Hi carla When you start your project, you have a choice. You can either roll your sleeves up and get stuck in, or you can pause a little and document your plan of attack. Planning takes more time, but it helps you achieve better results. So here's... How to Document Your Projects Regardless of the type, industry or size of project you're involved in, you need to create these 4 critical project documents: Project Charter At the start of every project you need to write a Project Charter. This document defines the vision for the project and it clearly lays out the scope of what must be achieved. Every major deliverable that you have to produce is defined in depth and you need to specify the general timeframes for delivery so that you know what must be produced and by when. This is the single most important document in the Project Life Cycle as without it, it's like "shooting in the dark". Once written, you must get your customer or Project Sponsor to authorize it. Only then, do you have an agreement with them stating what must be delivered and by when. Project Plan We speak to people all the time who have projects that are going "off-the-rails", but they have no solid Project Plan by which to measure against. Create your project plan and share it with your team. Your plan needs to list every deliverable that is included in your Project Charter and it needs to include all of the major tasks needed to produce that deliverable on time. The plan will become your "Project Roadmap" for success. Without it, you have no solid direction and way of comparing progress over time. "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail". It's as simple as that. Job Descriptions With a Project Charter and Project Plan, everyone knows what has to be done to deliver the project and by when. They also need to know what their specific role is or what they are responsible for delivering. To make this clear, you need to fill in a Job Description for every member of your team. It will help you make it crystal clear what their targets are, what you expect of them and the criteria for measuring their performance. Every high performing team need clear targets. Your Job Description is the place you set these targets and it's also the document that you use to measure their performance throughout the project. Communications Plan It's a well-known fact that the main cause of project failure is poor communication. The right people were provided the wrong information at the wrong times. To ensure you don't fall into the same trap, create a Communications Plan. It tells your team and your boss, how you're going to keep every-one informed of the status of the project along the way. Whether it's through regular team meetings, a project blog, detailed reports or one-on-one catch-ups, your Communication Plan will help you keep the right people informed at the right times, with the right information. Everyone will then be on the same page, all supporting you with the delivery of the project when you need them. Use these templates to help you plan projects the right way. They include the templates mentioned above, as well as 50 others to help you manage your projects successfully. Visit http://www.method123.com/project-management-kit.php | 
