Project Management 411

Using Project Management for you holiday shopping?

by Kim Beasley on December 1st, 2008

Being creative while holiday shopping among the masses is a necessity. One of the ways that you can achieve this is by using project management planning. I know, it sounds strange but in reality it may make your life a little simpler during this holiday season.

Let’s use the Deming Cycle: PDCA method that I shared in an earlier post to manage holiday shopping.

Phase 1: Plan-establish your objectives

• Buy presents for all those on my shopping list; most economically

Phase 2: Do - take action to implement your processes

• Compile list of presents that need to be purchased along with who will receive them
• Research to determine the most economical way to purchase each present (whether it is online or offline)
• Purchase presents

Phase 3: Check - monitor or watch how your plan progresses against your objectives and generate a report about the results

• Generate list of purchased presents according to original list to ensure completion

Phase 4: Act - Assess and make improvements if necessary in weak areas of your processes

• Make note of any issues that were experienced during the buying process
• Note which stores had excellent customer service and speedy delivery for future reference

Hopefully, this has help you to see how easy it is to integrate project management into your holiday shopping and also your daily life. Do you have other example of how you integrate project management into your daily life? Please feel free to share your comments or your examples.

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POSTED IN: Kim Beasley, Project Management, Project Management 411