Project engineers have to deal with multiple tasks simultaneously. It may look overwhelming at times, especially when you may have 10 to 20 active projects under your control.

It really is imperative that project managers understand the status of every project, their urgency and deliverables. It also seems the better you’re as a project manager, the more projects you need to handle at once.

When you manage multiple projects it is vitally important that you understand the ultimate time deadline (the delivery date) and the entire budget.

Ultimately, the client is interested in two things, when can I own it, and how much will it cost. If you can satisfy time and budget constraints, milestones (according to the client’s expectations), you can be ‘held in high esteem’ by your client.

In サンタクロース　トナカイ to manage and juggle this many projects, it is vitally important that you understand 5 things …

The ultimate deadline and budget (

The importance and priority of the project

The entire tasks – High Payoff Activities, and Low Payoff activities.

Activities that could be delegated or outsourced.

Your role as a project Engineer / manager.

1. In order to effectively manage multiple projects, you must understand your total workload , and compare the projects deliverables. This is usually done utilizing a project planner, or project management tools such as Microsoft Project. Once all projects are considered, hopefully not all deadlines and deliverables aren’t due at the same time. The Tip would be to find out the REAL deliverable date. Often when a client is asked when they have to project completed, they will have a buffer built in so they can ‘sit on it’ for some time. If you establish the true activities which will follow the ‘deadline’, you may be able to safely extend the ultimate date with your client – without detriment. If this is not the case, at the least you will find out the importance of the final date.

2. Not absolutely all projects are as important as each other. Some projects have other consequences, and tasks that can’t be achieved without the delivery of the original project. Without sounding callus, you certainly want to take care of your most important clients who have constant work flow and pay well and on time. In most cases, it is these most valued clients that should be taken care of as priority #1 1, as they are your ‘bread and butter’. . Keep them happy and your business should continue steadily to motor along. Concurrently you need to take proper care of new clients and also require huge amount of money in future do the job based on your performance. They’ll usually not display all their cards to you, therefore the best thing would be to make sure you look after them and meet your deadlines. Ultimately you do not desire to spend 100 hours on a project that’s only worth 50 hours payment. It really is fine balance between current and potential future work. The secret would be to recognise project importance early , and their future work potential.

3. Within many projects there high payoff activities and low payoff activities. High payoff activities are the ones that will get the most benefit out of there completion, and low payoff activities don’t generate too much benefit at their completion. The end is to recognise which activities / tasks are high payoff activities right in the beginning of the project. It really is these activities that should be given the priority and attention they deserve. Low payoff activities could be either tackled later, or delegated to others (it is necessary however to monitor the progress of low payoff activities otherwise they may be forgotten before end – or at a critical time). Constant updates to the entire task schedule is a wonderful way to stick to track and monitor your progress on each project.

4. You don’t want to spend your valuable time on low payoff activities that you can do by others. Project management can be about delegating or outsourcing activities which are better completed by another person. Sometimes it is better to outsource a ‘time consuming complex design’ to an expert in the field, while you manage the process and the overall project. The old saying “if you would like something done right you need to do it yourself” isn’t always the case in engineering and project management. You have to recognise and do a cost analysis on your own time and cost on the cost (and delivery time). While they are completing the task, you will be working on or managing another high payoff activity, that will ultimately allow a standard timely delivery of the project.

5. As a project manager, you need to be generally ‘managing’ the project, and really should not be ‘in the trenches digging the holes’. This is the job for the ‘soldiers’ or workers under your control. It really is however essential that you understand their skills and what they must be delivering for you personally. By ‘staying on top’ of this element (periodic meetings and minor milestones), reduces the frustration of you having to ‘check and change’ their progress. It is your responsibility to provide , and that means you should ensure all things are moving ahead regularly, and communicate effectively and regularly with your team, as well as your client.