Project management is a long-standing profession and in the past century it has become a real subject covered by many studies and research.

According to classic project management, and too often used nowadays, the success of a project is measured in terms of time, budget and scope metrics.

Therefore, little attention is paid to the overall business benefits in terms of both customer value and profit for the organization.

Granted, project management has improved in recent decades, but it is clear that project management practices need to transform rapidly to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

But what does this mean in practical terms? Let’s see it in this article.

Project management transformation in the 21st century

The 21st century challenges us to change the way we manage change within organizations.

Conventional jobs are changing and new ones are starting to appear, the old concept of office work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. is no longer up-to-date, means and opportunities for communication are evolving, as is technology that is constantly improving…

Organizations need critical thinkers capable of adapting, inventing and reinventing; collaborating, creating and innovating, understanding and exploiting complexities to let creativity flow.

So project management and business analysis are also transforming before our eyes in order to achieve and create better business results.

Some refer to it as “Breakthrough Project Management” (or BPM), an innovative approach to procurement and project management.

This method provides a sound and replicable basis for delivering projects:

• Meeting deadlines
• Using a limited budget
• Without compromising reach or quality

Although the traditional approach to project management is still successful in the case of low to moderately complex projects, as far as the most difficult tasks are concerned, this method becomes inadequate and it is necessary to follow a new path also taking into account the ever-changing market.

Project manager’s role

The project manager, in this context, should not be stuck on the classic approach of project management, but should always be looking for new perspectives and new innovations in the industry.

It is clear that the world, including business, is moving rapidly, technology advances are rapid and furious, and organizations are forced to innovate all the time.

Indeed, the new Agile approach towards projects can be successful in this regard.

In this case, the required synergies are leveraged to stimulate creativity and innovation.

The key word therefore becomes “innovate” or stay in the market and facing competition will become increasingly complicated.

Innovating therefore becomes the lifeblood for organizational survival.

The project manager must therefore focus on the continuous delivery of business value and innovation, understanding the holistic nature of change.

This change requires attention to people, processes, organizations, rules, data, technologies to constitute a transformative business practice.

Realizing that a holistic perspective towards change is both an art and a science, the project manager must find a balance between analysis and intuition, between order and disruptive change.

The decision-making process thus becomes collaborative; thought is inclusive and strategic; complexity is exploited to achieve creativity; leadership is shared and diversified; teams are collaborative and highly performing; methods are adaptive, creative, agile; solutions are innovative, competitive and create value for the organization.

The innovative practices of the project therefore produce revolutionary results and require different thinking and new practices and systems.

The success criteria of the project must therefore be changed to include the concept of value, wealth and benefits for the company, innovation and creativity.

 

Ultimately, traditional project management tools and techniques are often considered inadequate today.

These traditional approaches that use a static method, in fact, provide project managers with unrealistic estimates that ignore multiple feedback processes and non-linear project relationships.

The interrelationships between the components of a project are more complex than those portrayed in the classic project management model and make them inadequate for the challenges of the dynamic project environment of the 21st century.

New complex and dynamic environments therefore require project managers to rethink the traditional definition of a project and classic management methods.

Project managers must also be able to make decisions in these dynamic and unstable systems that are constantly changing and evolving randomly and are difficult to predict, very different from traditional linear and predictable systems.

To achieve this goal, more integrated approaches to project management in complex environments and new methods of project planning, scheduling, execution and control need to be studied.

As mentioned above, “innovation” must be the watchword in 21st century project management.

The success of a project is usually calculated with traditional evaluation parameters that only take into account the fact that the project has respected the budget and the programme. Quite often, however, this is not enough.

Some organizations consider broader parameters than the traditional ones – cost, planning and operation – and determine the success of the project by evaluating key performance indicators, the so-called KPIs.

This approach generates more relevant, fair and balanced project performance evaluations.

Some organizations, however, do not have a consistent way to determine the parameters that should be applied to determine how a project has achieved its objectives and how it has influenced the company in a tangible and non-tangible way.

Therefore, let’s see in this article what are the possible evaluation parameters to quantify the success of the project.

Why measure the success of a project?

This may seem like a silly question, but what is the main point of measuring the success of the project?

