We sat down with one of our diligent project managers to talk about how it feels to manage random projects and these were his exact words:
“Project management sometimes sucks! Not really…(giggles). But, at times, it just blows away my mind. Lol!”
Have you ever been in such a situation? Indeed, this is a normal scenario and somehow, project managers always find themselves under an extensive amount of pressure. But, at Nextbridge, our project managers believe in efficiency and are a pro at what they do.
Unbelievable???
Well, Nextbridge has a 99% customer satisfaction rate of delivering projects on time.
Here we will spill the beans on how you can complete your projects on time and that too, without getting on your nerves.
Let’s deep dive into how project delays can be avoided with the simplest ways we have introduced.
But, before that, how about knowing the statistics and causes behind these project delays? Good idea, no?
Related Read: Leverage Project Management Tools
Causes of project delays
Project management only becomes a bane when you don’t pay heed to the causes behind and therefore, we have compiled some reasons for project delays in project management.
Check them out and thank us later:
- Constant alterations in project scope (especially when the project is halfway done)
- Undefined or improper project schedule
- Unavailability of resources
- The project deliverables and objectives don’t fall into the designed project constraints
- External resources delay the tasks
- Communication barrier between project stakeholders and team (means ineffective communication leads to incomplete requirement gathering)
- Unpredictable circumstances like bad weather, electricity shortage, illness, etc.
Impacts of delays in projects
Project delays shouldn’t become a norm and if it becomes, it leaves a really bad impact on the company, and its resources not just on the clients but on the whole market.
It’s time to look into the impacts keenly:
- Project finances can majorly be affected.
- Every time the project delays, the resources are wasted, and due to this additional expenses have to be underpinned.
- In case the setbacks aren’t considered at the planning stage, the whole task or project is jeopardised.
- It puts your company’s reputation in danger.
- Once you delay the project delivery, all other projects would follow the same flow. (means the deadlines are missed)
This is how it can make the whole project management worse. Below, the statistics of project delays are shared to signify the “above-said.”
According to a survey:
- 1 out of every 6 projects decelerates their work schedule by 70%.
- For large projects, even only a 10% overrun can cause a $5 million loss in the expected profit amount.
- Inaccurate or undefined time schedules can lead to 25% of projects failing.
- An average overrun of 33% is expected in software project delivery.
One Good Aspect!
The mature and ingenious project management can meet the deadlines and complete almost 64% of software projects exceptionally.
10 insightful tips to avoid project delays
If you really want to be good at avoiding project delays, adhere your strategies to these tips:
1- Be A Planner – Pull off deep planning
What project managers at Nextbridge do is that they plan the whole project in stages. Yes, by doing so, they make a path for their resources to complete tasks accurately. So, if you’re a project manager, all you need to do is to plan the whole project.
Decide what would be the flow
In how many phases it would be done
How many resources would be best
Etc, etc.
2- Be Sure – Collect all data
At this stage, project managers put their efforts into collecting data about the client and its company which we commonly name R&D (Requirement & data) gathering. Without complete information, even a project manager can’t cast a spell on his projects.
3- Be Realistic – Pitch a perfect deadline
Now, everything is planned, and being a project manager, you know what is the right time to deliver the project.
No need to brag about your efficiency and suggest deadlines that are almost impossible to meet. Instead, keep your team’s feasibility in mind and get stumped up after meeting the decided deadline.
4- Be There – Have a team meeting
Keep your team aligned on one page when the project deliveries have to be carried out. Conduct daily or weekly meetings to know the progress and be ready to address any queries coming your way.
5- Be A Leader – Gather the suitable resources
It is indispensable to choose resources for a specific project. Project managers at Nextbridge know their team’s potential and that is how they choose the right talent pool for the scheduled projects.
A project manager should make sure that all the resources are up to the mark.
6- Be Concerned – Schedule your tasks
Scheduling transforms the untiring tasks into flexible ones and this is what our PM says. According to them, your project management skills go all wasted if you don’t schedule the various tasks.
7- Be Conscious – Track progress
Trust your team but don’t go blind. Well, it is important to keep a record of your project and team performance. Project tracking on a daily basis should be considered an inevitable task of the day.
8- Be A Learner – There’s always room for an improvement
While you’re working on a project, there’s always a chance to bring out the best. For instance, before closing the project, check it once and make alterations wherever it is needed. Because this is how you can improve. (Suggestion by Nextbridge Project Manager)
9- Allocate the dependencies
If the project is about to close and some of your major tasks haven’t been done yet, then don’t worry! Take a deep breath and distribute the deliverables. Yes, you heard it right.
Know who can do what best and put them on those specific tasks immediately.
10- Positive Affirmation in case of Project Delays
They all (Nextbridge Project Managers) are at one stance:
“In case of a short delay, you can still seek out a chance to improve the project delivery.”
This is the most positive thing I heard from someone with a great experience. Even when the project delays, one good thing that happens is you deliver the superior level of a project, not the inferior one.
In a nutshell:
As they say: Project management requires your energy and dedication. But, once you’re in, it’s yours.
By following these tips, one can brilliantly manage the whole project. (Source: trust me!)
Hopefully, the causes and tricks would help beginners to manage projects as efficiently as they dreamed of.
