What do you do if you're a Quality Management professional juggling multiple projects?

1 Prioritize your projects

Not all projects are created equal. Some may have higher urgency, impact, or complexity than others. You need to prioritize your projects based on these criteria and align them with your organization's goals and expectations. A useful tool for prioritizing projects is the Eisenhower matrix, which divides tasks into four categories: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither urgent nor important. You should focus on the urgent and important tasks first, plan ahead for the important but not urgent ones, delegate or outsource the urgent but not important ones, and eliminate or minimize the neither urgent nor important ones.

2 Plan your time and resources

Once you have prioritized your projects, you need to plan how much time and resources you will allocate to each one. You should estimate the scope, duration, and cost of each project and break them down into manageable milestones and tasks. You should also identify the dependencies, risks, and assumptions of each project and plan for contingencies. A useful tool for planning your time and resources is the Gantt chart, which shows the start and end dates, progress, and dependencies of each task in a visual format. You should update your Gantt chart regularly and communicate any changes or issues to your stakeholders.

3 Track and monitor your performance

You need to track and monitor your performance against your plan and your quality standards. You should collect and analyze data on the quality, cost, and time of each project and identify any deviations, errors, or problems. You should also solicit feedback from your customers, team members, and stakeholders on the quality and satisfaction of your deliverables. A useful tool for tracking and monitoring your performance is the dashboard, which displays key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics, and charts in a simple and interactive way. You should review your dashboard frequently and take corrective or preventive actions as needed.

4 Balance your workload and expectations

You need to balance your workload and expectations to avoid overcommitting, underdelivering, or burning out. You should be realistic about what you can achieve within the given time and resources and communicate clearly and honestly with your stakeholders. You should also set boundaries and limits on your availability and workload and learn to say no or negotiate when necessary. A useful tool for balancing your workload and expectations is the Pareto principle, which states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the efforts. You should focus on the most critical and valuable tasks and eliminate or delegate the rest.

5 Leverage your team and network

You don't have to do everything by yourself. You can leverage your team and network to share the workload, collaborate, and learn from each other. You should delegate or outsource tasks that are not your core competencies or that can be done better or faster by someone else. You should also build trust and rapport with your team members and stakeholders and foster a culture of quality and accountability. A useful tool for leveraging your team and network is the RACI matrix, which defines the roles and responsibilities of each person involved in a project: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. You should use the RACI matrix to clarify expectations, avoid confusion, and resolve conflicts.

6 Learn and improve continuously

You should always seek to learn and improve from your experience and feedback. You should review and evaluate your performance and outcomes of each project and identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You should also document and share your lessons learned, best practices, and recommendations for future projects. A useful tool for learning and improving continuously is the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, which is a four-step method for quality improvement: Plan what to do, Do it, Check the results, and Act on the findings. You should apply the PDCA cycle to each project and to your overall QM process.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?