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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 Hold Team Members Accountable to Project Deadlines

Jake Douglas

A challenge that most project managers face is leading a team of people who don’t directly report to them. In other words, the project manager isn’t their boss, and each team member has their main job responsibilities that take priority over project tasks. This makes it more difficult to hold people accountable to deadlines. Fortunately, there are several ways to help team members see the importance of deadlines and be able to meet them. Tip #1: Get Input on Deadlines As you draft the project plan, work with each team member to identify tasks and establish reasonable deadlines. Ask about their other work responsibilities (such as Sunday service prep) and confirm they’re offering deadline suggestions that take the rest of their workload into account. When a team member is the one who provided the deadline, they’re less likely to be annoyed when you remind them a task is due soon. Plus, they should be able to complete the task on time since they kept their regular workload in mind. Tip #2: Provide Reminders We’re all susceptible to forgetting about tasks that aren’t in our regular routine. Project team members are no different. To help them keep up with deadlines, provide a reminder about tasks that are due within the next 2-4 weeks. If the project management tool you use can do this automatically, use that functionality to send the reminders. Tip #3: Be Proactive As you offer reminders and meet with team members, ask if there are any obstacles or potential issues that may prevent them from meeting a deadline. This could be a new job responsibility that their boss added to their plate, a family emergency they dealt with recently that has put them behind schedule, or even waiting on another team member to complete a task before they can start. Discuss those issues and work to remove obstacles or resolve them ASAP. Tip #4: Share the Big Picture Sometimes team members think missing a deadline won’t be a big deal because they don’t know how that task impacts others. To prevent that issue, share a high-level view of the project timeline with the team. Point out key milestone tasks that, if delayed, could derail the entire timeline. Tip #5: Manage the Workload Before the project starts, talk with team members about their current workload. Discuss what tasks they’ll have for the project and how those will integrate into their workweek. Talk with church leadership about team members who may be overloaded. See if they can adjust priorities or delay other efforts so team members can reasonably complete their tasks on time. During the project, periodically poll the team to see if any individuals have capacity to help a team member who’s struggling. Share the workload and reassign tasks if needed. Projects such as planning a big outreach event, launching a new small group ministry, or renovating part of the church building are all additional efforts for an already busy staff. Keep this in mind as you create project plans and set deadlines. Work with church leadership to understand where this project fits in relationship to other efforts – is this a higher or lower priority? Those factors will help you establish a realistic plan and communicate priorities effectively to the team. All of this plays a role in how well the team will respect and meet deadlines.

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Church Project Management: What Should You Treat as a Project?

Jake Douglas

When it comes to project management and the church, you might wonder what your church should treat as a project. Are weekly services a project? Is facility maintenance a project? What efforts should be put into a standard project management process versus handled as an ongoing task? Thankfully, once we settle on a common definition, it’s not hard to determine what to treat as a project. In this post, I shared the definition of a project from the Project Management Institute as “temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.” With that definition in mind, here are examples of what you may want to treat as a project at your church: #1 – Events, Special Services, & Outreaches Every church hosts a variety of events throughout the year. Vacation Bible School, Easter Egg Hunts, Christmas concerts, community outreaches, and other events certainly fit the project definition mentioned above. #2 – New Ministry or Program Launches If your church leadership decides to launch a small group ministry, you’ll have a significant number of tasks to complete before the big kickoff service. From training small group leaders, to providing an online method for people to sign up and more, you’ll need a project team to make this a successful launch. The same concept applies to starting an addiction recovery ministry, establishing a disaster response team, and other new programs at the church. #3 – Facility Updates Remodeling the church sanctuary, installing new equipment, expanding the nursery, or repainting the parking lot lines are all examples of church facility projects. Of course, a new building or renovation effort would qualify as a project as well. For these efforts, you’ll likely need to engage vendors to help with architectural drawings, city permits, and other specialized trades. #4 – Moving Whether it involves staff members changing offices or the church moving into a new building, there are many logistics involved in a move. Setting up furniture and equipment, stocking office supplies and restrooms, coordinating who moves when, and more are all aspects of that project to manage effectively. #5 – Software Migration and Implementation If your church decides to change accounting software or selects a new church management system, you’ll need to track all the tasks required to make that a seamless transition. For these types of projects, you’ll need to get the software vendor involved to make sure the process runs smoothly. #6 – Website Redesign Church websites periodically need a detailed review and update. Managing this as a project will involve considering various factors such as the church logo, font and color selection, integration with online giving options, updating the content for each page, and many other details. Even for a fairly simple website, this project could become quite extensive. Assigning someone to be the project manager can help your team complete the effort in a timely manner. #7 – Capital Campaign A church leadership team considering a capital campaign should treat that effort as a project. Creating a project charter to define the goals of the project can help the team focus on what’s most important for this initiative. #8 – Succession Planning Even if we expect and hope that someone will stay in their current role for many years, it’s always wise to have a succession plan. You could treat this as a project for each role, and include steps such as documenting tasks, identifying skillsets required to be successful in that job, and considering who on staff has the potential to move into that role in the future. This project is a matter of stewarding the future of the church by ensuring there’s a plan ready to fill any role in a timely manner. #9 – Weekly Services Now, this one might be a bit of a stretch to treat as a project since it’s an ongoing effort. However, each service does have a defined start and finish (well, depending on how long your pastor preaches that week…). You could treat weekly services as a project with the following task categories: Your church can leverage a standard project management process to coordinate these efforts more efficiently, saving the church time and making the best use of its resources. 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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