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    Cover All Your Bases Before Starting a Project

    There is plenty at stake with any new IT project — money, time, reputation, money (you can’t emphasize this one enough) — which is why it’s so important to cross all of your T’s and dot all of your I’s from day one. This is advice that the Air Force should have probably considered before undertaking a billion-dollar project that delivered zero results.

    In a guest opinion piece here on IT Business Edge, project manager Jason Westland laid out five goals that every project manager should keep in mind before getting started, including finishing on time (sounds obvious, but it can be the hardest goal to meet), sticking to a budget, and keeping your customers and team happy.

    To help you meet these goals, you’ll find lots of project management tools in the IT Downloads library. Below are just a few to ensure that your reputation and your company’s wallet are intact before, during and after the project is complete.

    Functional Test Plan Template: Info-Tech’s test plan template includes sections pertaining to overall goals, team assignments, scope and test methods. Customize the template to fit your needs and test environment.

    Eleven Reasons IT Projects Fail: Project failure has an enormous impact on government and private sector business alike, costing billions of dollars every year. Identify and remedy the warning signs before failure occurs using this checklist, compiled by the editors of IT Business Edge. Feel free to share this PDF with your coworkers or employees.

    Project Concept Form: Laying out the needs and benefits behind an initiative is the first — and often most overlooked — step in project management. This sample project concept form can be used as a template for any project your organization is considering.

    Project Milestones Report Template: Before a project can kick off in earnest, you must establish the major deliverable milestones with input from all stakeholders. This template will help you lay out the task schedule and communicate it to the wider business.

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