Ok, let’s face it.  Project Management - while it is very challenging - isn’t the most thrilling or exciting career choice in the world.  It often isn’t even a career choice – most project managers are thrust into the role at some time or another and then possibly continue down that path by choice or just out of need for a job.



So, if it’s not particularly exciting, how do we keep it fresh?  How do we keep it interesting so that we’re excited about the future challenges and fresh in how we approach each project?



For me, it’s not about the thrill of the project and the technology that will be utilized.  It’s also not about how high-profile the client is or isn’t.  Some of the most interesting projects for me have involved startups that no one has heard about.  It is, however, about the challenge of the solution and the makeup of the team that I will be managing.



We can keep things fresh and challenging on our projects by incorporating these three practices into every project we take on as a project manager:



Treat each phase of the project as a mini project



This works especially well on a longer-term project.  As the project manager, when you’re putting the project schedule together keep an eye to the future and plan the project out into phases, if possible.  That way, smaller successes can be realized and celebrated as a team and with the customer throughout the project.



Each phase can be treated as a mini project with an end date and hopefully a major deliverable to get signed off.  Look at this signoff as a major accomplishment and publicize it within the organization and get some customer feedback to include in the internal press release.  Positive press for the team while the engagement is still going on can really help keep things fresh for the project manager and the team and can help keep the project momentum going throughout the rest of the engagement.



Engage the customer every step of the way



If the customer is engaged in the project throughout and cares about the project throughout the engagement, then you and the team have a nearly infinite amount of chances to wow the customer and generate some positive feedback.  Positive and reinforcing feedback from the customer – especially if it flows down to the project team through executive management – is a great way to motivate and energize the team while the engagement is still active.



Another way to look at this is that an engaged customer definitely keeps the project challenges high.  The team is always accountable and the custome is usually always asking questions.  It certainly never gets dull or boring in this scenario.  And if you’re looking for ways to keep the customer well engaged, then look no further than just practicing normal project management best practices.  Keep them informed of the project status, the project schedule, the project budget, and all project issues.  With that much information in front of them they’ll remain engaged unless their sleeping through the entire implementation.



Try something new on each project