Successful project management comes down to two things: the right planning, and the right staff. If you think either are lacking, you're going to run into problems. Get it right at the start, and it will be plain sailing. Here are the pitfalls to avoid at the start of any project.

1. The planning stage

This has been deliberately put before the 'staff' stage because you need to plan the capacity of your project before you know the people who are going to run it. If you hire the staff first, you may end up with the proverbial too many cooks. Only when you've planned will you realised you needed two project managers instead of five, or that you can only afford to pay ten full time staff instead of twenty.

This is where budget comes into play - that single document that can wreak havoc with any project in its planning stages. Always, always, leave yourself room for manoeuvre, even if you're doing a project on a low budget. There will always be things you weren't expecting and should account for.

Planning also means getting as much of your project down on paper as soon as it's conceived. Use a program like Microsoft Project to start to input the initial information as it comes to you, even if it's just the project title and aims. The sooner you write things down, the sooner you'll be able to communicate and share them, because project management is almost always a team effort. If you're communicating openly and frequently from the start, this also avoids mistakes being made by the telepathy error ("I thought you knew!"). Make sure everyone knows the plan, all of the time - it stops time and resources being wasted unnecessarily.

2. Staff planning

So you know what your project is looking like fleshed out, it's time to analyse who you need to do it. There is a tendency in some bigger corporations to fall into the trap of "jobs for the boys" - people employing prior co-workers, friends or people they know because they get on with them, not really because they are perfect for the role. There is a fear of change and new staff sometimes in a cliquey organisation but you should prioritise skill sets rather than who you like. You may hate someone, but they may also be the best designer, planner or accountant in the world who could get excellent results. This is also a time to test your emotional intelligence at work!

Remember that staff are not just a project tool, they are people and are not superhuman. Allow for sickness, days off and other problems that come with any manager's role.

If you get these two stages right, the project will start off on the right foot - one of confidence, the correct people to do the job and for the correct price. You'd be amazed how many people leap into managing a project without getting the fundamentals right first. Don't let this be you, and you'll be on your way to a smooth, successful project all round.