Conducting project reviews at milestones ensures you're on track. These meetings are a great way to get your team involved, improve collaboration and learn from your project management mistakes.
The first and main goal of a project review is to bring together all the stakeholders of a project to assess its progress and approve the deliverables.
Beyond its official purpose, it is an ideal project management tool to foster team cohesion by facilitating open dialogue, knowledge sharing and collective problem-solving.
By strengthening team dynamics and enhancing project visibility, project reviews significantly increase the likelihood of successful project outcomes.
Project planning involves setting key milestones that define project phases and progress. By validating a milestone, you confirm that a project phase has been completed and greenlights the next one.
Project reviews are where we officially approve milestones, deciding therefore if the project can move onto the next phase.
These reviews occur at the end of major phases and are typically scheduled from the start by the project manager. Decisions made in these reviews are often final and set the course for future project phases.
Some types of reviews are specifically focused on one aspect of the project. Common found are:
Project reviews have multiple goals and benefits.
They help to:
To ensure project alignment and efficiency, schedule a stakeholder project review meeting when reaching a milestone. These meetings serve as checkpoints to assess progress and determine if everything is ready to move on to the next phase of the project.
All decision-makers must be present at a project review for it to be effective, ensuring that decisions about the project's next steps are made on the spot. Also, invite relevant department managers, sponsors and key deliverable owners if necessary for technical insights.
However, avoid inviting everyone involved in the project, only essential participants should attend or the review risks becoming inefficient.
Beforehand:
As with any meeting, time is a precious resource. To maximize the effectiveness of the project review, thorough preparation is important.
This includes setting an agenda, selecting a location, inviting all relevant stakeholders and preparing visual aids. To ensure everyone is on the same page, the project manager should share all relevant information with participants prior to the meeting.
Afterwards:
Time is money, so don't waste it! Moreover, you risk losing your audience’s attention if you dive into details that may be irrelevant to those who aren’t involved in the day-to-day aspects of the project. Stay focused on key points and ensure that the discussion remains accessible and engaging for everyone.
Challenges and unexpected issues are often part of the project process. However, project reviews shouldn't lower morale. While it’s important to address major problems, also take the opportunity to share light on successes and recognize the contributions of team members. Acknowledging accomplishments helps maintain a positive atmosphere and motivates the team to continue performing well.
While reflecting on the past is important, it's equally important to look ahead. During the project review, dedicate time to discussing the next milestone. Ensure each team member leaves feeling motivated and aligned, understanding the importance of the upcoming phase and their individual responsibilities. This forward-looking approach helps maintain team momentum and ensures the project stays on track.
Use retrospectives to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a project phase and improve future work. Discuss different retrospective techniques such as the "Start, Stop, Continue" method or the "Glad, Sad, Mad" approach. These methods help teams reflect on what went well and what needs improvement, encouraging open dialogue and fostering continuous improvement within the team.
Tools like AirSaas, when connected with Jira or Asana, help the CIO/PMO and project managers to monitor progress at a macro level and identify areas needing attention. Share tips on how to use these tools together, such as setting up dashboards or using automation to streamline workflows.
Encourage team feedback, celebrate successes and embrace new ideas. This culture enhances project tracking and overall efficiency.
Address risks like scope creep, stakeholder disengagement, poor communication… and provide strategies to reduce them.
A project review is one of the most effective ways to allow all stakeholders to assess the project's progress. In this context, using project management KPIs can be highly valuable: they will serve as the foundation of your discussions and help you objectively assess performance for more relevant analyses.
Using project management KPIs during your reviews ensures that you've moved to the next phase of the project without missing any lessons learned from past challenges.
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