Gear Up
Now that you have chosen your trail and know the big picture goals it’s time to gear up. To do this you need to prepare your team with the plan and tools to succeed.
Plan
Here is where you get into the nitty gritty. What are you actually going to do? Who will do it and when? Who will collect the data and where will it be stored? All these things need to be ironed out before anyone starts on the project. This is called an action plan. Working with your team to write this down and make sure everyone has access to it is a critical step.
Components of an action plan include:
- A well-defined description of the goal to be achieved
- Identify who is the point person and leader of the project
- Tasks/ steps that need to be carried out to reach the goal
- People who will be in charge of carrying out each task
- When will these tasks be completed (deadlines and milestones)
- Resources needed to complete the tasks
- Measures to collect data and evaluate progress
Tools
What are the supplies and equipment that you will need to complete this project? In this gear up stage it is important to think about all the materials that you need to complete the project. And while the nuts and bolts type of supplies are the first things that come to mind, make sure to spend time and think about the data tools that you need to have on hand so you can accurately monitor, record, and analyse the data to track your key performance indicators and see if you are meeting your success metrics.
One specific type of tool that we have found invaluable in this gear up stage are project management software. As projects tend to become more complex, involve more partners, and happen over longer time frames having a project management software is a great benefit for managers and team members. Nobody can keep everything stored in their head and most staff are managing multiple projects at a time. So having software help you manage all the steps and people is incredibly useful. There are many different types of project management software that you can use and see what works best for you and your team. Some examples include:
Now that you and your team geared up and have a plan and tools, its time to go!
