Today’s biggest business challenge: Bringing simplicity and efficiency to a complex environment
Nov , 23
How to deliver the impossible: 5 key steps for successful project management
Effective project management is one of the most critical components of business success, whether you’re offering the service yourself, or developing your business through innovative projects. But what makes a project run smoothly? How can you create the most positive and efficient experience so that projects are delivered on scope and on time?
A recent report by international software review platform FinancesOnline found that business dissatisfaction with project management is increasing, with an average of 11.4% of company investments wasted due to poor project management. Research also indicated that organisations that use proven project management practices waste 28 times less money than their flying-blind counterparts.
In our current economic climate, where businesses are fighting to stay profitable and adapt to customer needs in a global pandemic, no one can afford to suffer the consequences of mismanaged projects and delayed deadlines. Here are a few simple strategies to help you master successful project management and deliver quality services efficiently and on time.
Step 1: Concentrate on the contract
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of a solid contract. It’s what the entire operation is based on and what you’ll come back to if there are mishaps or changes along the way. For a successful project, you need to clearly set out the contract structure pillars that best suit your offering. I recommend including an overview of services, the purpose and business need, a defined scope of work, established deliverables of service, the timeframe and duration, the resources that will be utilised, cost of services, and defined payment milestones. That’s eight key elements to a comprehensive contract. This is beneficial even if the project is internal – setting out parameters like expectations and budgets are critical for guiding internal teams too.
It’s also crucial that, throughout the project, you re-align execution with the contract pillars to make sure everyone from vendors to stakeholders are playing their part. Continuous focus on the alignment between contract pillars and key project constraints will avoid any negative effects to the overall performance targets. This helps you better manage the project and keep all parties happy.
Step 2: Keep the long-term business in mind
A good project manager knows to unpack the business justification of the project before it starts so the project can be executed according to these long-term goals. With information on the business case, you can track the project as it unfolds to make sure it remains desirable, viable, and achievable as a means to support decision-making and continued investment for the business.
A successful project management result has the potential to transform a business – or system – leading to improved bottom-line growth or, in some cases, significant savings. In 2017, Dante Deo worked on a project with the National Treasury to optimise their supply chains and facilitate digital transformation. Simply through strategising and working through complexities with long-term goals in mind, we were able to save the government R2.5 billion. Don’t underestimate the long-term influence of successful project management.
Step 3: Understand expectations
This is crucial for everyone involved, from internal and external teams to other service providers and vendors. Clearly defined expectations from the outset will help the team manage and deliver on what’s been established. Any vagueness in this area could lead to trouble down the line. Make sure everyone knows what the final delivery expectations are so that budgets, scope, and required inputs can be worked out correctly. You also need to determine product quality requirements so you can provide products that best suit the purpose.
Step 4: Know who’s who
If you’re keeping dozens of balls in the air – which is par for the course in project management – having clear structures and definitions will make your life that much easier. This step is about organisation and structuring roles and responsibilities for everyone involved. Confirm service-provider responsibilities, make sure vendors understand their part, and have clear structures in place that assist participants in fulfilling these requirements so there can be no confusion around responsibility and accountability. Keep in mind that the agreed roles and responsibilities need to engage the business interests, as well as those of the user and supplier stakeholders.
Step 5: Be willing to adapt
No matter how prepared you are at the start of a project, there are bound to be changes or developments along the way that you need to adapt to. This is where previous experience can be the difference between successful project management and failure. By applying the plan, risk, progress, and change themes to your project, it’s likely you’ll be able to handle mishaps that arise – even at the 11th hour. And, if you established a clear contract from the start, you’ll have defined tolerances for each project objective, so you know how agile you can be.
Efficient and effective project managers will always have a place in the business world. While we understand that each project presents its own challenges and risks, these simple strategies will help you deliver what was promised when it’s due. And, hopefully, save your business some time and money along the way.
