedback is provided to developers to fix the issues.
Resource Adjustment: If the project is behind schedule, additional developers may be assigned, or overtime may be approved.
Stakeholder Updates: Regular updates are communicated to stakeholders, ensuring they are aware of any changes and the reasons behind them.
Conclusion
If you answered no to any of these questions, it’s time to invest in comprehensive Zoho Projects training with Lumen Business Solutions. Our expert training will help you master the interactive relationship between execution and monitoring and controlling, ensuring your projects stay on track, within budget, and meet quality standards.
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Take the Next Step with Lumen Business Solutions
If you are an educator, industry leader, or student who believes in the importance of this initiative, we urge you to voice your support. Let’s work together to create educational opportunities that meet the demands of the modern tech industry and ensure that New Zealand remains at the forefront of technological innovation.