After all, once a project is finished, there isn’t much more you can do about it, whether it is a success or a failure, right?

This has been the primary philosophy for a long time, but with the development of the concept of learning and best practice, the value of recording information about an organization’s past to guide its future strategy has become more prevalent.

Nowadays, the value of continuous improvement based on past data is recognized and it is based on this that companies can understand what went wrong during a given project so that they don’t fall into the same mistakes during subsequent projects.

By integrating new knowledge, particularly about successes and failures, into new processes, fewer mistakes are made and higher performance can be achieved.

That’s why measuring project success has become critical for every project manager.

The problem with measuring project success is that it’s not as easy as it sounds.

What is so difficult about the measurement of a project’s success?

It seems logical that by measuring the success of a project, it will be possible to collect data on what went particularly well or badly and that you will be able to pinpoint those success factors to be applied to future projects.

What happens if the project is delivered on time and on budget but two months later the client does not benefit from the result? Or are you absolutely not satisfied?

On the contrary, some clients may be completely satisfied with the result of a project that has been almost a disaster in terms of management with, for example, unforeseen delays, excessive resources, financial losses for the company, etc.

For years project management has been trying to come up with a more precise idea of what is meant by “project success” and for years we have been trying to identify what is needed to ensure the success of the project.

A lot of research has been conducted on this subject and many studies have been published.

However, the results were not so homogeneous: despite thousands and thousands of texts written about project management, despite decades of individual and collective experience and despite a considerable increase in the amount of project-based work, the data have led to highlight that the success of a project is also partly very subjective and varies according to situations, organizations, sectors and stakeholders.

Indeed, everyone could have a different perception of the project and its result.

Fortunately, however, some good practices have also emerged that should help a project manager to measure the success of his projects using simple processes.

Criteria for successful project management

In these criteria we will find all those concerning the project itself and its implementation.

These in particular help to measure the internal efficiency of the organization to implement projects and here we find the “classic” elements of project management:

• The project is completed within schedule
• The project is completed within budget
• The project meets its quality objectives

Other project management criteria can be added such as:

• The project includes all the points covered by the scope
• The project meets commercial objectives in terms of revenue and profits

And again in this category it is possible to include criteria related to different stakeholders:

• Project team satisfaction
• End-user satisfaction
• Supplier satisfaction

The subjectivity of success is therefore minimized through the use of predefined success criteria.

Everyone will know what they are working on and when it is time to measure success, established benchmarks will be available.

 The “define, align and approve” paradigm

To ensure that the established success criteria are satisfactorily realistic, the development of the criteria must follow the “define, align and approve” paradigm.

In short, the success criteria must be properly set out in measurable terms, must be aligned with the needs and constraints of the project, and must be approved by all parties involved in the decision-making process.

Let’s see each point further in detail:

1. Success criteria must be explicitly set out

Success criteria must be stated in specific terms related to the execution of the project management process, the project activities and their results. For example: it is a success if the project is completed by the end of Q4.

2. Success criteria must be ‘aligned’ adequately.

Success criteria must be aligned adequately with the project vision, scope and effort, considering the overall purpose, benefits to be achieved, organizational capacity, priorities, risks and operational constraints. For example: it is a success if the project leads to a 5% reduction in reports of problems related to remote access to the system.

3. Success criteria must be duly approved

Success criteria must be developed and defined using a structured and collaborative process, whereby all parties involved in the decision-making process have the opportunity to provide input, challenge hypotheses, negotiate and finally provide acceptance and approval.

 

Whatever the project in question, when it is possible to measure success through optimal evaluation parameters, critical information will be obtained which, perhaps, will not lead to the improvement of the project itself, but will help to create a database of knowledge for the development of future successful programmes and projects.

The recognition and management of project risks and criticalities is one of the most crucial aspects for the success of a project; however, this issue is easily overlooked.

Throughout the life cycle of any project, there will almost always be unforeseen problems, questions and concerns that occur.

When these problems appear, the project manager and their team must be prepared to address them, or they may have an impact – even a severe negative one – on the outcome of the project.

Since most problems are, inherently, unexpected, how can we tackle them quickly and effectively?

