Project Management has been prevalent ever since humanity started building. It can be traced back to the construction of the Pyramid of Giza. The Egyptians used the same principles of Project Management to manage the team of workers to design such a large and complex structure. Today, digital project management software helps businesses of all sizes manage and track project progress.
With a robust project management system, companies can plan, organize, manage, and lead their teams and resources to get the desired results. A 360-degree project management software enhances business operations inside and out. This is why industry leaders rely on such software to improve their output.
Small businesses are the most affected by the lack of clear project management. A limited resource pool and budget constraints combined with a mismanaged project can prove detrimental to the company’s growth. Read more about some of the biggest challenges faced by small businesses in project management.
Small teams are expected to have robust communication with each other. However, working in a fast-paced, small team structure can prove the contrary. Small businesses are now commonly associated with a lack of communication both internally and externally.
The biggest hurdle to a dynamic and evolving company structure leads to unclear goals. The constant ad-hoc requests mean the company is not focused on the goal it set previously. 39% of projects fail due to unclear goals and a clear project plan. Unstructured last-minute changes in the objective can derail the entire project if there is no system in place to accommodate the change.
Startups and small businesses usually survive with a limited financial cushion. This means the organizations run on a tight financial plan. A small last-minute change or an unplanned delay can jeopardize the delivery, thus affecting the budget for the business.
Startups are infamous for their on-the-go management style. This means every resource is working on multiple projects. While the management might find it an optimal way of working; if there is no accountability for the work, this can further affect multiple projects at once.
When you sit with a piece of paper to decide the project timeline, more often than not, you will end up with an impossible timeline. Small companies usually do get a project with a near-impossible timeline. Without a proper management system in place, every business function can feel a direct impact.
PMS helps small organizations and startups streamline their business functions to efficiently manage projects and deliver them on time. From managing the project timeline to giving regular updates and optimizing resource utilization, small businesses can benefit greatly from such tools.
Generally, the success or the failure of a project is determined by whether the company delivered the project on time or not, as planned in the beginning. Project management software allows you to set milestones, which can help managers evaluate the project’s progress. An early indication that a project might get delayed allows managers to take timely action for punctual delivery.
A project management system keeps a centralized database of every project, its progress, and the availability of resources. This allows small companies and startups to optimize resource utilization. A common system to track the project also allows all the involved people to better interact with each other to fast-track progress. Managers can also inform the clients about the progress.
Every organization is concerned about its bottom line, but that need is all the more vital for small companies. Startups and small businesses don’t have any room for error. An effective project management tool allows you to track your budget. It also lets you track your expenses and identify areas where the employees are spending their time and where the organization is spending the most to reduce the billable hours. This allows companies to optimize profit and deliver the project within the budget.
Employees at small companies and startups often end up juggling multiple tasks at once. Project Management Software can help define roles and responsibilities. This way multiple people won’t end up working on a single task, thus removing redundancies and optimizing resource utilization.
Project evaluation with the help of software lets businesses identify gaps and strengths. Companies can use this to improve their project-related gaps and double down on their strengths. A PMS tool offers reports that tell you what milestones were achieved and where delays happened.
Suggested Read: A Comprehensive Guide to Choosing Right Project Management Software
Let’s read about project management use cases in detail.
Case Study 1
| Company: Boncom | An advertising agency that collaborates with brands worldwide |
| Challenge | The company relied on several point solutions to timely deliver client-facing projects. However, the solutions failed to offer the required operational functionality |
| Solution | Adopted Mavelink’s Project Management solution |
| Results | Reduced billing rate error by 100%. Made accurate forecasting possible for the company and generated reports in no time. |
Case Study 2
| Company: whyaye! | A digital transformation consultancy that delivers IT transformation solutions to businesses across diverse sectors. |
| Challenge | The company managed resources and projects through tools such as emails, PowerPoint, and Excel. However, with the company’s growth, they couldn’t get data or insights to effectively manage projects or resources. |
| Solution | The company adopted a new Project Management software to streamline the company’s operations. |
| Results | Increased utilization by 6%, reached 80% Billable utilization, doubled new clients, and tripled the company’s size. |
Large corporations with their vast resources are also not immune from the challenges of project management. Managing a project at a large company is like solving a Rubik’s cube. Managers have to keep several elements of the project at the top while keeping a focus on all the other elements and identifying the best route to complete the task. Read more about the project management challenges of enterprises.
Even a well-structured organization can face resource conflict when it comes to managing hundreds of projects at a time. Multiple resources sometimes end up working on the same project when there is just one resource required. Also, poor planning sometimes means that a company does not have available resources (manpower, raw material, software, hardware, machinery, etc.) for a project.
Scope creep is one of the biggest project management challenges that refers to how the project requirement has changed over time compared to the originally agreed scope of work. This change in scope leads to alteration in almost everything related to the project.
As a manager, you are expected to have a team of skilled members who are best suited for a job. If there is a mismatch in the skill level and requirements of the project, the project is bound to face hurdles all the way.
Managers need to assess the risk associated with their project. You need to make sure that your team is always ready to adapt if required. Project Managers are not a psychic, which means, however hard they try, they cannot list all the risks associated with the project.
If any one of the above-mentioned pointers hinders your project, it will inevitably delay the final delivery. Only 2.5% companies claim that they deliver 100% of their projects on time. It can be frustrating for all the parties involved if a project is delivered late and this can further deter the company’s growth.
Large corporations with thousands of employees can also benefit from a Project Management System. It allows organizations to track all the projects, further divide them into small sprints, ensure that resources are not overworked or underworked and make sure that the company is prepared for all the risks arising from a project.
Companies can plan their work through sprint planning in their project management software. This allows enterprises to divide a project into small parts and make a planned sprint for each part. It allows teams to focus on specific goals while continuously reviewing priorities and plans.
Companies can document their entire project and scope of work on their project management system. This will help companies mitigate any confusion and misunderstanding within the team and help everyone understand what is expected from them.
A good project manager constantly assesses his/her workforce to establish that resource utilization is always optimal. PMS software can help managers track the workload and availability of all the available resources.
While a manager cannot possibly assess all the potential risks associated with the project, a robust project management software can do that with its risk assessment. It can help you identify risk spots, and help you plan for possible incidents.
| Company Name: WÖRWAG Pharma | It sells prescription and over-the-counter products to prevent and treat lifestyle diseases around the globe. |
| Challenges | WÖRWAG Pharma wanted to determine the requirements for project and resource management. It also wished to implement it at the earliest. |
| Solution | A robust project management software helped the company with more transparent resource planning. |
| Results | The solution increased efficiency and transparency in Project Management. For the first time, it is possible to take stock of utilization and free capacities. |
Suggested Read: 20 Open Source and Free Project Management Software
Conclusion
Project Management Software is not optional anymore. Today, companies rely on project management tools to streamline their business operation and deliver results on time. With PMS, companies can track progress, alter the plan, and produce exceptional results 100% of the time. So, don’t wait anymore and get a project management tool for your business.
Suggested Read: Choosing the Right Project Management Solution in 7 Easy Steps
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