Managing ICT Volunteer Projects
Project Management might seem like an over-complication to smaller voluntary organisations but you'd be surprised how much of a difference it can make. It's really just the art of sitting down beforehand and:
- Being clear about where you are now and where you want to get to
- Working out what needs to be done by whom and in what order so you can get there
- Making sure the cost doesn't run away with you
- Making sure it gets finished on time and doesn't start sprawling all over the place
- Having a back-up plan in case things go wrong
- Making sure the end result lives up to your expectations
- Making sure you can keep it going over the longer term
Project Management Makes Sense!
Full-blown project management systems are a bit of an overkill for small charities. For many of small VCS organisations, they can seem unwieldy at best and absolute gobbledygook at worst!"
LASA has provided a project management model which has been tailored especially to the needs of small non-profit organisations. Charities will find this useful as a guideline for managing volunteer projects and volunteers may find them a useful insight into project management for micro-organisations.
- LASA's Project Management Guide can be navigated online or downloaded as a pdf - either way, it's thoroughly recommended! Whilst you're there, have a browse around - LASA has a real wealth of information about IT for charities.
- TechSoup has useful advice on various aspects of managing IT volunteer projects. Again, it's worth having a general browse around TechSoup's information resources.
- You'll also find some useful pointers on the TechSoup's IT Planning pages.
