Down the Road
A project may be evaluated further down the road to determine whether sales indeed increased, customer service improved, the movie was a hit at the box office, or the patio you built held up all summer long or started leaning to the left by late July.
For a fair assessment of the impact of your efforts, look at the project results after three, six, or twelve months. You can learn a lot about your initial plans and all of your hard work when you examine the results from a distance.
A card, note, or simple thank you to each team member means a lot. Let everyone who was involved in the project know that you appreciate the team's hard work. Hold a party or go out for dinner and make a toast, hand out small awards or give gifts to say thanks. Even if the project didn't meet final expectations, you should let everyone know you appreciate their efforts.
Ongoing evaluations will provide details for future projects. Teams can look at the fruits of their labor and see how the project results stood up over time. In the case of a new product, the data may tell you when a newer, updated version needs to be created. With technology, that may be ten minutes after you've signed off on the project.
Some projects are meant for short-term purposes and others are meant to have long-lasting implications. Know the limitations and evaluate accordingly. If something was created to last for six months, you should have realistic expectations if you evaluate it after one year.
Now that you have learned about the phases of project management, you'll take a closer look at many of the activities in project management.
