The SmartDraw Blog

Three Ways to Fix Your Meetings

SarahM — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:23:00 GMT

When you hole meetings, do you actually feel like you are getting things done? Here are some common signs that you need to revamp the way you run your meetings (plus some hints on how to better manage your meetings). But, productive meetings really comes down to these three simple tips.

1. Define the Desired Outcome

Before every meeting (and before you even declare the meeting) you should explicitly state the purpose of the meeting. You should have the answer to the question, "What is supposed to change or happen at the end of the meeting?" When you call a meeting, the meeting should be to change, develop, stop, or start something. There should also be a clear plan at the end of a meeting.

When you have a project meeting, you will typically discuss the criteria for success, those involved, the sequence of activities, and the action items after the meeting. This is where the next step comes into play.

2. Limit Topics of Discussion

A common rule for presentations is that the presenter should limit the number of points to make during a presentation. The same concept applies to meetings. Tightening up the topic list for your meeting, will also shorten the time needed for the meeting and increase the potential for action items being defined at the end of the meeting.

If there is not a clear plan of action or a clearly defined desired outcome, do not meet. In order to define all the topics to be discussed, you can use a mind map to define the agenda.

3. Wrap Up with Action Items

When you have a clearly defined desired outcome and you limit the topics of discussion, it is easy to wrap up the meeting with action items. At the end of the meeting, you should review the decisions and changes made to remind those of their accountability and time frame. SmartDraw's Assignment View in the Meeting Template will allow you clearly show who is assigned what task. This can be updated and adjusted in real time.

As the project progresses, you can also easily see which tasks are running late and which are complete by setting the task completion.

As a rule, meetings should be reserved for action and they should not be the regular form of commuinication! If you have not already, download a trial of SmartDraw today and check out the meeting template.

A Plan for Successful Projects

SarahM — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:05:00 GMT

Are you continually struggling to complete projects on time? A well designed and well executed project takes some forethought. By following these four steps, you can execute a successful project everytime!

Step 1: Break apart the big tasks

One of the key reasons many projects are delivered late is that the tasks assigned to team members are too broad or vague. The first step in accurately estimating the time to project completion is breaking down the project specifications into tasks that can be easily quantified.

A good example of a broad task is "design a new email campaign to sell a new product offering to existing customers." Without digging into the specifics of what's involved, it is impossible to provide a truly sufficient answer. That's where the trouble begins with most projects: the project manager doesn't break his or her project into small enough components, which causes the guessing game to begin. The solution is to split these broad tasks into a number of smaller, more specific subtasks. Tasks should be broken down to the level of granularity that will allow the project planner to make the most accurate estimate for time to completion.

Step 2: Schedule with precision

Precision scheduling is only achievable after the breakdown of tasks in Step 1. In this step, we want to avoid using assumptions and guesswork. We are after facts and data.

Begin by making sure each subtask can be completed in two days or less. This will allow a much more accurate estimate of timeing and resources that each subtask will require. Dependent tasks will also be identified in this stage, so that inadvertent overlap of scheduling can be avoided.

Since we want facts, not guesses, it is important to get timing estimates from team members who will actually be completing the tasks. Of course, when you are asking your team for estimates, it is important to ask for estimates of the specific subtasks, rather than broadly defined tasks. It is easier to quantify specific tasks and then estimate how long the collection of tasks will take.

Step 3: Establish accountability with real-time information capture

Even if a project planner can define specific tasks, this may not be enough to sufficiently communicate to the rest of the team. This is where the importance of project meetingings come into play. Obtaining and sharing information at this state is vital.

The secret to effective project meetings is to capture the decisions and action items in real time. This can be done using a common document in which each person can see the changes as they are made. Typically, people attending project planning meetings take their own private notes. But often the notes of even two people in the meeting do not match the other's. Thus, they leave the meeting with different ideas of the action items and what needs to be done.

Live information capture and assignment views of mind maps allow the project planner to easily delegate all the tasks in one document for everyone to see. Doing this live and in one visual results in clear communication, reduces the amount of confusion, and creates accountability among your team.

Step 4: Measure your project's progress

The key to reaching the completion on time and under budget is accurately measuring the progress being made. Accurate progress measurement is one of the weakest areas for most project managers. How many times have you been in a meeting where someone was asked, "how far along are you with your project?" and the answer was, "Oh, uhhh, I'd say 50% or 60% done." Answers like these are not definitive and completely unhelpful!

Relying on broad estimates rather than definitive answers lead to projects that are behind schedule. The cure is defining milestones. A milestone is a well-defined, solid achievement that is met at some point through the course of a project. The word originates from the placeholders used to indicate how far travelers had progressed along Roman roads; every time travelers passed a milestone, they knew that they were that much closer to reaching their destination. This analogy accurately described what project managers try to do: they want to define clear indicators that show how close the team is to reaching their project's goals.

SmartDraw as a Solution

Managing a large project can be intimidating, especially one that spans several months and involves multiple departments. However, when you use the right software, project planning becomes simple. With SmartDraw you can easily break the big tasks and accurately estimate the time for completion using a mind map.

Then, with a click of a button, project planners can view the mind map in an assignment view where tasks can be easily assigned.

With a final click of a button, the assignment view can be turned into a project chart. In this form, you can easily update and make adjustments to tasks as the project progresses.

Additionally, because SmartDraw integrates with Outlook and SharePoint, there is no reason anyone will be out of the loop! You can email any view of the project in a variety of formats that anyone can view.

With SmartDraw, you will have real-time, 24/7 built-in accountability! If you haven't already, be sure to download a trial of SmartDraw today.

Principles of Creating Great Presentations

SarahM — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:31:00 GMT

There is no excuse for a dull presentation - even in the business environment. In fact, presentations in the workplace may be the most important to you! Your own success in the workplace depends on your ability to clearly explain your ideas. The central goal of any presentation is to communicate and effective communication is achieved when ideas are shaped simply, concisely, and interestingly.

When you are asked to present a new strategy, training materials, or any new idea you may have, you should bear these principles in mind:

Principle 1: Less is more. Excessive visuals and slides will detract from you message. When is comes to presentations, you should try to be as succinct as possible while still communicating all you need to.

Principle 2: You should be the primary source of the presentation. Most presenters use PowerPoint slides as their primary source of information. But your slides should really only be there to support the things you say and do.

Principle 3: Visuals are key! Use data charts to plot financial figures, use flowcharts to illustrate processes, or even use simple photographs to illustrate more abstract points. People are much more likely to remember and understand what you have to say if you combine your spoken words with an effective visual. Need some tips? Check out this article with some easy tips to improve your charts and graphs.

Principle 4: Think carefully about the sequence of your slides. Ensure that your presentation flows effectively and if you have a single slide that contains a lot of information, consider sequencing that information using animation.