Project management is a vital cog to an organization’s growth. Statistics show that organizations without good project management practices in place waste 28 times more money than those that have a proper project management strategy. A flawed project or missed delivery deadline can cost an organization not only money, but its reputation too. Surprisingly, only 46% of organizations have good project management strategies in place.
Common project management mistakes and how to avoid them
Check out some of the common mistakes in project management that can cause financial and reputational loss for an organization:
Compromising with a manager that lacks expertise
The absence of a skilled leader with experience in handling projects may result in chaos. Be sure to choose someone who has relevant experience based on the project’s requirements and is firm enough to lead whilst also being open to changes and adaptations.
Resource mismatch
Choose your team based on the project’s requirements. If team members lack experience in similar types of projects, they won't perform well which can affect the project’s timeline.
Poor project initiation and task allocation
Everyone in the team must know what the project’s goals, aims, and objectives are. There should be clarity regarding individual project member’s roles, responsibilities, key project milestones, and deadline dates. Otherwise, the work won’t run smoothly as the team members will be confused which will impact the deliverables.
Read on: Gain insight with ERP project management dashboards
Lapse in requirement gathering
It’s important that you clearly understand what the client wants. Improper gathering of the client’s needs leads to gaps in requirements meaning the project won’t deliver what the client wants.
Vague definition of project success
If a project manager is unclear about what 'success' means for a project, it spells trouble. The team wouldn’t know if they were doing things right. It’s advisable to use milestones as a measure of success in projects.
Unrealistic budget and time
One of the main mistakes is having an unrealistic budget and time frame for project completion. These figures should be arrived at only after expert advice, proper estimation, buffer, risk calculation, and not simply based on guesswork.
Read on: How time tracking helps your business
Poor team communication
Projects often fail due to a lack of communication between the team and stakeholders. Everything related to an ongoing project needs to be clearly communicated with all the involved partners. It’d be good to use a project management tool to sync the team with the project status and KPI dashboards.
Too much micromanagement
Project leaders often find it difficult to delegate, and they tend to try and be everywhere. Excessive micromanagement tends to devalue the skills of the team. It’s always better to carry everyone together as each person on the team is there for a reason.
Changing project scope
Many projects tend to revise its scope midway which affects the whole project, costs, and schedules. Any potential change to the scope should follow a proper change management process which must be set at the beginning of the project.
Lack of a well-defined process
Do you have a definitive process in place for your team to follow? Without having clearly defined steps that lead to successful delivery, projects can get delayed.
Not using project management software – a big mistake
Project management software is a critical tool nowadays. It helps keep management, the project team, and other stakeholders in sync with the real-time availability of information on the project's status, metrics, expenses, tasks, budgets, and resources. Information availability and in-depth analytical insights help make accurate and timely decisions that are also data driven. Not using project management software increases the risk of project failure.
Read on: Why do projects fail?
Project management rules for successful project delivery
Here are some rules to follow that’ll make your projects more successful:
Choose the best team
It’s essential to choose your team well. The expertise and each team member's ability to work together and tackle issues will help in delivery. The onus of building a team spirit lies with the project manager.
Keep an eye on costs
Costs are able to spiral out of control. The project manager always needs to keep this in mind.
Be open to change
Changes to an ongoing project are inevitable. A project manager must handle the changes well and assess the impact these changes have on the project, deadlines, costs, and most importantly, the team. With a sorted approach to change, it’s much easier to deliver a project successfully.
Issue management
Staying updated and ahead of issues is the best way to handle project loopholes. Just like changes, problems are inevitable in any project. A proper assessment of matters followed by a definite plan to address these ensures successful delivery.
Use processes that are already in place
While working on a project, the project manager will handle multiple roles. There are inbuilt processes already in place for these. An experienced manager will know when to fully follow these processes and when to tweak them a bit. Ultimately, successful project delivery is all that matters.
Keep track of risks
Risk management is integral to successful project delivery. The project leader should stay updated about the project risks during an ongoing schedule. A regular review of risks will help to put aside those that have run their course while planning for present ones and how to mitigate them.
Stay on schedule
It’s not always time tracking software that helps to maintain a tight schedule. The project manager is supposed to take the lead and enforce time tracking so that the entire team knows.
Understand the business objectives
A crucial part of successful delivery is to provide a product that is entirely relevant to the customer. Being able to produce a relevant product on time will add significant value to your company.
Following these basic guidelines will help enhance your project management and allow you to be more successful. Try to resolve your mistakes and use the above tips to ensure you can achieve successful project delivery.
About Vault
Vault is a cloud-based project management application. You can assign tasks, track actual vs. planned expenses, view how much time is spent on each task, compare planned effort vs. actual effort, and view KPIs and analytical dashboards. All of this will help you get a better grip and control over your projects for success.
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