World Cup fever is upon us and I figured there isn’t a better time to talk about goals. Goals give us purpose and direction so that we can focus and work on achieving amazing things. The 2018 Fifa World Cup is one of the biggest projects with some of the most media coverage today. With 32 nations competing for the biggest prize in international football, all of this wouldn’t be possible without some of the best project management today. The key to the success of the 2018 Fifa World Cup lies in the project management goals that were achieved. Below I’ve listed my top 5 Project Management goals that were implemented in the 2018 Fifa World Cup.

The World Cup As A Project

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Before we get stuck into project management goals, let’s first unpack how the the World Cup is one of the greatest examples of successful project management.

According to PMI the definition of a project is the following:

“It’s a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.”

The Fifa World Cup is considered to be one the biggest international projects that spans the course of approximately one month. According to the official site of the 2018 Fifa World Cup, it will span over 11 Russian cities and will “unite 190 ethnicities that populate Russia and about 2,000 nationalities from around the world.”

As a project, the 2018 Fifa World Cup is one of the best examples of the successful outcome of following project management goals. Below are the top 5 project management goals that we can all incorporate into our day to day projects:

Finish on Time via GIPHY A critical goal for almost all projects is finishing on time. As a project is a temporary endeavour, there is always a race against time. The reason why finishing goals on time can be challenging is because project requirements often change as the project develops and adapts. As more changes occur, especially if the project is following the Agile methodology, this can affect the completion date. In terms of the 2018 Fifa World Cup, finishing on time is perhaps one of the most critical goals for the project team to achieve. As the World Cup revolves around fixed dates, keeping on time is one of the most critical project management goals. ITonlinelearning tip: For Project Managers who struggle to deliver projects on time, try to set goals with realistic timelines. By breaking the project down into small, manageable tasks with completion dates, it will seem more manageable thus making your team more productive. Maintain Happy Team Members via GIPHY With a happy team, you can achieve almost anything. Project managerst keep team members happy by enabling an environment where teams know their work matters and as a result do their best work. A recent study by economists at the University of Warwick found that happiness led to a 12% spike in productivity, while unhappy workers proved 10% less productive. The Planning and Project Management Department for the 2018 Fifa World Cup fall under the Local Organising Committee (LOC). According to the LOC, “The World Cup is a major challenge for our country. We have to carry out this project. 70% of Russia’s citizens will be involved with the World Cup in one way or another.” Vitaly Mutko, Russia’s Minister of Sport; Chairman of the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee. As 70% of the Russian population will be involved, maintaining happy team members is critical for the projects success. With so many involved, and so many resources available, happiness and productivity was definitely factored into project goals. ITonlinelearning tip: In order to keep your team members happy, a great way to maintain enthusiasm and productivity is to give recognition and remind project teams of the common goal. Deliver Value To The Customer via GIPHY It’s true that you could complete a project within the given budget, on time and have met all the project requirements and you could have customers who are not happy. An important project management goal is to put the customer first and make sure the project delivers value to them. According to the official site for the 2018 World Cup, “All of the preparation programmes and projects envision the football fan as the central figure of all activities”. Delivering value to the customer through visa waivers, free travel and fan guides is evidence of how the Russain nation truly put football fans first. ITonlinelearning tip: Customers can decide the fate of a business. They are the reason why any business grows or survives. In order to deliver the best value to the customer you need to understand what ‘value’ means to them. Value can mean different things to different people. Understanding customer-centric project management goals can truly shape the outcome of any project. Stay Within Budget via GIPHY According to The Moscow Times the total investment budget for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia amounts to over $11.8 billion. As a result a considerable amount of resources has been placed in the hands of Project Managers. Staying within budget is one of the most challenging project management goals. As organisations face more pressure in terms of budget, there is a real need to only invest in a project that will be successful. By spreading their budget between private and governement funding, the Russains hosts were able to succesfully stay within their billion dollar budget. ITonlinelearning tip: In order to stay within budget, you can make sure that if you go over budget in some areas, you can under-spend in other areas. Meet the Project Requirements via GIPHY One of the most important project management goals is meeting project requirements. According to the Project Management Institute, “requirements are capabilities that a product must meet to satisfy a user’s need to solve a problem.” No matter what, the project needs to create solutions which meet requirements. An unofficial requirement, however one that serves the purpose of this article, is the requirement that the World Cup connects and inspires the world through the game of football. Connecting and inspiring a nation can create a ripple affect and impact a nation in more than one way. The 2018 Fifa World Cup leaves a grand legacy to the host country. Such competitions serve their host countries for many years to come. ITonlinelearning tip: In order for your project management goals to meet project requirements it’s critical to make sure that in the planning stage of a project you have a detailed set of requirements. This is because if any of the requirements are vague or ambiguous, this leaves room for error. What initially was seen as a minor element in the project could become huge, which could affect completion time and allocation of resources.

Conclusion

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Project management goals are one of the most important facets to project management. It can be suggested that the success of the 2018 World Cup is due to the succesful implementation of project management goals. Finishing on time, maintaining happy team members, delivering value to the customer, staying within budget and meeting the project requirements are goals that can be implemented into almost any project. What project management goals do you focus on when developing your project plan?

Jacky is part of ITonlinelearning’s digital marketing team. When she’s not blogging she can be found hiking, spending time with her family or obsessing over the latest digital trends. Follow her on twitter @HiJackyHarrison for more on her latest posts!