The ideal solution is to have a problem-solving process in place before the project even kicks off, to make sure that you meet your deadlines and costs and achieve your objectives.

Problem management is the process of identifying and resolving problems. Problems that may affect staff, suppliers, technical failures, material or resource shortages, etc. every single factor in these categories can potentially have a negative impact on the project.

If the problem is not solved in time, it could lead to conflict, delay, or even total cancellation of the project.

So why is this often overlooked?

Perhaps because it is easier for a project manager to focus on organizing tasks and distributing roles rather than investing time in analyzing and managing project risks and issues.

However, risks and challenges, when they arise, are impossible to avoid. That’s why it’s critical to consider them from the beginning.

Risks and criticalities: what’s the difference?

At first, risks and criticalities might seem the same thing, just called in different ways, but this is not the case.

There are several aspects that characterize these two concepts. Let’s see what they are.

What is a risk?

The PMBok defines the risk of a project as

Here is an example of a risk statement:

Since the project team failed to review the requirements with users, it might fail to meet the customer’s needs, resulting in dissatisfied users.

The cause in this example is the failure to audit and validate the requirements. The risk is that the project team may not meet the user’s requirements, while the impact is dissatisfaction with the product by users.

The risk is therefore an event or condition that could potentially happen in the future.

In particular, the risks of a project include several attributes such as:

• They are generally known at the outset of the project.
• They may exist at a specific point in the project and/or may last for the entire duration of the project.
• They may have a significant impact on the outcome of the project if the risk becomes a reality.
• There is a moderate probability that the risk may come true.
• Sono straordinari rispetto alla normale gestione del progetto.

Making assumptions to identify project risks is a reasonable way to determine the elements of a project that could cause problems.

However, it is important to focus on important risks by basing them on three factors: materiality, probability, and extraordinariness.

When defining risks, it is advisable to try to make a list of the main factors that are most likely to occur, are extraordinary for normal project management, and could significantly damage the project if they occur.

After defining the main risks of the project, the next step is to implement mitigation strategies for each point on the list to apply if the risk begins to become a reality.

By defining mitigation strategies for each risk, one can actively and proactively outline how to avoid the risk and manage the potential problem.

Accuracy in risk definition is extremely important. Risks need to be defined in order to clearly design and determine the action to be taken to mitigate or avoid them.

If it is not possible to structure the response action, this means that the risk is poorly defined or is not a tangible risk.

What is a criticality?

A criticality is identified as:

It is the project manager’s responsibility to responsibly address events and ensure that their impact on the success of the project is minimized.

Critical issues require immediate attention and real-time action and may be the result of risks identified at the start of the project or may come from an invisible area not initially considered.

In both cases, critical issues arise in most projects and any effective leader should be able to address them efficiently.

Similar to project risks, critical issues are problems that occur in a project that require certain management actions and strategies for resolution.

If a criticality is not addressed promptly, it may impact significantly on the successful completion of the project.

The extent to which critical issues differ from risks, however, is that the former generally do not last throughout the project and may not be known at the beginning of a project.

The list of critical issues will not be as persistent as the list of project risks.

Effective risk management

The project manager should take care of risk management in every project from the very beginning.

It is certainly not a pleasant topic, but it is worth talking about potential risks to and with stakeholders during the initial project start-up meetings.

This may be the only chance to have the whole team and stakeholders together before the project is started and completed, so it is a good time to gather doubts and thoughts about potential risks from all perspectives.

This planning phase is unfortunately often overlooked due to the increasing need for speed that the market requires to drive back and overcome the competition.

However, skipping this part can cause major problems for the project later on.

Visualizing risk from a different perspective

The first thing the project manager and team should ask themselves is what could go wrong during the project.

• Are there any factors that could prevent the completion of any project activity?
• Is it necessary to take into account elements such as seasonal weather conditions, external suppliers, market fluctuations, political effects or material stocks as possible risks?

These are just two examples of questions that the project manager should ask himself.

There is an almost limitless list of “what if” questions that need to be considered and that can help identify as many risks as possible.

