Remember the dread you felt in grammar school when you were assigned your first “project?” Thus began the endless parade of projects through grade 12 and beyond: book reports, science fair projects, term papers, and perhaps the mother of all academic projects, a thesis. Small businesses must deal with projects, too—with far more at stake than a grade on a report card. If project management conjures up visions of complex tools and methodologies, like Gantt charts, PERT charts, stakeholder analysis, critical path analysis, Agile, Scrum, XP— fear not. “If you think project management is only for the big guys, think again,” writes Michelle LaBrosse, author of Cheetah Project Management . “Project management is a powerful business tool for businesses of any size. And as any small business person will tell you, effectiveness and efficiency is never about size. It's about working smart.” Every business abounds with potential projects. LaBrosse defines a project as any activity that has a distinct deliverable and a clear beginning and end. In “Growing Your Small Business with Project Management,” she urges small businesses to use simple approaches to project management, extend the skills to people at every level, and get big wins early on. For six free, easy-to-use project management tools , check out the recommendations from Capterra, a firm that matches businesses to their software needs. The simplest is a tool based on the popular kantan concept, which is basically an automated To-Do list with visual representations of what’s in progress, what’s done, and what’s next. “When project management gains traction in your organization, it can be transformational,” says LaBrosse.
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