For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has what he needs to finish it ?

The preparation stage of a project is so important that the success or failure of the project depends largely on it, and that is why throughout history the different disciplines of management have given it an important weight and a valuable component in the different materials, strategies and methodologies that have emerged in “traditional” or “agile” trends

The environment and experience have taught me that there are key factors to ensure the success of a good preparation of a project or initiative, I want to share in this space only 6 of them, in this space I will not go into detail on the tools that we could use, there are many that currently exist, rather the goal is to leave the concern, to express the reflection:

☑️ Knowing the customer, who has the need that the product or service to be developed will help to supply that “pain” or lack, for example, what are their behaviors, their tendencies, their habits, their desires, their expectations, what do they like, what do they dislike? This leads to a genuine concern for the person(s)

☑️ Establishing a Vision is what allows us to have a north, a horizon that covers all the efforts, activities and tasks, it leads us to have contained in a single text or paragraph that clear and concise idea of what is intended, connected at the same time with the environment or context in which we move

Where is my Focus aiming at?

☑️ Generate objectives that help me to connect the vision with the different activities that are developed in a period of time; it is important that these objectives are challenging, but at the same time achievable and that they can be measured in a period of time; the objectives allow us to align the activities in favor of the proposed FOCUS

☑️ Prioritization is one of the most important activities in the planning process, even if you want to “attack” everything at once, you cannot, we have limited resources in different scenarios that force us to prioritize taking into account first hand those activities that bring me closer or accelerate the achievement of the objectives, which means that they will generate more value, without overlooking risks and dependencies of certain activities that would be needed

☑️ Create a roadmap of all those prioritized activities in such a way that they are registered and visible against dates or time periods of delivery (weekly, biweekly, monthly, …), this will help to always have in mind the path or route to follow and the focus on which I am putting my best effort

☑️ The team, the human and most important component of the whole process of preparing the project or initiative, is the force, the engine, the heart that drives, engages and mobilizes the whole “machinery” to move the product or service forward; taking into account its characteristics, skills, soft and technical abilities, as well as the work dynamics, necessary equipment, ways of generating information flows, synchronization and communication mechanisms, conflict resolution strategies, impediments and dependencies, without leaving aside routines for learning and socialization of information, knowledge, research and innovation

And that is why even from God’s own word we are urged to take the time to sit down and plan before