There are many types of risks that affect projects:

• Cost risk: this generally translates into an increase in project costs due to poor cost accuracy or a change in scope.
• Planning risk: i.e. the risk that the activities will require more time than expected. Delays generally increase costs and postpone the reception of the project output, with a possible loss of competitive advantage.
• Performance risk: the risk that the project may fail to produce results consistent with the project specifications.
• Governance risk: it applies to the performance of the board of directors and management in terms of ethics, community management and corporate reputation.
• Strategic risks: resulting from errors in strategy, such as the choice of a technology that cannot be used in a specific case.
• Operational risk: includes risks arising from implementation and process problems such as acquisition, production and distribution.
• Market risk: includes competition, currency exchange rates, commodity markets and interest rate risk, as well as cash and credit risks.
• Legal risk: arises from legal and regulatory obligations, including contractual risks and controversies brought against the organization.
• Risk related to external hazards: including storms, floods and earthquakes, vandalism, sabotage and terrorism, labour strikes and civil unrest.

After having identified the project risks, it is time to consider their potential impact.

• What kind of effect will every risk have on the project?
• Will the risk cause delays in activities?
• Will the risk cause an increase in project costs?
• Will the risk affect the end product or service quality?

The best way to help the whole team and stakeholders understand these risks is to quantify and give them a value that everyone can clearly understand.

For example, for how many days could the risk delay the project? Will the risk lead to a percentage increase in how much on the project?

Giving a concrete number to the risk will make it appear as a real threat with real consequences and not just an abstract possibility.

Identify ways to mitigate, reduce, eliminate risks

Once identified, the next step for effectively managing risks is to determine and examine ways to mitigate, reduce and, if possible, eliminate the problem.

Is there anything the project manager and team can do to reduce the impact on the project or to eliminate the risk?

For example, if a risk has been defined regarding one supplier’s reliability or cost, can you look at the services of another supplier that may charge less or be more reliable?

The project manager must commit to putting in place a response strategy for any potential risk.

Defining and filtering the list of risks is easy compared to defining mitigation strategies.

The action plan will be the one in which the creativity and resourcefulness of the project manager will come into play.

It is fundamental to have a mitigation or risk management strategy, but it is also necessary to ensure that ownership and responsibility for the plan is fully assigned to a team member or a separate team.

No strategy can be implemented unless it is implemented by its owner and by assigning responsibility for that specific plan to someone, you can ensure that risk management strategies are implemented when necessary and as quickly as possible.

For example, back to vendor risk: by giving responsibility for mitigating that risk to the person who is directly involved with that vendor, they will be able to act quickly in the event of a problem rather than having to wait for the project manager’s green light.

In short, risk management is:

Risk management is a key part of the planning process and the project manager must ensure that this vital step is not overlooked in favor of urgency.

The lack of a risk management strategy can result in project delays, increased costs and, in the most serious cases, even total project shutdown.

In part two we will analyse the effective management of the identified criticalities.

Measuring the progress of the project, or a simple task, is obviously critical, but why is it so important to use good software to achieve this?

It probably happened more than once that the project manager was asked the question “So, are we done?” in relation to a project activity or the project itself.

Whether it was brought in by clients, managers, team members or the project manager himself, this situation is not as rare as you might think at first.

During your work you may lose your sense of space and time and forget exactly where you are along the way.

Furthermore, incorrect or deliberately manipulated information can lead to a distorted image of the situation.

This is how project management software becomes vital to measure the progress of a project.

Why is project progress difficult to measure?

Knowing exactly where you are along the path of a project is difficult to measure for several reasons. For example:

• Project progress is much more subjective in nature: this is particularly true if you work in an innovative technological environment where developers can work on a feature indefinitely, with the promise that they are just “on the verge of a breakthrough to complete things”.
• Delayed resources: resources that are working on a certain project activity have been left behind and instead of reporting this, they hide it by being confident that they can recover it. They will go ahead and say that everything is fine, thinking that they can solve the problem by spending a few more hours in the office at the end of the day or working over the weekend. Meanwhile, the project manager will report in his planning file that everything is going according to plan, even if it is not.
• Resources that don’t want to make a bad impression: another reason why manual planning may not be in sync with reality is based on human nature. People don’t like to make a bad impression, and the status of an activity can be “tweaked” slightly so that colleagues and, above all, the project manager have no complaints. From time to time this may not be a big problem, but week after week delays and false information can accumulate and cause significant damage to the project.

