The 5 typical project management mistakes and how to avoid them

Why do projects often fail? A project can fail for a number of reasons. Every project, large or small, is made up of variables that can determine the success or failure of an entire initiative. It is usually not a single major catastrophe that derails an otherwise viable project. In many cases, it is small missteps and carelessness that cause teams to scramble to complete a once promising initiative.

So, what are the main mistakes that project managers make? From resource planning to project scope and risk management, managers have many factors to consider when it comes to planning and execution.

In this article, we will look at the 5 top project killers and how to avoid them from the start.

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1.Mediocre Resource Planning destroys project results

Your resources are vital and, for the most part, limited. Strategic resource management is not only crucial for the health of a project, but also for the health of an entire organisation. Companies often compete for resources (people, money, equipment, etc.), so project managers must be strategic in their allocation efforts.

Poor resource planning occurs when PMs fail to see the big picture. Here are some of the problems that teams may encounter with an inefficient resource planning process:

• Unbalanced workloads (e.g. one team member is at 95 per cent capacity while another is at 30 per cent due to the overload of that other employee. This can also lead to burnout and high employee turnover)
• Unavailable resources(deadlines are impacted if the availability of resources is not properly calculated)
• Inflated budgets (the cost of overtime, external contractors and other unforeseen expenses can be due to an inadequate resource management process).

How to improve resource planning:

Look for a tool that allows you to plan resources through tools such as Gantt charts, team agendas, dashboards and more. Most of the time, poor resource management is a symptom of poor visibility of workloads, availability and more.

You can't plan what you can't see, so shed some light on team workloads with a resource-focused project management tool.

2. Not having a risk management plan is a recipe for disaster

As PMI notes, when it comes to risk management plans, only 27% of companies say they 'always' have one ready. Overall, this is a rather low percentage. Especially when you think about the things that often go wrong in normal life.

For example, you might leave home early if you know you have an important job interview or presentation first thing in the morning because the risk of traffic or transport delays is too high;

Similarly, many people have an emergency fund in case of job loss or illness. They do not expect or anticipate this type of contingency, but they have a plan to move forward in case it occurs. This is an example of risk management

The same should apply to project management. Consider Murphy's laws and assume that anything that can go wrong will go wrong - so plan for it.

How to create a risk management plan:

Assess project risks from the outset. Identify them and draw up a risk response plan. In this way, you can minimise any last-minute disruptions and associated costly changes. Should problems arise, there will be a documented protocol for how the team will make the necessary changes.

A project management tool with robust document management in the cloud can host such documentation, creating a centralised 'single source of truth' and a reference point to rely on.

3. Limited project visibility creates chaos

Poor visibility is a project killer that affects almost every aspect of an initiative.

Poor project visibility

• Leads to poor resource planning
• Confusion of tasks and responsibilities
• Prevents PMs from understanding employee productivity
• Can cause misalignment with customers

In project management, visibility refers to the accessibility of information. Do your team members know where to go for vital project resources? As a PM, do you have a tool that allows you to see who is working on what and for when?

These may seem like small considerations, but poor project visibility impacts the flow of information, the accountability of team members and can mean that customers are left in the dark when it comes to the status of the project.

How to increase project visibility:

Increase visibility and improve the way you manage all your projects - from the resource and task planning phase to the customer feedback phase.

Wrike gives teams a 360-degree view of workloads and task statuses, as well as real-time updates, so you're always in the know. Customised, colour-coded task updates mean that your team can customise their own statuses for their own unique workflows. In addition, external clients can be added to projects in Wrike, which means shorter review cycles (i.e. no more endless feedback loops).

4. Scope Creep can delay the deadlines of your spiralling projects

Scope Creep. These two words alone are enough to scare any project manager. This is because, as the name suggests, it can really 'creep' into a team. Scope creep, in fact, is a phenomenon where the scope of a project slowly changes as a result of customer requests, feedback processes or other factors.

It can occur when the project scope is poorly defined, or when project managers scramble to accommodate changes that were not initially part of the project charter. According to PMI, almost 50 per cent of projects are subject to Scope Creep ¹.

How to avoid Scope Creep:

First, understand what is causing this phenomenon in your projects. Are you skipping the early stages of the project lifecycle that establish scope boundaries (such as an effective Project Chart)? Does your customer management process only involve saying "yes" to everything, no matter how out of scope it is?

Nip Scope Creep in the bud before it hits you by making the project parameters clear from the start. Let your client know what is (and isn't) part of the project and engage in advance to avoid goal misalignment.

5. Inefficient processes and workflows are the enemy of productivity

Consider your workload and what it takes to get it done . Now, think about the inefficient processes that make your work take twice as long. Perhaps your project team has a confusing request management process or perhaps they are scattered across so many different applications that effective communication is almost impossible. Maybe you even charge by the hours worked but fail to integrate a time tracker with your other project management tools.

Inefficient workflows can slow down project progress, divert attention from key tasks and lock team members into non-billable work that could be automated or standardised.

How to avoid workflow inefficiency:

Eliminate inefficient workflows with Wrike. Everything from time tracking to acceptance of requests becomes less time consuming, leaving more opportunities to focus on project delivery. Prioritise work that matters instead of logging administrative tasks and chasing requirements.

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Avoid project failure with a flexible and easy-to-use project management tool

Studies have shown that there is a link between high-performance projects and the use of digital project management tools - and this comes as no surprise. Wrike is a cloud-based task management tool that enables project managers to execute projects from start to finish.

Project failure is common, but not inevitable. Using flexible and intuitive tools, your project team will be able to deliver their projects on time and on budget, every time.

Promotional Article: The authors are independent experts who are not part of the appvizer team. Opinions and views are personal

Sources:

1. https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/learning/thought-leadership/pulse/pulse-of-the-profession-2017.pdf