How Website Project Management is as Easy as a Grocery Shopping Trip
If you’re like a lot of website providers (me included at one time), you think project management is complicated. But guess what? If you’ve ever made it through a grocery store run, got home with everything on your list and didn’t go over what you planned to spend, congratulations—you’ve already mastered the basics of project management!
If you’ve been following me for a while or if you are a student of The WP Project Manager’s Academy, then you know that there are 6 core principles of project management. News Flash! If you’re a typical grocery shopper, you’re already employing them in your daily life.
- Define the Job in Detail
- Break the Job Down into Manageable Chunks
- Get the Right Resources Involved
- Estimate the Time and Cost
- Establish a Change Procedure
- Agree on Acceptance Criteria
Defining the Job in Detail
Making the Grocery List
Before you head to the store, you start with a plan: What meals are you cooking this week? What do you need to buy? Most folks make a list to make sure they don’t wander the aisles aimlessly (or forget that one crucial item).
Just like you wouldn’t go grocery shopping without knowing what you need (unless you want to end up with five bags of chips and no milk), you can’t start a project without defining exactly what’s required in as much detail as possible. Lack of clarity of scope is a big profit thief.
Breaking the Job Down into Manageable Chunks
Organizing the List by Aisle
It’s common to break down the list by category: produce, dairy, canned goods, etc. This makes it easier to tackle the store efficiently without running back and forth like a mad person. Another example of breaking the job down is when you have a partner or kids with you, assigning each to a certain sub-section of the list.
If you’ve ever organized your grocery list so you’re not crisscrossing the store like a confused squirrel, you’ve already mastered the art of breaking down big tasks into smaller, manageable chunks. Doing the same on your web development projects can go a long way in making sure that everything gets done at the right time, using the right resources.
Getting the Right Resources Involved
Who’s Coming Along?
Sometimes grocery shopping is a solo mission, but other times, you bring in your partner to push the cart, the kids to pick out their favorite snacks, or even a friend for company. Getting the right people involved can make the job easier (or at least more entertaining). Another example of the right resources is choosing the store that best meets your needs. If you’re budget conscious, you might choose a discount grocery but if you’re most concerned with organic or all-natural food, you might choose something else.
If you’ve ever recruited your spouse to help you conquer the Costco run (while bribing them with the promise of free samples), you’ve already nailed getting the right resources involved.
Estimating the Time and Costs
Planning Your Budget and Time
Before you even leave the house, you’ve most likely estimated (even if only in your head) how long the trip will take (quick in-and-out or full-on weekend stock-up?) and how much it will cost (depending on whether you’re shopping at the discount grocery store or the fancy organic one). How do you know this? You look back to previous trips and used that data to form your current estimate.
If you’ve ever scanned the fridge and thought, ‘This trip should only take 20 minutes and $50,’ but somehow it turns into an hour and a $100 bill at checkout, welcome to the world of project estimating. But chances are you then adjust your budget and the other tasks you had planned that day to account for the unexpected overages.
Establishing a Change Plan/Procedure
Preparing for Substitutions or Out-of-Stock Items
You arrive at the store, but disaster strikes—your favorite brand of mayonnaise is out of stock. (I’m a Southerner so for me it’s Duke’s or nothing.) If this were to happen to me, while I could choose another brand, I already know the change plan is to go to another store. By pre-planning for the change, there are no meltdowns in aisle five.
If you’ve ever easily swapped out an ingredient when it’s missing from the shelf (and resisted the urge to scream into the void), you’re already handling project changes like a pro.
Agreeing on Acceptance Criteria
What Counts as a Successful Trip?
When you come home, how do you know if the grocery trip was a success? You measure it by checking off the key items on your list (bread, eggs, milk) and making sure you didn’t forget anything important (unless you wanted an excuse to order pizza). Another example of a successful trip might be that the stakeholders (your partner and kids) are happy that you brought home the snack they asked for.
If you’ve ever looked at your grocery bags and thought, ‘Yup, got everything I came for—success!’, you’ve set clear acceptance criteria just like any good project manager.
You’ve Got This!
So, the next time you feel overwhelmed by project management, remember—you’ve already got the skills! If you can plan a grocery list, navigate a crowded store, handle unexpected changes, and stay (mostly) within your budget, you’re already doing what great project managers do every day.
The same applies to managing web projects. It’s not rocket science. It’s all about breaking things down, getting the right pieces pulled together, and staying flexible when things don’t go as planned. You’ve got this!
So, if you can shop like a pro, you can definitely manage your projects like one too. And when you’re ready to go deeper and level up those skills even more, don’t forget—the WP Project Manager’s Academy is here to help. We teach web professionals, like you, how to CONSISTENTLY get their projects completed on time, within budget, with an end product that meets the client’s business requirements, WITHOUT sacrificing profit. Â
Are ALL your projects getting done on time and within budget? If not, we got you!
Join the WP Project Manager’s Academy – a FREE membership program where you can learn everything you need to know to consistently get your projects completed on time, within budget, with features that meet the client’s business requirements WITHOUT sacrificing profit.
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