Whether your project just kicked off or you are about to celebrate a 12-month anniversary, there are critical data points every project manager should be tracking. Great project managers are plugged into the pulse of a project and on top of the details. Predicting the future may not be part of the job description, but skilled PMs can see around corners and head off issues before they become roadblocks or escalations.
The truth is, traditional project management systems only get you part of the way there and that is only if you are disciplined about taking notes, tracking decisions, following up with stakeholders, and holding people accountable. After years of managing projects and working with project managers, both the great ones and those new to the field, I have identified five key things that, if every PM had at hand, would make them ten times more effective. Nothing is worse than a 5PM escalation call on a Friday from a new client when it could have been prevented with better communication and project management. Let us break them down.
1. Accurate, Objective Status
A project manager should be able to provide an accurate summary of a project at any moment. It sounds easy, but delivering a true picture of status is often inconsistent in practice. I have seen project updates where two hours later there was an escalation and the team was caught off guard. Here is what makes a strong project status:
- Timeline: How far along is the project? How many milestones are completed and how much time remains?
- Delivery Prediction: Will the project meet the deadline? If not, what is the revised timeline?
- Work Completed: A brief paragraph or one-minute overview of progress.
- Key Decisions: A short list of major decisions and who made them.
- Team Accountability: Are team members performing, collaborating, and attending necessary meetings? Keep an eye on key contributors to ensure they are supported and delivering.
- Blockers or Scope Changes: Note any major blockers or new requirements that could impact the project.
- Sentiment: Is the team working well together? Are any individuals showing negative behavior or opinions that could affect outcomes?
2. Team Accountability
Team attendance and accountability are critical for success. The RACI matrix is a great framework to identify who is essential to daily progress and who simply needs updates.
Attendance is often overlooked, but trends can make or break a project. What if your key engineer is missing meetings because they are tied up elsewhere? Or an important stakeholder does not attend because they were not involved in the original bid and don’t support the project? You would be surprised how often this happens.
Accountability ensures your team delivers tasks on time, communicates challenges, and works together toward shared goals. Tracking performance is not a sign of mistrust. It is a key metric in successful projects.
3. Stakeholder Sentiment
How people act in meetings, what they say, and how they say it matters. Great project managers are constantly reading the room. Understanding the nuances of stakeholders is critical. Recognizing genuine frustration versus a default negative demeanor, for example, is key.
Sentiment analysis can be tricky, but AI tools now make it easier to track. A simple red, yellow, green system for project participants and stakeholders provides a clear snapshot of team morale and engagement.
4. New Requirements or Out-of-Scope Work
Every project will encounter new requirements. It is unavoidable. Small additions may seem harmless at first but can quickly delay timelines, require additional resources, and increase costs. Exceptional project managers track these changes carefully.
Most importantly, they ensure the team and stakeholders acknowledge the impact of new tasks or scope changes. The project manager communicates implications on cost, time, or deliverables and escalates as needed. This may require a formal change order in client projects.
Include a scope expansion update in your project status. Name the most significant changes, who approved them, and their impact.
5. Potential Risks or Accelerators
This final pillar is where your foresight matters most. Combine all the previous items and assess their potential effect on the project. Are there sentiment risks? Team participation issues? New requirements stacking up? Or has a new technology or discovery emerged that could accelerate progress?
This analysis is invaluable. With practice, project managers become adept at anticipating challenges and opportunities.
These status items may seem obvious, but many projects rely solely on a Gantt chart or subjective updates that miss critical details.
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