Introduction

Once you have planned a project down to the last detail the time has come to put your plans into action. In this final section we will look at the aspects of a project that you need to control, and the techniques you can use to do it.

Every project, you will remember, is unique. This means that, however thorough your planning has been, you are likely to come up against some problems which you had not anticipated. We will look at some things you can do to pull your project back on track.

Every project is a learning experience, especially at the implementation phase. This is when you will find out how effective you really are as a project manager. We end this section with a discussion of how you can evaluate a project and build on your experience.

What do You Need to Watch?

The people who commissioned your project are primarily interested in three things:

• What you are going to deliver?

• When you are going to deliver it?

• How much it is going to cost?

Therefore during the implementation stage you need to focus on the three elements of quality, time and cost.