Let’s say you have a business objective. You have a plan to help you achieve it. Things are running smoothly, on time and within budget. Then suddenly, a bump in the road stalls the process. Delays can happen for any reason and are one of the most common problems in project management.
Project delays result in consequences, chief among them: time and money. Every day you’re late is another day paying for personnel and other resources that weren’t factored into the budget. But there are other costs to consider. Your company’s reputation with customers and stakeholders could be damaged, not to mention your reputation with your bosses.
If your project is late, you may cause delays in other projects by tying up resources that are needed elsewhere. If the delay is extreme enough, the entire project may be deemed a failure.
Collavate, a leader in creating collaborative workspaces, can help you avoid project delays with software solutions that create more effective communication channels and document workflows. In addition, we recommend the following tips to help avoid delays and ensure project success:
1. Set realistic goals for your projects: Is the timetable appropriate for the goal? Do your employees know exactly what they need to do, by when, and why they need to do it? How do we measure goal progress and success?
2. Hold a team meeting: Make sure everyone understands their roles as well as the purpose of the project.
3. Gather the right resources: This includes human, financial, material, and service resources needed for the project.
4. Schedule carefully: Divide the phases of your project into individual tasks and activities, sequence the activities, and then estimate the required resources and duration of each task. The schedule should be readily available to every member of the project team.
5. Track and measure progress: Have systems in place for tracking task completion, quality, and budget. Check regularly to see if your team is on target.
6. Communicate: Keep your team (and your clients) informed of every delay, change of plans, and altered client expectations. Every member of the team should be able to see when tasks are due and what major deadlines are approaching.
With an ISO 9001 certified Collavate, we offer an efficient workflow-centric process management application that’s designed to provide high levels of visibility to your whole team and help avoid costly delays. For more information, give us a call today.