Draw up an Activity List

An activity and group document will show, in detail, the progress of a product from inception to the beginning of the manufacturing process.

Now that you are aware of your objectives and your constraints, you are in a position to get into the detail of the activities required to complete the project. List all the activities and divide them into groups.

The Purpose of the Activity List

Breaking the project down into smaller work units or activities makes it much easier to identify overlaps, and to assess how some activities may affect the timing or the outcome of others – their inter-dependencies. It is likely to be a long list and it will help to divide it into groups or phases so that each set of tasks becomes more manageable and easier to track when monitoring performance and progress. Grouping also helps you to determine how activities fit into a logical sequence for completion. If an activity does not easily fit into a group, establish whether it is really necessary. Identify what should be delivered by the end of each phase as checkpoints on the way to achieving the overall project goals. This helps with scheduling and assessing the number of people and the skills that you will need. Listing activities in this way also reduces the risk of misunderstandings, since all the team members know what their tasks are.

Consult the Right People

Start the detailed planning process by drawing up a list of activities. Involve the appropriate people in creating the list. Try not to judge their contributions at this stage.

You may need to involve stakeholders whose views will be valuable, people who are not full-time team members, and people who may join the project at a later stage.

Consultation at this stage will tap into the expertise and experience of others, and will ensure that they will be committed to the implementation phase of the project.

You need to produce as comprehensive an activity list as possible, so keep checking to see if anything is missing. Ask for a concise, one-sentence description of each activity.

Schedule the Activities

Scheduling is another useful aid when grouping activities. Think about the logical order in which the activities will have to happen. One group may not be able to start before another group has been completed. Perhaps some activities are to do with an event later on in the project. When you arrange the activities in order you will be able to see the logical progression of the groups as they occur from the start to the finish of the project.

Look Out for Typical Groups and Gaps

Every project has three groups of activities in common, which together form a good starting point for the grouping exercise. The groups are:

• Start-up – Activities that signify the launching of the project, introduce team members, and record what each person has committed to achieving

• Close-down – Activities that check that the target performance indicators have been achieved and finalize the project documentation so that subsequent project teams and managers can benefit from your experience

• Communications – Activities that ensure regular communication between the project’s stakeholders, such as issuing weekly progress reports or bulletins, or holding a familiarization presentation when a pilot scheme is about to go ahead.

When you have finished listing these groups and the others in the project go through the planned activities step by step to see if there is anything missing. Ask yourself if the completion of all of these activities will achieve the project objectives. It is important not to omit any activities since this could have time and budget considerations later on in the project. Once you are confident that each group of activities is complete, give each group and activity within it a unique identifying number.

Tip

Make sure your activity list reflects the priorities that you set for the objectives.

Pilot Your Project

One activity that many projects have in common is the setting up of a small-scale pilot scheme. This is an excellent way of assessing the likely benefits and drawbacks of implementing a new and complex project. Typical activities involved in piloting include:

• Inviting people to join a pilot team

• Implementing each phase of the project on a limited and controlled basis

• Documenting the experience as you subsequently roll out the project to all the stakeholders.

Incorporating a pilot phase means that you will probably have a far less stressful and error-prone experience when you roll out the whole project. Choose the people for the pilot carefully, warning them that they are the first users and should expect some teething problems.