A significant attribute of leading consulting firms is the ability to execute projects successfully on a consistent basis. Project success translates to high client retention rates and the ability to attract new customers. This helps to ensure both business continuity and expansion. As a project leader it can be difficult to manage a successful project execution without the knowledge of how to improve processes and the ability to communicate properly throughout a team.To achieve project success, a mix of activities, human capital, and processes must be organized and well-managed. This effort includes planning and executing assignments and project initiatives, while monitoring performance. In this article we’ll examine some key project management responsibilities to help identify opportunities for improvement in your firm.
Organizing & Planning
Planning and managing a successful project begins with a defined project management process. An organized and defined project plan will help to outline project objectives and project requirements necessary to execute activities effectively. The key objective is to develop a road map and reference points or milestones for the project team members. This will result in the work being done on-time and on-budget to complete projects effectively.
Plans are excellent communication tools – easily understood and not unnecessarily detailed. Plans must be broken into manageable pieces using lower level groupings like phases within the project life cycle. In some cases aligning another level of activity or tasks to phases is helpful. This type of structure facilitates delegation and analysis of work at high and low levels, is an important industry best practice.
The planning process should begin once the pursuit of an opportunity for future business is approved. Planning systems must be able to support plans for potential and current business. Additionally, it should be possible to maintain multiple versions of plans so that they can be updated with new information, and “what if” scenarios can be created easily as risk management. By applying realistic probabilities of winning future work, organizations can do a more accurate job of forecasting revenue and staffing requirements.
A study showed that “only 58% of organizations realize the actual importance of project management and how it allows them to effectively tackle the issues they face”. However, having a project management plan in place helps to effectively reach goals in a more organized and efficient manner. Here are a few other benefits of a successful project management plan:
Source: https://kissflow.com/project/guide-to-project-management/
Monitoring & Control
In the absence of a good planning process the probability of project success diminishes. How can we determine if we are “on course” or “off course” (and need to take corrective action) without an accurate plan in place and the calculation of estimates to complete? This is especially true for more complex or lengthy projects.
Deficient monitoring and control mechanisms inevitably lead to serious problems including poor decision-making, client dissatisfaction, and profit margin erosion. The benefit of an effective control system is the capability to compare actual results to planned results on a regular basis, quickly and easily. Additionally gaining the capability to alert executives of significant issues while providing sufficient time to implement corrective action.
Once a project has been completed it is important to monitor and track progress. This will help to analyze what could be improved/changed as well as what is working successfully. Although it can be difficult to differentiate these changes, having a software solution in place to manage and analyze will help to simplify the process with insights in data.
Blog: 4 Ways to Make Remote Project Management Stress Free
Conclusion
It is interesting to note that owners, executives and key stakeholders in the professional services industry generally appreciate the need for accounting controls, and timely feedback on results. With this being said, they regularly invest significantly in the controllership function and external accounting assistance. However, as important as project management tools, systems, and resources are, they do not seem to receive the same attention or priority.
Oftentimes individuals find it more difficult to see the benefit of a tool, rather than an outcome overall; regardless of how the tool helps to efficiently and effectively reach this achievement. Therefore, evaluating the ingredients of project success and current approaches (including project manager training and education programs), merits serious consideration. This exercise will likely identify opportunities to reach a higher level of performance and profitability in your firm, well helping to see the benefits.
BAASS Business Solutions can help!
BAASS offers a variety of Business Management Software Solutions that can help to improve business processes for companies of various sizes and industries. We offer a range of services including requirements analysis, management consulting, system design, HRMS, BI, configuration, software training and technical support in accounting, ERP, CRM, eCommerce, custom solutions, and cloud solutions. If you would like to learn more about how BAASS can help your organization, contact us today.
