Prioritizing tasks is critical when you have limited resources. A traditional project management approach doesn’t work in most situation. I generally recommended a holistic approach to task prioritization.

The traditional approach by project managers using traditional project management software is to prioritize tasks based on the critical path of the project.  This critical path is constructed by defining tasks, information about those tasks and constraints.  Project management software (like MS Project) then auto-calculates a critical path.

Time and again I’ve found that this isn’t helpful to getting projects done.

1. It doesn’t capture all the variables that should go into prioritizing a task and
2. It is way too cumbersome to be useful to most people doing projects.

Instead, try a holistic approach to task prioritization.

Here are two ways of doing that. They can be used separately or together.

Subjective Task Priorities
First, come up with at least three levels of task priority. For simplicity, these can be low, medium and high or 3,2,1 -with 1 being highest priority.

These are completely subjective priority levels which allow you, as a human being, to factor in any number of variables when deciding what is important to work on.

A human being can better appreciate all the factors around a project or task better than any algorithm or decision making model. Algorithms and models can only go so far when factoring in things like human error, rework time, and things simply taking longer than planned. Algorithms also allow the project manager to be aloof from the process as a whole. This isn’t good.

An added benefit of a subjective approach is that it requires the project manager to have detailed knowledge of the production process and the business goals behind the project. That way, they can weigh everything in when deciding what people should be working on and when.

Second, when putting together a task list, label each task with the priority.

When the relative importance of a task changes, change the label and make sure everyone on the team knows about it.

Project management tools like Vertabase can help you notify people automatically. Or, just make sure you continue to communicate with the team.

Subjective Critical Path
A second way of incorporating holistic prioritization is to manually flag critical tasks when you set up your task list or work breakdown structure. The critical tasks should be those which are key for your project to be completed properly and/or on time.  Many organizations call these project milestones, though I like to reserve the term for major phases of a project.

I’m happy to be presenting at CFUnited in August. This is my first time presenting there and I’ve been asked to tell people why they should come to my session (besides the free candy I’ll be passing out). My session is called Getting More Done: Effective Project and Team Management.

But before I tell you what it is about, let me tell you what the presentation is NOT.

It is not a demo of our project management software. It is not a talk about agile project management versus waterfall or other formal methodologies. It is not a description of the ideal personality type you have to be to be successful or the latest fad in management styles. There is a lot of that around already

This is different.

This is a collection of practical tips to getting more done. It is based on the Vertabase approach to project management that says

the role of project management is to provide accurate and meaningful information between the people who want the project done (the client) and the people doing the work (the team).

It has real-world examples, good developer specific stories and tons of tips you can implement immediately to make your life easier.

You may not have project management set aside in your workflow -it might even be just you and the client. But, by definition, there is a project management role that is filled by you every time you communicate with the client. You are giving them information, collecting information and setting expectations. This presentation will help you do that better (and with less effort).

If there is project management already in your organization, it can help you better understand the information you can provide (making you more valuable) and how you can get the information you need (so you can get on with your work).

Like so many of the presentations being given at CFUnited, it should give attendees tools and ideas to be more productive, to keep their shops at the edge of innovation and to raise the overall level of their skills.

It is a great investment.

On a behind the scenes note, the organizers and presenters of this conference together put a tremendous amount of themselves into it. It is truly a labor of love and a testament to the passion of the community involved. This passion can’t help but rub off and keep people excited about what they do for months after the conference.