6 Things Your Business Project Process Is Missing

Did you know that there are over 33 million businesses in the United States? That means there are millions and millions of executives and owners out there who are facing many of the same questions that you are with your business. How can you make the company future-proof? What are competitors doing that is working with your target customers? How can you make better use of the resources you have for a more efficient organization?

One aspect of your business is the project lifecycle. Almost every company has to implement projects to get specific objectives done. Your brand may operate entirely on completing projects, especially for marketing agencies or creatives. No matter what, your business likely uses projects to complete certain tasks regularly.

Here is the important question. Does your company have effective project practices? Are there shortcomings that can hold back progress? Here are six things that your project process may be missing.

Communication Channels

One of the top reasons why projects get delayed is poor communication. Maybe people on the team do not realize when they are supposed to hand off their part of the project to the next person. Maybe a team member from one department is not hearing back from someone in another department with the data they need to complete their task. A better communication structure could eliminate these issues. The right tool, such as Slack, can be used to create various project channels and streamline communication between departments and individuals on the project timeline. 

A Start and End Date

Sometimes, businesses initiate projects without a plan in place. Maybe they start an objective without deciding on when that task needs to be completed. What this can lead to is other team members not prioritizing the project since there is no deadline. Whoever the project manager or lead is, they need to decide on a start date and deadline for every project so that team members have something to aim for. Otherwise, the project will be directionless and could end up taking much longer than you anticipated.

Project Management Tool

Many of the things that your project process may be missing can be provided through a project management software program. These programs can make the whole process more efficient, handling task assignments, timelines, inter-departmental communication, data-sharing, and executive oversight. If you simply depend on the leadership chops of the project manager, they could become overwhelmed with the number of tasks required to keep a project on track.

Project Recovery Plan

When you do a lot of work on computers, you are at the whim of technology. Perhaps you use the cloud platform NetSuite and you are trying to create a new automated process. If implementation fails, what is your plan for recovering the project? Does all that time and effort just go to waste? In this scenario, a resource like getgsi.com can help with your project recovery. No matter what type of project your company is tackling, it is important to have a recovery plan in place in case things go awry. If not, then business resources will be wasted. 

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is one of the top tech trends in the business world, and for good reason. It removes the burden of hosting local servers from your business, allowing you to pay only for the computing power you need from remote servers that are maintained by a third party. In terms of managing projects, the cloud can be incredibly useful because of its accessibility. When all your applications are accessible via the Internet, project team members can do their tasks from anywhere. This makes remote collaboration simple and allows employees to work from their own computers rather than relying on one device in the office. 

Effective Leaders

One of the most important indicators of project success is leadership. When you have skilled project managers in place, they can keep everyone motivated and on-task through to completion. Imperfect leaders may slow a project down by struggling to assign tasks or manage the expectations of the team. Choosing the right leaders and investing in their education/skills is the best way to develop strong project managers who will lead successful initiatives that improve the company. 

It’s Time to Adjust Your Project Lifecycle

As the owner or executive of your brand, it is up to you to set the company up for success. If projects are a big part of your internal operations, then making changes to the project lifecycle may be necessary for maximum efficiency. Whether you invest in a project management tool, switch to cloud computing, or start investing in project manager education, these steps can result in more successful initiatives and a smoother process for all your company objectives.

Feature Photo by Octavian Dan on Unsplash