Project management can be tough mainly because of mismanagement. That’s the reason a lot of IT projects take a long time to finish and eat up a big portion of the budget.
Even in the hands of good project managers, mistakes can happen. When they do, it can be disastrous to small business owners. What are some of the issues that can jeopardize project management? Here are five common mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Not knowing your teammates and what they can do
Don’t be a stranger in your own company. Get to know the people who make up your organization and be clear about what you expect them to accomplish from the start. One way to do this is to hold a meeting with your staff where you can delegate responsibilities and deliverables. This is a great way to organize team members and ensure their accountability for tasks assigned to them.
2. Not breaking big projects into smaller ones
It’s easy to be overwhelmed in the digital age. With all that information you need to process, it feels like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. The same thing happens when you have a big project to handle. At first glance, this gargantuan task may appear like a real-life Goliath, but victory can be yours if you know how to deal with it.
The trick is to break a large project into small pieces so you can easily manage it. Do this at least twice. Once you’re done, assign those small pieces to the right people who can help you. By doing so, the entire team can easily finish what looks like an impossible task.
3. Not knowing where to start
Rome wasn’t built in a day, so don’t expect to finish all your tasks at the end of office hours. Many IT departments have to deal with multiple projects that are begging for attention, and this can drive anyone nuts.
Before you decide to visit a therapist, examine your current projects to see what needs to be prioritized. Don’t waste time on low-priority jobs, but focus on what’s important instead. Once you know your priorities, you can tell team members what to concentrate on and what can be done at a later time. This should be communicated clearly to avoid frustration and headaches.
4. Ignoring team members
Even if you’ve delegated the project to the right people, that doesn’t mean you should ignore your team members. Constant communication is important in project management, so be sure to regularly update the team as well as stakeholders on the status of the project.
Hold meetings when necessary and invite the right number of people who can give pertinent information. Otherwise, your meeting will turn into a circus with everyone wasting time by unnecessarily sharing their own opinion at every opportunity.
5. Not doing anything if things go wrong
Nobody’s perfect. Despite your best efforts, things may not always work out. Murphy’s law states that “if anything can go wrong, it will,” so be prepared for anything. Remember that it costs time and money to salvage a doomed project, but you can prevent the worst from happening with timely reporting and updates.
Transparent and truthful reporting provides team members and stakeholders with information that can lead to timely decision-making. This, in turn, can change the course of the project. You can turn it around and make it more successful by adjusting the budget, resources, or anything that needs to be fixed.
Is project management giving you a big headache? Leave your worries behind with the help of Safebit Solutions, Inc. For over a decade now, we have been providing small businesses in the Houston, Baytown, and Conroe areas with advanced yet affordable technology to help them succeed. Whatever your business is, you can depend on us for IT managed services, IT consulting, and network support. Contact us today to see what we can do for you.