Use planning software to measure the progress of the project objectively

After seeing the previous examples, it becomes clear how automated project management software can help to objectively monitor and measure the state of progress of a project.

Below are four ways to measure project progress correctly:

• Make the objectives clear: every activity or milestone must highlight the intended objective or final status. For example, rather than having a loose activity as a “search solution for implementation” indefinitely, it should be precisely referred to as, for example, a “decision made on the solution for implementation”. This implies that this product must be completed and completed within a certain period of time and according to certain criteria.
• Split the activities into small blocks: it’ s better to split results into small blocks of work rather than a big, complex final goal where each team member has the opportunity to be vague about his or her part of the work. It is not efficient to have a unique 6-month task called “product X finished”, which includes a series of tasks that are just as measurable in their own way. This way it is not possible to know what might be off track for a long period of time.
• Allow only 3 status indicators: the team can report on the progress of an activity using only 3 indicators, i.e. not started, ongoing and completed – or any type of indicator that suits the industry. In this way there will be no room for intermediate or loose answers. This black and white approach avoids subjectivity.
• Automation: good project management software provides automatic data collection and analysis. In this way, the team and the project manager can spend their time completing individual activities and keeping the project on track. In addition, the project manager will have the opportunity to see the progress in real time and to intervene in time in case of particular blockages or delays.

 

These are some examples that show how project management software is important to measure the progress status of a project.

Moreover, a project management software allows you to have a whole range of features that help to maintain efficient work and active and effective communication.

It is worth keeping in mind that it is impossible to improve what cannot be calculated, so using software gives you the opportunity not only to measure the progress of a project, but also to analyze it and implement process improvement strategies where necessary.

Business process management is a real challenge for most organizations.

Processes are simply the heart of a company and the work that is carried out here, they exist in every department and team and are fundamental to the outcome of operations.

Business processes can be considered as a map that defines the paths and the flow of activities that take place within and between different business functions.

However, moving from point “A” to point “B” along these paths, and doing so as efficiently as possible, is often a great challenge.

It takes time, resources and good planning. It is also important to ensure that the processes are robust and the work runs smoothly.

This is where the management and optimization of business processes comes into play.

What is business process optimization and what are its benefits?

Optimized processes lead to optimized business objectives.

Some examples of optimization are:

• Lifting of dismissals
• Workflow simplification
• Improved communication

Every organization, in any industry, is in constant competition, regularly facing threats coming from other companies, disruptive technologies and changes in standards.

The optimization of business processes offers many benefits that can help organizations to stay afloat while facing big waves of change, through:

• Market compliance
• Optimized operations
• Reduced risks
• Good use of resources
• Consistency
• Guaranteed quality
• End-to-end visibility

What are the steps for implementing the optimization of business processes?

Planning is key to getting the most out of your business process optimization efforts.

Below is a brief, detailed guide to implementing a process optimization plan.

• Identification

Choose a challenging process that you want to optimize and then set its purpose and objectives.

• Analyze

Is the process achieving its intended goals? Is there any surplus that must be reduced?

• Implement

Once the unnecessary elements are taken out, the revised process is automated in its new form.

• Monitor

Monitor both micro and macro factors on process performance and optimize them until the desired results are achieved.

How to optimize your business processes

As already mentioned, there can be many different ways to perform business process optimization.

This, of course, depends on the process at hand: there is not a solution that is suitable for all individual scenarios.

In most cases, however, optimization is performed using one of the following methods:

Process improvement or rebuilding

This is rather straightforward: all you need is a good analysis of each stage of the process.

The general concept is to identify the processes or steps that are:

• A waste: every step within a process should, in some way, add some value to the final goal. The process itself should add value to the context of the organizational objectives. Sometimes, however, you may find that certain steps or processes are actually useless and lacking any kind of value.
• An inefficiency or a factor that can be improved: This means that a step or process is not as efficient as it could be. Approval processes within an organization, for example, often tend to fall into this category because they are slow and complex.

Once the processes or steps that fall into these categories have been identified, it is only necessary to improve them to achieve efficiency.

This can be done by restructuring the process, for example by changing the steps or their order, or by eliminating unnecessary processes, or by mixing both strategies.

