About PerformWork
The PerformWork.com website can be used to assist you with managing a wide variety of small projects, whether they be:
- Commercial
- Social
- Domestic
- Personal
- Research
Concept
To provide a service that would:
- Improve Outcomes
- Save Users Time
- Reduce paperwork / documentation
Background
Peter Noblett, the software architect / author had worked on a variety, of mostly small, projects (IT, HR, medical research, barn conversion etc.), Peter had not been able to find an easy to use and flexible project management tool that met his needs so he decided to write one.
Peter's wish list (features that other packages failed to deliver and have been included in Performwork) includes
- Some form of integrated budget system - to avoid the need for keeping a separate spreadsheet(s) for costs, resources etc.
- Ability to set both a time and date when required
- Where possible, follow the key elements of the PRINCE2® project management model but be simplified [tailored] to make it suitable for small projects
- Ability to create simple Gantt charts to generate a quick picture of what is happening, at both project and work package levels
- Manage, in a simple way, project specific To-Do items and personal action lists in one place.
- A Glossary - When working on many different projects one can be bombarded by a plethora of acronyms, technical words, names of organisations etc. Having a global / project specific glossary would enable all these definitions to be kept easily to hand.
- Able to use it on his tablet and mobile phone without always having to find his reading glasses.
Principles
Following these key [PRINCE2®] principles will help you deliver a successful project
- Focus on what the project is to deliver
- Manage by stages
- Clearly defined roles and responsibilities
- Timely reviews to ensure that project is still justified
- Manage by exception
- Learn from experience
- Tailoring the way each project is managed to meet the specific needs of the project
By definition, each project is unique
Key Elements
These are the elements that need to be clearly defined to ensure the expected outcomes are achieved
- Benefits
The key thing about any successfully completed project is that somebody somewhere is going to benefit from the project’s outcome, so the benefits have to be defined before the project starts.
- Scope
This is the technical specification of what is to be delivered and sometimes how it is to be delivered
- Quality
Quality expectations have to be realistic and some compromises may have to be made, especially when time and / or cost are critical constraints.
- Risks
Risk is an event or set of events that, should they occur, will affect the scheduled outcome of the project, usually in terms of time, quality or cost.
- Time
These need to be realistic, allowances may have to be made.
- Cost
This is where PerformWork budgeting feature will help you identify costs.
- Planning
How is the project going to be delivered, breaking a project into stages makes it easier to manage.
Flexibilty
A key feature of PerformWork is it's flexibilty, you just use the features needed for your specific project.
i.e. Many small projects start with as an idea that has first to be costed. In that case you simply create a new project, give it a name, define what the anticipated outcomes are to be, then you can start building a budget.
Manged By
PerformWork Ltd
Cheltenham, England, UK
Managing small projects made easy