If your role
is at the forefront of a team within an organisation, then as the point person
it is more than likely there is a frequency in receiving incoming project
requests. Received via email, instant message threads, or possibly mentioned
during a meeting. Sometimes there might not be any real formal request at all.
As information is coming in at all angles, time can be wasted in deciphering
what is real and what is just noise.
Avoid
situations similar to these scenarios by creating a process that can be
replicated over and over. The best approach is to create an intake process
template that can be used to streamline work requests and set the team up for
success.
The benefits of creating an
intake process template
Standardising
the work intake process flow will require some work up front, but the numerous
benefits make it well worth it. Below are just a few of the many reasons that
project leaders should consider creating a project intake process template.
It improves
consistency.
Without a
defined process in place, it’s far too easy for things to
get lost in the shuffle. Project requester has little
understanding of what’s required of them when outlining a project. If there is
no established way forward, it can cause confusion and delays.
A
well-defined project intake process eliminates that confusion by giving
everyone a prescriptive set of steps that must be followed in order to request
work from a team.
That
streamlined process makes it easy for everyone to know what needs to happen, as
well as what will happen next.
Only the needed
information is received.
It can be a
struggle to get ready for a project, ensuring all the required information is
received. Then once commenced, there is a vital piece of information missing.
Then time is wasted tracking down those important details. The template is
used to gather information; the best way to obtain the information needed is
via a questionnaire or creative brief that requester need to fill out. The
form should have mandatory fields so the team has all of the information needed
from the beginning.
Automation of Information
There is a
great possibility that the current project management intake process involves
many repetitive tasks, such as project setup, assigning owners and establishing
deadlines. Using a template makes it easier to spot repetitive or mundane pieces
of the workflow that can easily be automated.
With the
centralisation of information and following a template there is a solid grasp
of all projects a team is currently working on. A better understanding of
workload provides an insight on deadlines and resources and avoids a team being
spread thin.
Receiving
information via this mechanism is a time saver; this is one of the biggest
benefits of using a template to gather information. , Once in place the wheel
is not being reinvented each time a new request is received.
The
following are the questions a project intake form should include; remember the
questions can vary depending on the team setup and the type of project being
worked on.
1. Who is the main
contact of the project?
Understanding
who owns the project is important, so they can be approached for information
should clarity or direction be needed.
2. The type of
project?
The intake
form should ask, what type of project is being requested. It should provide the
detail that is needed from the start, so the context of the project is
understood. A project management software
tool can assist by being used to make it easy to
tailor the rest of the questionnaire based on this initial response. Depending
on the answer, the subsequent questions will only relate to that type of
project, and won’t need to answer any irrelevant questions.
3. The main objective
of the project?
The question
relating to the overarching objective of the project is important and needs to
be understood. That’s something that requester should be able to clearly
articulate when completing the intake form. It should also indicate a key
metric for monitoring purposes, so the same information about how success will
be defined is understood.
4. The project
audience
Every
project has a specific audience, and that’s an important perspective to be
keeping in mind when working on the requested assignment. Within the intake
form, requesters must indicate who the intended audience is, as it could be
from an internal team, board of directors, clients or customers or a specific
subset of those.
5. The project
financials?
The financials
or budget is a very important component, it needs to be understood how much can
be invested in the project before any commitment of resources is made. The
intake form requester should indicate any budgetary constraints, or
provide a range that the project needs to fall within.
6. Preferred project
completion date
Teams deal
with multiple projects at a time, constantly handling these requests from
various departments or clients can be challenging. In order to effectively
prioritize those, it has to be understood when each project needs to be completed.
The requester should indicate their desired completion date for the project when submitting
the initial request. Although not a guarantee, there should be an indication
when the project is to be completed. As a project manager best efforts would be
made to deliver upon the requested time frame, but it also depends on how much
work is being done at the same time. Being able to prioritise
is a must here. A note on the form should specify how much notice is needed
to complete a typical project.
The
following are some other potential questions which an intake form can ask
·
Who approved this request?
·
Are there any existing files or assets which
can be used?
·
What call to action should this project
include?
·
What else should be known about the project?
Remember
the process intake form is only the start, as it is best to use templates for
the entire project kick
off process. So once that form is completed and submitted, then there are
other steps to be taken for the request to be placed into the system and it
then becomes a project.
By
creating and streamlining the intake process by using a template makes the task
of deciphering information easier. There are numerous benefits on offer,
including improved consistency and plenty of saved time. A process intake form
structure should include:
·
Receive a completed work request form
·
Automatically create tasks and projects
·
Automatically assign tasks
·
Review the request and relevant tasks
·
Confirm request receipt and project timeline
·
Host a kick off meeting
By doing this
for each and every project request, less time will be spent managing the
process and more time focusing on what matters, such as completing the project.
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