Automation

Nobody likes manual work and, sometimes, there are instances where what you are doing could very well be replaced by a robot working automatically.

In this case all you have to do is find the right tool or software.

Automating business processes can thus help to get rid of any unnecessary manual work from employees’ workload, which leads to increased productivity and morale.

Here is a common example:

If you consider the customer service industry, there is probably a customer support form available on the web page in almost every company.

Let’s assume that because of a product update, 10% of customers start to experience a defect.

It is therefore likely that the customer service inbox will begin be busy.

In such cases, a software that can automatically send a response based on the user’s complaint could lighten the workload of the customer service staff and they can gain valuable time to handle the most complicated requests.

Adoption of new technology and complete process modification

Adopting the right technology can indeed change the way you work.

Unlike the first two options, this solution does not exactly optimize a process, but rather changes it completely.

For example, to manage daily tasks that need to be performed within an organization, the management, instead of using an Excel spreadsheet, may decide to use a new task management software.

This helps you remember due dates through automatic messages and notifications, create new tasks and assign them to employees automatically (rather than sending an email), automatically track workflows, monitor and analyze tasks more quickly and accurately, etc.

 

Bottom line, optimizing a business process requires more effort than simply purchasing new software.

The optimization of business processes requires the planning and the identification of the process that requires optimization and definition of objectives and goals.

This will then make it possible to estimate the current state of the process to determine its performance and unnecessary or inefficient factors.

Afterwards, the revised procedure must be implemented after eliminating unwanted elements and, last but not least, the performance of the process must be carefully monitored and the necessary changes made until the desired results are achieved.

Project constraints are elements that limit the project and affect the way the project manager and their team manage it.

Unfortunately, these constraints are an inevitable part of any project and, once discovered and classified, are impossible to ignore.

If a project manager decides to take over the project and carry it on without paying adequate attention to the constraints that the constraints impose, it could have very negative repercussions.

Not only one can get stuck because of lack of proper planning, but one might even be forced to stop the project altogether.

Here is how to determine the possible constraints of a project.

The triple project constraint

If you’re a Project Manager, you’ve definitely already had to untangle this triple constraint, and to employ all your skills to stay in balance.

As you know the triple constraint is made up of 3 essential elements:

• The cost
• The time
• The scope

It is just the combination between these elements and their balance that will impact on the success of the project with particular reference to its usefulness and quality.

Let’s examine these three constraints, that arise so much concern during the execution of a project.

The triple constraint of the project: Cost

The available budget for a given project will determine the use and acquisition of the necessary resources.

Human resources, raw materials, equipment, information and infrastructure are all considered resources.

The available budget therefore makes it possible to identify which of these are achievable and in what quantity.

The triple constraint of the project: Time

Time is one of the most common constraints of any project.

When it is necessary to achieve a certain milestone by a certain date, it is necessary to schedule work in order to meet this deadline.

We have already discussed how to best manage the deadlines of a project.

The triple project constraint: Application Scope

Here we refer to the final objective of the project, i.e. what is the expected result.

For example:

• The new product must not cost more than 100€..
• The new software must contain certain features.
• The new book must not be shorter than 200 pages.

Define clearly the purpose – or scope – of the project allows the work to be planned accordingly.

Other important constraints

Besides the well-known triple constraint, a project manager should not overlook the following possible constraints that can cause delays and problems to the project:

Lack of commitment from the management team or project sponsor

One of the key factors in successfully completing a project is the commitment of the project management team and/or sponsor.

It is difficult to run a project with this constraint because it would mean constantly struggling for support or troubleshooting, which are crucial to the successful completion of a project.

Even during the project lifecycle, the project manager must be aware of this constraint because it may arise later.

The sponsor may lose interest because other events have occurred that overshadow the priority of the project.

Breaks or company reorganizations occurring in the middle of the project

Unplanned corporate reorganization or other types of business stoppages in the middle of the lifecycle of a project can negatively impact work.

During such operations, major challenges may arise that can put the survival of the project at risk.

For example: the budget might be reduced, some human resources might be allocated to other projects, etc.

