How to keep your project rolling: top tips for project managers

Simon Bevis, Programme and Project Management advisor at The Nichols Group, shares his top 5 learnings for effective project management and infrastructure delivery.

This is both an exciting and daunting time for anyone involved in delivering major projects. With the UK’s Levelling Up agenda and the path to Net Zero leading the charge, some of the most ambitious infrastructure and investment plans are afoot. With supply chains stretched and stakeholders demanding results, project managers are under more pressure than ever.

Simon Bevis, the TFDP’s PPM lead and director at the Nichols Group, knows these pressures well, so we asked him for his top project management tips.

A chartered civil engineer and strategic advisor for projects, Simon spent his formative years in Papua New Guinea and saw first-hand how a lack of infrastructure impacted lives in the developing world –inspiring a career in project delivery.

Over 17 years, Simon has worked on projects ranging from the regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula, the development of an island resort the Caribbean, High Speed 2, and a rural maternity centre in Rwanda. Having built his technical design skills, Simon moved into programme and project management to give him a bigger platform to share knowledge and bring people together to deliver tangible benefits for society. We asked for his top tips on steering the ship.

Here’s what he said:

1.       Take your time on the initiation stage

This is the first, second and third most important point. The success or failure of a project is often determined in the early stages. Detailed and thorough project initiation can save time and money in the long run, enabling the efficient delivery of an effective project. We’ve all seen ambitious plans that don’t come to life because they miss key elements at the earliest stage.

Whether at the start of your journey or in the middle, it’s worth taking the time to:

• Define the project’s context, vision and outcomes

• Translate these into tangible deliverables underpinned by realistic timelines and budgets

• Apply lessons learned from past projects

• Develop a robust business case

• Design and embed governance arrangements

• Build the right team

• Establish appropriate project management processes to be applied

2.       Evolve the team as the project progresses  

Project management is about collaboration and coordination. At the heart of this is recognising what capabilities are needed to deliver the project and how these are likely to change over the project lifecycle.

As project managers, we can access experts in just about every field, so ensure you bring in the right resource at the right time. In addition to the upfront capability and capacity planning, I tend to use end of stage boundaries as markers within the project plan where we’ll review the team. This not only helps to validate that we have the right expertise for the next stage, but also keeps resource focused and productive. Upfront investment in both the right skills and the right level of capacity will pay-off in the long-run – while team burn-out will do you no favours. It’s also critical to be clear on individual accountabilities and responsibilities.

3.       Keep the outcomes and objectives in sight

The work we do is highly complex and involves a vast amount of people and resources. But every ship starts to drift off course without careful navigation. Regular review of your progress against the original vision and objectives will keep everyone honest and the development on course. It will also help you manage change and justify continued investment.

4.       Involve the supply chain early

Every project has its own unique requirements but one thing I would advocate: involved your supply chain early.  Their experience and objectivity can help spot and overcome delivery challenges during the design stage, long before they may become a problem. This will save you time and money later. Early engagement with suppliers also applies to the business case stage, this will help you establish realistic cost estimates and test supply chain appetite and availability to deliver the work.

5.       Encourage honest conversations  

No one wants to make a mistake and fewer people want to admit they did – but continuing down the wrong path is far worse. Taking a step back to assess and evaluate your progress against the business case and original objectives can make the difference between a quick change and a major overhaul. Build in assurance and encourage honest conversations.

Of course, every project is unique and presents a huge arrange of challenges, so this list is not exhaustive. It’s critical to consider scale and proportionality; each project is unique and needs it own approach. But hopefully this is a useful starting point for beginners, and a helpful reminder to PM veterans.

Simon Bevis is a strategic PPM advisor at The Nichols Group.