Feeling swamped? Try this technique

I'd like to share a technique I've used when faced with a project or task which at first glance may seem overwhelming. By overwhelming I am referring to what may initially feel a lack of direction or overpopulation of potential sub-tasks.

Basically this technique involves mentally teleporting yourself to the completion of the project (or just beyond it) and asking a hard hitting question - 'What would cause me to define this project as a success?' 

By asking this question you can hopefully clarify what may be a cluster of semi-defined tasks, challenges, opportunities and resources into very clearly defined primary and secondary KPI's/goals, In addition you should be able to identify distraction tasks.

I'll elaborate on these below and provide examples from a project I worked on where I engaged with an organisation in setting up new business unit in New Zealand. Below is also a simple model I put together to help visualise the process. 

Primary KPI's/Goals: 

These goals are critical to the project and define success or failure. In other words, they are the fundamental achievements by which you can look back on a project and say "Yes, this was a success." If a project can still survive without one of these being completed, it may be secondary goal. 

Example:  When opening a new overseas business unit: 

1. Staff have legally compliant contracts to be employed on

2. Staff are able to be paid accurately via a payroll function

3. Resources are in place to provide base level HR support

4. Capacity for expansion and integration into the group function

Secondary KPI's/Goals:

These KPI's are not irrelevant, they add value to a project and can make the difference between a satisfactory result and an exceptional one. They may even be quite important, however these goals alone do not define success or failure of a project. It may even be that they are a secondary stage of a primary goal and so require that to be completed as a prerequisite. In the ideal world, a project will be resourced to achieve the primary goals and some secondary goals - but this isn't always the case! 

Example: 

1. Systems in place for HR metrics capture i.e an HRIS or equivalent

2. Resources in place to provide higher level HR support (complex queries requiring local knowledge)

Distraction Tasks:

These items may only add low value to a project, or worse be value neutral or reduce value. They may be easy to achieve and can be falsely veiled as quick wins. Probably best described as busy work, while you may feel like you're being productive by completing them, at the end of the day they have not assisted in boosting the success of a project by a worthwhile margin.

To be clear, some of these tasks may have value down the line at another place and time. However they need to be assessed in the context of the project now and the resources at hand.  

Example: 

1. Tidying up the presentation of organisation charts (aligning boxes and formatting colours)

2. Producing policies which may unlikely be used at this stage or duplicate local industrial law

I'd like to think of my comments here and diagram as a first draft so I look forward to coming back to it at a later stage and refining it further.