Following the project planning, project budgeting, and resource allocation phases is the third phase of the project lifecycle – project execution (aka project implementation). This critical phase involves taking action according to the project plan by carrying out project tasks and fulfilling deliverables. You can think of it as pressing the ‘Start’ button for a spaceship launch as you gradually prepare to steer it towards its destination.

The following steps are included in the execution of a project:

1. Initiation: Getting management and stakeholders' approval for the project plan, assigning team responsibilities, and reporting hierarchy
2. Planning: Establishing and communicating project deliverables, reviewing customer requirements, and designing workflows
3. Communication: Setting a team stand-up meeting cadence, agreeing on the meeting format, and setting up communication tools so that everyone is informed about the progress of the project
4. Monitoring: Tracking project progress and identifying any deviations that could negatively impact successful project completion, be it budget, skillset, or timeframes

A well-executed project meets all the budget, goals, and quality requirements set during the project planning stage.

Project execution is the longest phase in a project life cycle and it's easy to lose track of what's planned on paper versus what's happening on the ground.

Some common reasons for gaps in project execution include:

• Miscommunication: Lack of effective communication with too few (or too many) meetings creates a clutter of information that reduces productivity
• Lack of client involvement: When project leaders and clients don’t have a feedback loop, a disconnect arises between what the client expects and what is delivered
• Poor vendor management: Delays or low-quality vendor deliverables can disrupt your project's timeline‍
• Inadequate project oversight: Poor project planning as well as lack of proper team performance management widens the gap between project planning and project execution

By adopting these five best practices, you can ensure that your project execution follows your project plan as closely as possible:

1. Manage expectations using strategic alignment

Risk: rework, low organizational productivity, team disagreements, poor team motivation

Cause: lack of collaboration strategy, unclear individual roles, and responsibilities

Prevention Strategy: Buy-in from all stakeholders ensures that the project team stays motivated and executes on time.

Work towards achieving clarity in the hierarchy of reporting and individual responsibilities. By knowing their roles, team members are more likely to work well together to achieve the overall project goal. Also, ensure you develop collaboration processes for updating and communicating the project’s progress with all project stakeholders.

‍Tools: Spreadsheet.com’s RACI Matrix template can help define, visualize, and document project roles along with monitoring the progress of individual tasks:

2. Conduct project execution risk analysis 

Risk: numerous obstacles during project execution, slow response to change or crisis, project scope creep

Cause: difficulties in adopting a problem-solving mindset, ineffective risk management

Prevention Strategy: Risk analyses are done in the Project Planning stage for all stages of the project lifecycle. Here, you identify potential roadblocks, prioritize based on impact, and develop prevention measures. Explore various risk management frameworks like the Risk Assessment Matrix and Risk Maturity Model to ensure a thorough risk assessment.

Tools: Spreadsheet.com’s Project Management Risk Log template can help identify and document potential risks, categorize them and conduct an impact assessment for each. It also allows you to automatically assign priority using the Risk Assessment Matrix:

3. Prepare a detailed knowledge base

Risk: poor communication, rework, frequent back-and-forth to get project status and data

Cause: not utilizing information management systems, lack of transparency

Prevention Strategy: If your project involves multiple teams, it's crucial to set up knowledge-sharing and documenting processes to improve collaboration. Adopting good project documentation practices makes it traceable, transparent, and referenceable for future projects. Typical details to document include decision-making frameworks used, protocols, quality standards, historical data, meeting minutes, project progress charts, etc.

‍Tools: Spreadsheet.com’s Meeting Notes template can help you record key takeaways and action points from your project standups:

4. Adopt best practices for outsourcing

‍Risk: budget overruns, not meeting expected quality standards, scope creep, project delays

Cause: poor vendor selection and management, inadequate quality control practices, lack of consistent communication

Prevention Strategy: Vendors can pose critical risks to successful project execution because control over and access to their operations is often limited. According to Harvard Business Review, you should rethink your vendor management practices with systematic vendor selection processes and negotiations to ensure a win-win outcome. Treat your vendors like extended employees such that you track their performance and provide feedback for improvement.

‍Tools: Spreadsheet.com’s Inventory Management template helps manage vendor relationships and keep track of incoming, stored, and outgoing products in your inventory:

5. Use project management frameworks and automation tools

Risk: numerous manual processes and tasks, inefficient use of talent, decision-making delays

Cause: poor documentation practices, low budget to purchase paid tools, lack of adequate project management experience in leadership

Prevention Strategy: Use project management frameworks like Decision Logs, SWOT Analysis, or Decision Trees to make informed decisions. Monitor project execution with software tools that leverage these frameworks to improve the speed and quality of your decisions. Also, identify manual and repetitive tasks in your project task list and try to automate them.

‍Tools: Use Spreadsheet.com’s Agile Project Management with Kanban and WBS Project Management with Gantt Chart templates to help you define, assign, and track project tasks effectively:

Your team's ability to collaborate, manage risks, and be productive is reflected in how well you execute your project. Take your project management to the next level with Spreadsheet.com’s project management templates.