Early and Often
The purpose of a project is to deliver value. The quicker you can do that, the better. Also, most projects can benefit from delivering value in small batches rather than storing up all the "value" until everything is "ready." Many projects can failed disastrously because they tried to deliver the perfect solution, but ran out of time, money or energy before they could deliver anything. One key to delivering value early and often is breaking down big things into little things. Another key is to ensure that you are enabled to deliver often by streamlining the delivery process.
One piece of value at a time
It is important during the planning process to think of how the "big value" of your whole project can be broken down into the individual pieces of value which could be delivered in separate Sprint cycles or iterations. This is a key to agile practices. Take some time to make sure you learn how to best fill your backlog with individual pieces of value so that you don't set yourself up for failure. If your Product Backlog is filled with items that are "too big" then they will inevitably take "too long" to work on to be able to rapidly deliver value.
It is important during the planning process to think of how the "big value" of your whole project can be broken down into the individual pieces of value which could be delivered in separate Sprint cycles or iterations. This is a key to agile practices. Take some time to make sure you learn how to best fill your backlog with individual pieces of value so that you don't set yourself up for failure. If your Product Backlog is filled with items that are "too big" then they will inevitably take "too long" to work on to be able to rapidly deliver value.
Streamline delivery process
Take some time to determine the specific steps that will be necessary to provide your end-product to your end-users. Make sure and document these steps and ensure that the entire team understands what role they play in the process. Automation is preferred when it is possible to help deliver the end-product.
For software projects, this can be accomplished by automated systems that help with Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment/Delivery.
For non-software projects, just think about how you will take your finished product at each stage of completion and share it with your intended audience.
If your project is one that cannot be provided to your final intended audience until it is 100% complete, then think of some "internal" people who can be interested in the project and provide valuable feedback along the way. In the software world, this is typically called a "beta tester", and often is a person who is external to the organization.
Take some time to determine the specific steps that will be necessary to provide your end-product to your end-users. Make sure and document these steps and ensure that the entire team understands what role they play in the process. Automation is preferred when it is possible to help deliver the end-product.
For software projects, this can be accomplished by automated systems that help with Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment/Delivery.
For non-software projects, just think about how you will take your finished product at each stage of completion and share it with your intended audience.
If your project is one that cannot be provided to your final intended audience until it is 100% complete, then think of some "internal" people who can be interested in the project and provide valuable feedback along the way. In the software world, this is typically called a "beta tester", and often is a person who is external to the organization.