Discussion Forum > AF for projects
Almost all of my professional work is in the form of #3. I still haven't found a satisfactory means of handling it. Right now, I'm trying to use mind maps to break a #3 project into several #2 or even #1 projects. I don't have any real "project management" training or experience, so "project management" software has shown itself to be too much of a hurdle for me right now.
August 3, 2011 at 15:28 |
jFenter
jFenter
My experience with project management software, Gantt charts et al., was a failure. All those charts looked good but failed to properly predict work. And since few people worked on the projects, sophisticated scheduling was worthless as well.
Just an Af list is easy and gets stuff towards done.
Just an Af list is easy and gets stuff towards done.
August 3, 2011 at 15:50 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Well, I've handled the full gamut of projects from 1 to 4 and they all basically boil down to issuing clear instructions, following up hard, keeping adequate records and keeping progress under constant review. The D-Day landings were managed without project management software, and I'm not convinced that they were any the worse for that.
August 3, 2011 at 15:56 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
1) Small ones you just pull out and do
2) Medium ones you keep a few notes or a short list of things to do
3) Large ones with myriads of big and small details to take care of.
4) Gigantic ones that coordinate lots of people.
IWhen I go set a couple hours to work on #3 large projects, I flip to a different notebook and there are two parts to it: Organized notes about the project, and a long list of large and little things that need doing in the project.
Without this list, it gets to be like life-management itself: Amid all flurry of things demanding attention, important details get neglected. With the list, it's easy to pick a task, do it, pick another, do it, remember something that needs doing, enter it.
I see an AF4 system serving well for that list, but other AF varieties could work as well. If the project is smaller than having dozens of items, a simple list serves. I never tackled huge projects.