There is nothing better than a job well done. Wrapping up a project, relaxing, enjoying the laurels of your success… the only question is, how do you recognize the end? Do you know what it looks like?
One of the most important aspects of a project is completely understanding what the end of the project will look like. It’s the only way to recognize the finish line. Just as important is recognizing what the completed deliverable of a given task is. How do you know when you can really tell if a task is completed? How do you, as a worker, recognize when you have completed what the client really wants?
Identifying a clear vision of what a completed deliverable looks like is vital. I recommend, for a project, that not only do you include a complete scope in your project’s charter, but that you create a document that provides a description of what the final deliverable is, is not, and what measurables will determine if it has been delivered or not. When you discuss tasks during the process of working on a project, always make sure that you clarify with both the deliverer and the receiver of the task’s results what the deliverable looks like. Keep your footprints clear in the sand as you go.
