church project management software Archives

7 Project Plan Elements Every Church Project Manager Should Know

Creating a project plan initially sounds like a simple endeavor. Document a list of tasks required to complete the project, assign someone to each task, and poof…you have a project plan! While that’s a great start, there’s much more to include if you want a project plan that provides critical information to manage the project effectively. Here are the essential project plan elements every project manager should know: Element #1: Task Name A project plan should include clear, concise names for each task on the plan. Ideally, use the language the person who will complete the task used when they discussed the plan with you. This makes it easier for them to remember what that task involves weeks later, when it’s time to complete that task. Element #2: Assigned To This is where you name the individual responsible for completing this task. Note: This isn’t a 2-3 person role. If multiple people are required to work on a task, then you probably need to break the task up into several tasks. Otherwise, assign the task to the one individual you’ll go to for status updates on that task. Element #3: Start Date This is when work on the task can begin. Many tasks are dependent on the output or completion of another task, so not every task can start on the same date. For example: a task to “Finalize Stage Design” must finish before the task of “Submit Purchase Request for Stage Design Elements” can start. Element #4: Finish Date The Finish Date is based on the Start Date plus the number of days a task should take to complete. If your project management software calculates the Finish Date for you, make sure you block out non-working days (holidays, etc.) in the central project calendar. That will enable the software to skip over those dates to calculate a valid Finish Date. Element #5: Dependencies As mentioned above, some tasks can’t start until another task finishes. This is referred to as a task dependency. When a project manager reviews a plan to see if there are ways to overlap tasks to shorten the overall timeline, one variable to consider are task dependencies. Not all online project management tools provide a place to note task dependencies, so you might have to add a note to help you quickly see which tasks have a clear dependency. Element #6: Key Milestones In any project, there are tasks that stand out as key moments or milestones to reach. Examples include receiving approval of the theme and graphics for an event, booking all guest speakers, getting all required permits from the city, etc. You can usually identify key milestones by scanning the plan for dependencies. However, a sure-fire way to find them is to look for several tasks that can’t start until one specific task is completed – that task is likely a key milestone. Element #7: Critical Path Critical path is the timeline or pathway of key milestones that impact the finish date of the entire project. When a project manager checks to see if the delay of a certain task will impact the plan, he’ll need to see if that task is on the critical path. If it is, then any delays of that task could be a significant issue. Savvy project managers track key milestones and critical path tasks (which tend to overlap) very closely. Creating a project plan requires attention to detail and clear communication between the project manager and team members. It will likely take more time to develop a plan than you think. This effort involves thinking through all elements of the project, identifying the critical path, and taking the work schedules of each team member into consideration. That investment will pay off when you avoid issues late in the project because of your due diligence in planning. Interested in jump-starting your church’s project management efforts? Purchase the Church Project Management Starter Pack collection of templates and save your team from the hassle of starting from scratch.

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How to Get Started with Church Project Management

Jake Douglas

From sermon preparation to coordinating volunteers and training small group leaders (and more), there’s a lot that goes into leading a church. One way to keep all these efforts running smoothly is by implementing a project management process for your church. Before we get into church project management, we need to deal with projects. So, what is a project? According to the Project Management Institute, a project is “temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.” In other words… With that in mind, project management involves coordinating all the tasks, team members, and resources needed to make the project a success. How does this apply to ministry? Most churches have more vision and activities planned than they have resources. To have any hope of not working late nights and weekends (beyond Sunday, of course), you have to be organized and efficient with what you do have available. Using a standard process to coordinate and organize the work helps everyone be more efficient and effective. Project management is a term we don’t use much in ministry. It sounds very corporate-y, so it tends to get tossed aside. However, after using project management principles in both corporate and church environments, I can personally attest to its usefulness. Projects such as launching a ministry program, hosting a conference, or starting a new outreach are in addition to the day-to-day responsibilities and can stretch your team to their limit. The key to not wearing everyone out while delivering an excellent result is in planning and project management. Before I go into detail about how to use project management principles, I want to introduce you to the benefits you can reap from a church project management process: Benefit #1: Less rework Planning involves doing work on paper before you do it in real life. When you plan, you can brainstorm and think through various scenarios well ahead of any deadlines. You can make your mistakes on paper (and identify better ways of scheduling tasks or handling various situations) instead of when a deadline is looming in front of you. Benefit #2: Increased excellence It’s hard to go the extra mile when you’re already exhausted. Planning ahead and carefully managing the plan gives you margin. You can use that margin to do the extra things that take your event over the top and deliver for your community. Benefit #3: Ability to deliver on-time and within budget When it’s down to the wire and it just has to get done, you’re more likely to feel justified in spending the extra money to finish. However, if you carefully plan the timeline and budget, you’re much less likely to have last-minute emergencies. Benefit #4: Less risk Part of the planning process involves considering the risks involved in the event or new program. You may need to purchase liability insurance for the event or make contingency plans in case of bad weather. Benefit #5: More creative freedom Using a structured planning process may not sound like it would allow for creativity. However, when you plan ahead and allow for margin within your timeline, you can create room for brainstorming sessions and a few iterations of creative concepts. You can’t let the creatives on your team tweak the graphics or décor forever, but you should give them enough time to come up with their best work. Benefit #6: Less stress and late nights You’ve seen (and experienced) it too. The week before a big deadline is fraught with last-minute changes and many late nights at work. Tempers may flare, communication is spotty at best, and you’re all just ready for it to be over. It doesn’t have to be that way. Planning ahead and then working the plan prevents this last-minute craziness. Benefit #7: Increased buy-in from the team Your team needs to understand the “why” behind this new program or event. Part of the planning process involves defining what success looks like and communicating that to the team. That unifies the group and enables them to communicate more effectively and make better decisions. Then they can all head in the same direction with purpose and enthusiasm. Benefit #8: More volunteers A lack of planning leads to sending out a desperate plea for volunteers a few days before the event. The volunteers who set aside their schedules to help likely receive very little communication or training. In that scenario, your volunteers are frustrated and annoyed. They’re serving because they believe in the ministry of your church – so much that they’ll put up with the chaos this time. However, don’t count on that continuing for long if you repeat this process often. Benefit #9: More effective communication Invest the time upfront to plan how and when you’ll communicate this event or new program. You’ll want to consider service announcements, social media posts, billboards, website updates and registration, emails, signage around the church, etc. When you coordinate this communication, it will be apparent to your congregation and the community what you’re doing, why, and how to get involved. That will increase participation and make the whole launch day run smoother. Benefit #10: Peace of mind Now, I know that God is our source of peace. I’m not taking away from that at all. In addition to trusting Him for wisdom and direction, we need to use the skills He provides and give thought to our ways. The simple act of documenting the tasks required to complete a project brings a measure of peace. You can see what needs to be done, who’s responsible for each item, and that you have a schedule in place to get everything done on time. Yes, you’ll have issues to handle along the way, but the volume is much less when you plan ahead. That brings peace and helps you be a good steward of the resources (time, money, and talent) that God has provided. Hopefully, by now you’re at least intrigued by the benefits of

