First and foremost, structure your project

When starting a project, the main concern is to plan all the essential work. To address this issue, it is highly recommended to create a logical structure defining all the work required to complete the project. This means using a structured approach during the start-up and preparation phase of your project to list all tasks and avoid last-minute unpleasant surprises.

Suppose you've been asked to design and present a training program. You and a colleague work hard for two months on the course content and materials, the choice of premises and the invitation of participants.

A week before the start of the first session, you ask your colleague if she has arranged for the training manuals to be printed. She thought you'd...