Does Your Project Team Needs A Trip To The Doctor?
There are three main elements of a project - scope, time and cost. In most organisations, the project manager has the responsibility for making sure the project stays on target with these three elements. They are the most visible, as the individual whose job is to deliver.
In this week’s blog post, we discuss how managers today can help cultivate a healthy project management culture – an environment that exhibits a healthy respect for the time and money spent on a project and ultimately guarantee the success of the project . Wherein change can be managed seamlessly and there is a shared commitment by those involved for a successful outcome.
Here are 5 top tips for Project Success:
1. State the Benefits of the Project to the Team
“Why is your company doing certain projects?” If a manager state’s a trivial purpose (e.g. making more and more money) teams are likely not to stand behind it for a long time. It should be compelling enough to provide them with a great reason toget excited about the project and what they could learn long the way.
2.Assess Current State of Project Management
Do a thorough assessment of your organisations’ current state of project management in order to determine what is working; what is not; what may be missing; what they want etc. The result of this kind of honest assessment will be the basis around which a plan for change can be structured.
3.Organisational Culture
According to Business Improvement Architect’s 2005 project management research of over 750 organisations world-wide, 60% of Project Management Offices (PMO) state that their organisational culture is not supportive of the PMO. The major reason for project failure is that most organizations do not ensure that all projects they implement align with their organisation’s overall strategy. So it’s important to make sure your project aligns with the organisation’s core values and goals.
4.Customer Focus
McConnell (2013) says, if you delve deeper into revenue matters but do not treat the customer, your business model loses its alignment with the customer’s wants, needs and demands. Even if your team works hard on the vision and purpose of project management, their effort may be not targeted at customer satisfaction. Your company then loses customer trust and loyalty. This way your project management culture gets dissolved rather than evolved.
5.Collaborate
Behind every successful project is a tight knit team. Great teams are able to get the job done because they communicate well. As a leader, the project manager needs to make sure the team members are contributing to the end objective. This can only happen when they feel involved. Project managers need to encourage an open communication and collaborative environment where team members can contribute to the ideation, innovation and the decision making process in a relevant capacity. A collaborative environment will create a healthy synergy among teams and guide them towards a common goal.
Having a strong culture is just as much about ensuring the profitability and health of a project, as well as the day-to-day operational effectiveness of your team and your processes.
What are your tips for creating and maintaining a healthy project management culture? Share your thoughts with us by commenting below.
