Any time you’re launching a new IT project, you’re running the risk of having it go off the rails for any number of reasons. Poor communication, lack of clear priorities, irregular schedule — all can hurt your project. And a failed project can affect other parts of your business, including productivity and budget.

The good news is that you can take steps to make sure your IT project flows smoothly to successful completion. Consider the following tips when preparing for your next big project.

Strategic direction is a must

Any project you wish to see succeed needs both direction and strategy. For a policy directive, mission statement, or project briefing to work, you and your project team all need to be on the same page and going in the same direction. It would help if you shared the same goals.

Giving your team clear direction and goals will ensure everyone knows what is expected and how they are to achieve it.

Absent of any clear direction, your team might end up wasting time and resources. Worse yet, they might not accomplish anything. Neither option will have a positive effect on your project.

Document tasks and priorities

You can make this as simple as setting up a spreadsheet outlining what steps you and your team need to take to complete your project, the order which works best to reach your goals, and each step’s status. You could also further develop a formal project plan and take advantage of project management software.

If this is new ground for you, take a look online for free templates for task lists and project plans to adapt to your specific needs. After drafting a plan, get together with managers or colleagues to get feedback and see that you’ve prioritized your tasks in the best manner possible.

Effective communication

Change happens — even to the most meticulously planned projects. When that happens, every team member needs to be kept up to date on what’s going on. Without clear communication, your project team will not be able to complete your project effectively, or will, at least, experience multiple stumbles along the way.

Periodically, get together with your team — either at once, in smaller groups, or with individual members — to discuss challenges, questions, or suggestions for improvement. This makes everyone feel involved and improves the flow of communication vital to your project’s success.

Transparent communication is a must. If you take away one thing from this suggestion, take away the idea that holding back information will be toxic to your team’s ability to meet their goals.

Transparency is key.

It’s far preferably to freely discuss potential problems and be prepared for them than to be confronted by them without warning.

Be open to suggestions from team members

While you may already have envisions how your IT project will pan out, don’t hesitate to take advantage of input from your team. Listen to their suggestions and see if they can’t add some improvements to either your project’s implementation or process.

A good project manager should always be open to input. An unconventional or unexpected solution to a problem may be just the thing you need.

By listening and maintaining a dialogue with your project team, they will feel more valued knowing their input is important.

Stay focused whenever possible

It’s not unusual to be riding herd in multiple projects of different sizes and varying priorities. This can make it especially challenging to keep track of everything and avoid losing anything in the shuffle.

It’s essential that when you’ve turned your attention to a specific project, you maintain your focus on the current task at hand. This is where keeping a log or carefully-kept schedule is so important. Start the day by addressing and evaluating that day’s priorities. Stay focused on those tasks until they’ve been handled.

I’d even go so far as to recommend that you keep the number of open projects as low as possible — ideally just one project. Spreading you or your team thin on multiple projects only increases the chance of numerous failures.

Better to have one masterfully completed project than half a dozen failed projects because you couldn’t maintain focus.

Effective communication, clear direction, laser focus, and being open to team members’ suggestions can have a powerful effect on your IT project’s success.