Project Management: Everyday Playbook

Points clés

• Before any family project starts, agree one sentence on what finished looks like, the date and the budget, so everyone works towards the same picture.
• When your child has a school project, be the sponsor who asks good questions, not the worker who quietly does the gluing.
• A job with no name and no day beside it is only a wish, so write both on a sheet everyone can see.
• When a plan slips, choose one lever out loud, do less, take longer or get more help, and let your children hear why.
• Close every family project with a ten-minute review, name your own mistake first, and keep a short list for next time.

À l'intérieur de ce bit

1. When a big family job lands on you

   The play: before you buy, book or move anything, write a one-sentence brief naming what finished looks like, the date and the budget. Then list what this project will not include.

2. When the school project is due on Friday

   The play: work backwards from the due date with your child, and take the role of sponsor rather than worker. On a work project the sponsor wants the result, asks questions and clears obstacles, but does not do the tasks.

3. When everyone agrees and nothing happens

   The play: every job gets a person's name and a day, written where the whole family can see it. A job agreed by 'we' belongs to nobody, in a family exactly as in an office.

4. When the plan slips

   The play: stop, name the slip and choose one of three levers aloud. You can do less, take longer or get more help.

5. When someone adds just one more thing

   The play: answer every addition with 'yes, and what shall we swap? ' Project managers call the slow pile-up of extras scope creep.

6. When it is over: the family review

   The play: within a few days of finishing, hold a ten-minute review. Ask what went well, what was hard and what we would change next time.