Project management – the secret of a successful project 

From the weekly grocery shopping, or the next birthday, to vacation planning – we are constantly confronted with day-to-day tasks which require careful planning. While our everyday tasks are usually easy to complete and don’t often require a great amount of help or planning, there are some things which are best done with help from an agency. This is where good project management is needed. What does good project management look like? And how you can enhance your company’s project management will be explained in the following article.

What is project management?

The term project management is very multifaceted and broad. For example, the tasks of project management cover all relevant processes aimed at planning, controlling and monitoring the project. This may not sound like much at first, but if you consider that in addition to cost, risk, personnel and time management, many other tasks are covered by project management, you will probably realize the scope of proper project management.

Problems caused by insufficient project management

The question, “how good can project management actually be if it covers so many things?” is often asked. Basically, project management is about a flawless and smooth execution of a project. So, the project management has to eliminate problems that could potentially stand in the way of a project. In the following, typical errors are to be pointed out, which should be compensated with the help of good project management:

1. Endless expectations, tasks and deadlines.

Planning is the key to any project. If there is a lack of management, a project is in danger of failing. Everyone involved in the project needs to know from the beginning what requirements are to be met and what expectations are to be fulfilled. Therefore, good project management starts at the beginning of any project.

2. Barriers and overloads

Once tasks and deadlines are known, resource planning is a must. This part of project management in particular is very prone to errors, so resources such as manpower and machinery should be carefully planned. The resource of human labor in particular is a factor that is difficult to calculate. Working hours, vacation days, illness. All these factors must be efficiently coordinated with other resources and the objectives, so that both barriers and overloads of all resources are avoided.

3. Mistakes in execution and lack of control

Once the planning process is complete, the next step is the implementation of the project. It is important to keep an overview of the current status of the project. However, projects are complex – often the project management does not do justice to this and the progress of the project is not adequately monitored. A constant comparison of target and as-is data is needed to ensure this. Complicated Excel spreadsheets often get in the way and can slow the process down.

4. Slow decision making 

As a result of the lack of control, management decision-making is often slow, which means that factors such as deadlines or the budget plans have to be stretched further and further. This leads to frustration on both the customer and company side and should be urgently addressed by good project management.

5. Lack of evaluation 

The project is finished. Mistakes during the project are normal, but it is important to learn from them in order to drive progress in the company. A good project management would make use of the collected data of the project here and evaluate the project appropriately. However, this is often associated with a complicated processing of the data and is not carried out because of this. Further projects will probably suffer from the same efficiency and cost losses as the one just completed.

We recognize how important it is to have good project management. However, as we have just noted, there are so many factors to consider, that it is hard for many to imagine how all of these factors could be combined and believe that their own project management could be made more effective. So, what’s the biggest mistake you can make?

6. Not using software 

As we have just stated, many fail due to the lack of clarity in their project, which causes tasks to be missed, resources to be miscalculated, and the process to be insufficiently monitored as well as evaluated. Software solutions such as Kanban visual project management can eliminate these serious mistakes and lead to a long-term optimization of project processes.

How can your own project management be improved?

So, we find that software solutions are incredibly important in the field of project management. For example, all-in-one applications offer the possibility to connect and coordinate all relevant processes, resources and tasks. Overviews support decision making and show current issues with the project. One simple tool you can use is Kanban board Excel template that lets you monitor your project progress by visually depicting work at various stages of a process using cards.

HQLabs offers an all-in-one project management software which is only made for agencies, consultancies, and other service providers. Software like the HQ supports you from the beginning to the end of a project with real representations, evaluations, tools for setting tasks and deadlines, project plans, possibilities for time tracking – simply everything that is needed for good project management.

Conclusion 

In order to carry out a project as efficiently and successfully as possible, good project management is required. This should eliminate the typical errors of the work process of a project. If you want to improve your own project management, you should consider using an all-in-one software that connects all relevant processes of the project and enables a seamless workflow.