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Project Management Software for Churches: How to Choose the Best One

Jake Douglas

Many church leaders see the potential value in using project management software for their teams. Popular tools include Asana, Basecamp, ClickUp, and others. However, there’s often a level of disappointment that happens once a church staff starts using the tool. Why isn’t this making communication easier? Why won’t the whole staff use the tool (and stop emailing me or dropping by my desk with a “quick” request)? Here’s the deal: Those issues probably have nothing to do with the tool and everything to do with the process. What do I mean by that? (Prepare yourself for some tough love here…) You can’t put a shiny new tool over a broken process and expect an incredible result. I don’t care how many features the tool has, how much you paid for it, or how “cutting edge” it’s supposed to be. If you don’t have a good process in place it still won’t work. So if that’s true, then what is all this process stuff about? Let’s say you’re looking for project management software to help your communications team put tasks into a central location, assign each, add notes about the tasks, send email reminders about upcoming tasks, etc. Before you sign up and start adding projects, consider this: How does your staff currently receive, manage, and complete communications projects? In other words, how does your team go from receiving a request to providing the final product? Notice I haven’t addressed any special software features here. If you don’t already have the answers to these questions, that’s where you should start before you evaluate any online tools. Here’s how to document your process: Step #1 – Create a rough draft Take a first cut at sketching out your church’s current process (whether you think it works well or not – just write down what IS). Step #2 – Review Meet with your team to see if they agree that what you’ve written down matches how they think things currently work. You may be surprised by where you have disagreements or different understandings. That’s another reason why documenting the process is helpful – it gets everyone on the same page. Step #3 – Improve Ask the team what they think should change about the current process and incorporate that into the documentation. Step #4 – Review with a wider audience Review the proposed process with other departments and/or individuals who’ll be impacted by the changes. Tweak the process until you get something you think will be more efficient. Step #5 – Evaluate Use the process for a few weeks without adding a planning tool. Work out a few issues, update the process documentation, then create a list of which steps you’d like a tool to help make more effective such as: Now it’s time to check out project management software options: Once you have a solid process and you know what you want out of an online project management tool, THEN it makes sense to start reviewing options. One easy way to start comparing options is to visit Capterra.com. You can select up to four tools to compare key features side-by-side. That will help you narrow down the options. Next, visit the website of each vendor to get a better idea of what each offers. Most of the software providers offer a free trial. I highly recommend you sign up for the free trial and have 2-3 people use the tool for that time period. See if you really like the tool, if it helps you manage your process more efficiently, etc. Once you land on a tool your team will actively use and finds helpful, then start rolling it out to more people. Make sure you explain WHY you’re asking them to use a new tool. Help each individual understand how this tool will make their job easier and how it will save them time and stress. Train each individual and answer their questions in the first few weeks. Don’t expect everyone to fall in love with the new software on day one. It may take a while for some to see the benefits. Be persistent, provide more training, and respond quickly to their questions. Yes, this approach will take more time up front. However, by documenting your process and identifying how you’d like to use a project management tool you greatly increase your chances of selecting the best one for your team. Complete the form below to receive a free Project Management Tools Overview guide (including information on the top software vendors):

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