To say that project management is a difficult task would be an understatement.
Research from top universities, global consulting firms, and industry experts estimate that roughly 70% of all projects fail. Many of those projects fail before they even get off the ground. These failures extract a heavy price.
Not only are millions of dollars lost each year on failed projects and overpriced consultants to dissect the failure, but there is a significant human price as well. Project failures can significantly demotivate employees, leading to losses of productivity and, in some cases, employee turnover. To prevent these issues, we must look to the root of the problem.
Why Do Most Projects Fail?
Take a moment and ask yourself this question. Why do most projects fail? Is it a lack of employee effort? No. The consensus among project management experts is that project failures almost always are due to poor project management. Failure to give employees the proper tools, training, and infrastructure will almost always result in project failure.
Knowing this, let us now take this question further.
Are You Set Up For Success or Failure?
Ask yourself, “How do I start a project?”. Your answer will likely depend on your level of experience and how your business has trained you. Once you have your answer, ask another one of your teammates. If your answers aren’t the same, the odds are that both of your next projects are set up for failure.
Good project management follows the same guidelines. While details obviously change from project to project. The infrastructure and guiding principles behind each project should remain the same. Maintaining consistency in project workflows will ensure that all employees are on the same page when it comes to deliverables.
Take a moment to think about your or your company’s project management process and ask yourself these questions:
Is there a defined project purpose?
Is there a template to guide workflow?
Does the company provide project management software or project management assistant tools?
Does your company set reasonable deadlines based on project deliverables?
Is there a straightforward way to measure project results?
If you answered no to either of these questions, your company’s next project would likely fall within that 70% failure rate.
Diagram for Results
We’ve discussed the reasons for failure; now, let us talk about solutions. You can often solve these issues by deploying a project management software service or a project management assistant tool to assist in creating templates for project workflow.
You may be asking, “Why do we need a project workflow?” Utilizing a reliable project management software service will help create a template for you or your company’s project workflow. Maintaining a consistent workflow will benefit all employees in several different ways:
1. Save Time. Employees will no longer have to waste time creating documents from scratch and can focus on solution deliverables instead.
2. Maintain Consistency. Over time employees will know exactly what to expect regarding their role in the project plan.
3.Improve Efficiency. With a template for project workflow, employees will be able to work smarter and more efficiently to complete deliverables.
4. Stay Organized. Utilizing a template will help keep solution deliverables manageable and avoid scope creep.
5. Data Retention. Maintaining project data will help your team make critical business decisions when tackling unplanned obstacles, analyzing metrics, or planning new projects.
The benefits of these templates are far-reaching. From project managers to beginners, the value of a robust project infrastructure is boundless.
Optimize Your Workflow
When building a house, you must always start with a strong foundation. Without one, whatever is built on top of it will fail. The same can be said of any significant project initiative. By providing integrated project management software services, businesses can lay a strong foundation for their employees to succeed.
This investment in project management infrastructure will help bring projects successfully across the finish line as well as help train, develop, and retain key staff members across multiple departments and levels of the business.
Project-Assistant.com offers a unique workflow library to help build customized templates to assist your business in achieving your desired project results. Their platform is built to help guide beginners through the difficult challenge of project management and ensure that projects are completed successfully. So if you are serious about taking your project management to the next level, start a free account today to see what a customized workflow could do for you.