According to the British website Projectsmart, the following mistakes are the most serious ones.
1. Biting off too much
Beginners often bite off more than they can chew with a project and are afraid to admit it, which leads to their loss of control over the project. You can avoid this if you divide the project into smaller parts with clearly defined goals. Follow the goals and give them priority over other the tasks and requirements of the people around you. You will also need clear benchmarks to show you how you are doing on fulfilling individual goals.
2. No extra time
Another mistake is to assume that projects can be successfully finished in the shortest possible time. Beginners forget to about budgeting time for unplanned delays. You should always add on some extra time. When you finally finish the project sooner, it won't hurt you. On the contrary, you will get more recognition.
3. Not knowing all project participants
Not only you and your team are your project's stakeholders. There are even more people in your company and customers. You must know the expectations and concerns of all stakeholders to set your goals accordingly. Communicating with all the parties is necessary not only before, but also during the project.
4. Neglecting risk
Even the best project plan can't guarantee that nothing will go wrong in the course of implementation. Another beginner's mistake is inadequate discussion of possible problems, or even omitting discussion entirely. If you don't have a plan B for any problems that may occur, your project could fail very soon.
What other examples of failure caused by new project managers have you experienced?
-kk-