6 Steps to Simpler, More Effective IT Project Management in CompanyLocation
At Futurelink, we know effective IT project management can spell the difference between success and failure. Yet surprisingly, the Project Management Institute (PMI) reports many businesses don’t fully understand the value of project management. It’s no wonder so many projects fail to meet their objective, overrun their deadline and go over budget.
Project management may seem simple at first glance, but to be successful it requires the right talent, resources and technology. Let’s break down six steps that can make your future projects simpler and more effective.
1. Analyze and Identify
Start by analyzing your business. What are you trying to accomplish? What are some roadblocks you’ve experienced in the past? What succeeded? What didn’t? For example, could your project have benefited from more consistent communication in the form of milestone updates? Would a digitized workflow making documents accessible to all team members be a game changer? Experienced project managers with the right tools can keep everyone engaged and key milestones on schedule.
2. Manage Scope Creep
Any experienced project manager will tell you: Successful, profitable projects have a limited scope. The scope of the project is essentially the work to be completed. When project objectives begin to creep out beyond the initial agreed upon requirements, you have what’s called scope creep. You can get a handle on scope creep with regular team check-ins, clear requirements and tight timeframes.
3. Create a Strategic Plan of Action
A strategy keeps your entire team on the same page and gives them checkpoints to determine how well the deployment is progressing. A shared strategic plan also gives your team a road map of the common goal to work toward. Cloud-based PM software can help ensure the right people are accessing the right documents and keep hybrid teams (both onsite and remote) plugged in and working in unison.
4. Think Baby Steps
Many successful project managers suggest smaller, shorter projects as opposed to larger, long-term projects. It makes sense. Small, bite-sized goals you can knock out in a short period of time are much less daunting. There’s also something to be said about failing fast. It’s better to address potential issues early on instead of at the tail end of a year-long project.
5. Monitor Progress
Monitor your progress and adjust your deployment strategy as your team completes tasks or changes direction. If deployment is taking longer than expected, take a step back and think about how you can streamline later tasks to make up for the delays. Regularly monitoring the status of your deployments not only gives you better visibility into what is and isn’t working, but it also helps you identify adjustments you can make to streamline future projects.
6. Find the Right Project Management Software
PM software can handle a lot of the monitoring of a project for you. Take advantage of technology that can boost efficiencies, reduce errors, hold staff accountable and make your life easier! Applications can store digital documentation, trigger notifications, highlight dependencies and much more.
The success of a project depends on a variety of factors from effective leadership to budget limitations and much more, some of which may be out of your control. But you can increase your chances of project success with these basic IT project management principles. If you’re looking for additional resources, a managed service provider (MSP) can be a good place to start. MSPs can access your tech infrastructure, provide PM support and introduce tools and technologies to get your projects to the finish line.
For more information on project management and how Elgin, IL can help you improve your deployments, contact us today.