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4 Common Practices That Plague Projects

Mistakes are inevitable when managing a project. It’s humane. However, some mistakes can spell doom for a project. Most of these mistakes tend to remain hidden from view and manifest only when the project is reaching its final stages.

A project manager needs to remain vigilant during each stage of the project. Whatever approach or work management software that you use, oversights during the execution phase will result in project failure. Here we will take a look at four costly mistakes that commonly plague projects resulting in ill will between both the client and the company, and the team members working on it. 

1. Setting Unrealistic Project Goals

The project scope defines the limits for the team. The scope of the project is determined by evaluating the cost and time constraints as well as the project deliverable requirements. The scope should determine the goal of the project.

However, sometimes project manager take the opposite approach. They set unrealistic goals that are not in line with the project scope, resulting in budget overruns and delaying project completion. Setting such goals is not just bad for the project but the morale of the employees as well. It results in a lot of overtime and turns the team into monotonous machines instead of creative problem-solvers. To avoid this mistake it is important that the project managers set realistic goals that are directly linked to the project scope, instead of setting them at whim.

2. Using Inefficient Collaboration and Communication Medium

Another common mistake in managing a project is using inefficient project management tools to collaborate with the clients and customers and project team. An inefficient and cumbersome software results in poor understanding of the project requirements and resource dependencies, which ultimately results in project failure.

A project manager must use advanced task management and collaboration software. With all the technologies available, there is no excuse for using outdated albeit inexpensive team management software. The right project management software will make the team members work more effectively and efficiently. It reduces operational inefficiencies and increases the chances of successful completion of the project. 

3. Not Focusing on Employee Project Performance

In many cases, the employees’ overall work is analyzed without focusing on the performance on individual projects. This represents a dual performance-reporting dilemma that occurs because the employee reports to both, the project manager and the sponsor. Since, both the stakeholders often have different KPIs, the reporting dilemma represents an obstacle to improving employee performance relating to the execution of the project. The problem can be overcome by first defining the right KPIs and then recognizing, assessing, and providing appropriate rewards based on individual project performance. 

4. Not Tying the Project Goal to Organization Strategy

This is yet another mistake when managing a project. In order to maximize the value of the project, every project goal should be in sync with the overall company’s objective. Every decision that the project manager takes should be evaluated in light of the strategic objective.

In conclusion, the main goal of a project manager should be to maximize the value for the company. While prioritizing client’s goal is important, in the end, aligning the company’s goal with that of the client’s is crucial for ensuring long term success. There is no point working on a project whose deliverables don’t tie with the profit and revenue objective of the firm.  And one of the simplest methods of avoiding these four common mistakes is to use an efficient management software that lets you clearly see the scope of the project, the timeline of the deliverables, and key performance KPIs.