Have you ever felt like you’re lost in a sea of projects, head barely above water because you’re not organized and your projects aren’t well documented? If yes, that’s an awful place to be and today we’re going to dive into the world of project management and the importance of organization and documentation.

And yes, I know what you’re thinking, this sounds as thrilling as watching paint dry on a wall. But… Trust me, well documented projects are the secret sauce behind most successful projects. 

Picture this, you’re managing a high priority project with a Type-A client who is very influential in the organization.

One day, you’re in a very important meeting with all the key stakeholders and they throw you a curveball question about a very specific project detail that was discussed more than 3 weeks ago.

You semi freak out because of all the pressure that’s instantly placed on you. But, because you’re a boss at keeping good records, you retrieve the exact information needed to move the project forward. Now everyone is impressed and realizes the importance of project managers. 

In this blog post, we’re going to discuss the importance of project documentation and how to stay organized. 

Capturing key project details

Capturing key project details starts with your project template set. A few project documents that you need in your set are: 

• Project charter

• Project plan

• Stakeholder register

• Change log 

• RAID log 

These documents are the holy grail of your project.

As a project manager, you’ll need to make sure your project charter is well put together capturing all high-level project details.

By the time your project has begun, you should already have a statement of work (SOW) that should be saved or attached to your project charter as a reference and backup document to your charter.

These documents are essential for the start of the project and should be referred to throughout the duration of the project for traceability. 

The project plan obviously tracks each task of the project; a best practice is to include a notes or comments column to track all the additional details associated with each task.

Always include dates on notes as well as the owner of the note. Do this for the change log as well to manage scope creep and to keep requirements on track.

You can use tools that transcribe notes during meetings in case you can’t catch everything.

But it’s very important to keep track and keep people accountable. 

Stakeholder register is important just to keep track of who’s who on the account. This register can double as a RACI matrix for easier tracking.

And last but certainly not least, The RAID log keeps track of key decisions, issues, actions and risks. At the very least, you should have each of these documents for every project. 

How to stay organized

The best way to stay organized is to prepare ahead of time. Before the project starts, have your folders set up and your project templates prepped.

Especially if you’re working in a fast-paced corporate environment, by the time the project starts, you’re already going to be working on setting tasks and communicating with stakeholders.

So trying to set everything up as you need them is going to be tough. It’s best to be ahead of the game by already having those things prepped so during the project you can just plug and play.

And once you get into the thick of things, some of these important documents get missed and you’ll end up writing things randomly on sticky notes and notebook paper.

This is a recipe for chaos. Being disorganized as a project manager is not the move, sis. Prepare early.

By, Airess Rembert, PMP, Member of Women Of Project Management & Blogger at The Nerd Bae

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