It’s not just a buzzword: project management is an essential part of meeting your business goals. You’re probably already doing it informally, but you don’t even realize it. Defining a project management process to help you achieve your goals can improve your efficiency and keep things organized and running smoothly. Still don’t think you need it? Keep reading and we’ll tell you exactly why you do.
1. Helps You Maintain Focus
One of the main benefits of Project Management is maintaining focus. By using project management to define goals, you can then measure each action against the goal. It allows you to make sure that what you are doing remains within the scope of the project.
2. Helps Reduce Costs
By eliminating excess time, work, and research, you’re going to bring down your costs. Whether you use an app, invest in software, or send someone to take a class on project management, it will be worth the investment of time and money, when you consider what it can save you in the end.
3. Helps Prevent Accidental Duplication
By having the project broken down into manageable pieces, with everyone’s tasks clearly defined, you eliminate having two people working on the same thing. Accidental duplication of efforts wastes a significant amount of time and money, and frustrates all people involved. Get rid of this by having tasks specifically outlined and assigned.
4. Helps to Keep People Accountable
No one wants to be the person stalling the project. If the project timeline is available to everyone, it gives the relevant stakeholders the ability to see exactly where things are in the process at any given time. By indicating who is responsible, for what they are producing, and when it is due, you eliminate someone claiming they didn’t know what they were supposed to do.
5. Helps the Team Stay on Target
Having a project management plan that everyone can see will prevent team members from doing unnecessary work and straying too far from the identified goals. Moreover, it ensures that everyone understands the entirety of the project. As well as, where their piece of the puzzle fits in the overall scheme.
6. Helps with Time Management
By deciding up front how long each part of the process should take, and what the deadlines are, no one should be lagging behind. A well-defined plan prevents people from running up the clock on a task that should only take an hour or two. It helps team members see when their part of the plan is approaching, so that they can appropriately clear their schedules.
7. Helps Improve Team Collaboration
Having a roadmap helps everyone to see how their different roles impact the entire project. People who don’t interact in the office on a regular basis may end up having to collaborate on a key part of the plan. This will cause them to find creative ways to communicate, share files, and plan their schedules. As the project moves forward, team members can go back and see who handled a previous part of the work, and contact them directly with any questions. This eliminates waiting for a new file handed to them by a manager.
Project management is not just for large corporate offices. It is often the key to keeping things running smoothly and reducing frustration, even in a small business environment. A great FREE online project management tool is, ASANA.