Stakeholders who have unrealistic expectations of project results

There may be times when stakeholders have unrealistic expectations regarding the outcome of the project.

Project managers could easily overcome this constraint through successful communication with stakeholders and by requesting approval of the project charter and scope statement documents.

The sooner the project manager sets up effective communication with project stakeholders and defines the schedule and deadlines, the greater the chance of delivering the project on time and within budget, satisfying all stakeholders.

Lack of skilled resources

The lack of qualified resources for a given project can be a major issue.

This constraint can have a negative impact on project start and completion dates.

In addition, low quality output may result in dissatisfaction of the final client.

Poor communication with the project team

Poor communication can even lead to the failure of a project, while strong and effective communication leads to overcoming major obstacles and challenges, increasing the chances of closing the project successfully.

Poor communication is a potential killer of a project, because it can lead to misunderstandings about the scope, activity assignments, project programs, etc.

Times or unstable business conditions

Sometimes, the instability of the economic or business situation can create different kinds of obstacles to the execution of a project.

General economic issues are known to affect the project delivery date and the quality of the work of the project team.

Advancements in technology

Technological advancements can cause delays in projects due to lack of knowledge, training needs or availability of resources with experience regarding the new technology.

However, these difficulties can be overcome and considering the long-term benefits, the adoption of new technology can allow improvements in several areas of the project.

 

Surely no project can be planned or managed in every single aspect and situation, but it is possible, within reasonable limits, to work and plan to achieve the highest possible predictability.

The key is to remember what the constraints of a project are, how they affect each other, and when they suggest that a change of direction is imperative.

Projects change and evolve constantly, thus requiring a balance between preparation and responsiveness.

One trick is also to change the classic view of constraints such as limitations or restrictions on a project manager’s work.

Although these certainly represent a risk to a project, constraints do not have to be negative.

Instead of thinking of project constraints as limitations or something to fight against, it is useful for a project manager to positively adapt their thinking, considering constraints as guides that can help organize the work and thus achieve long-term success.

Home working is a way of working that has been increasingly successful in recent years. In our times, home working is virtually the only choice that most companies are forced to make if they don’t want to shut down.

Project managers therefore have to manage the only communication channel they have: the virtual communication channel which, if properly managed, can be as effective as the real one.

As long as managers are able to guide, delegate tasks, hold meetings and supervise people wherever they are, the remote management of a project can still be successful.

What is virtual project management and how does it work?

Virtual project management is based on the work of a project team from different positions, and in most cases, they never meet in person.

Many responsibilities and the project life cycle are the same as those found in “traditional” project management, while other factors are entirely different.

There is no unique solution to be a successful virtual project manager. Everything will depend on the strategies and objectives that an organization follows and the policy of the company.

The biggest difference found in virtual project management compared to traditional project management is undoubtedly the communication channel.

A good virtual PM must be empathetic and able to grasp feelings of chaos or general confusion within a team even remotely.

Moreover, like never before, one has to invest in project management software (link to Home) to help the project manager remain updated in real time on the progress of the activities.

5 successful remote project management tips

What we want to achieve with this article is to provide Project Managers who need to undertake remote managed projects with some suggestions that can guide them.

Let’s begin with the first one:

1. Having a system

The very nature of a virtual team makes it more difficult to be managed in the long term than a “traditional” team.

Difficulties in communication or planning can cause the loss of important information in the process.

More importantly, it can be difficult to determine who is working on what at any given time or when different team members are available.

Too much ambiguity in a virtual team can lead to important problems in a project.

If a virtual project manager does not have a well established system to monitor progress, workflow, and expectations, the team will struggle to be efficient.

Successful leaders are proactive and organized, which allows them to make sure everyone is on the same page and working towards clearly defined goals.

2. Using communication tools in the right way

As already stated, communication is key in the case of virtual teams.

Fortunately, there are many technologies and tools that make it much easier to share information and work in collaboration with others.

For the majority of the most efficient virtual teams, email has become virtually obsolete.

Collaboration tools such as video conferencing platforms, instant messaging programs, project management software and document storage and sharing clouds allow teams to quickly access the information and materials they need at any time.

These tools also help employees clarify problematic situations and provide support more effectively.

It is therefore critical that the project manager must be clear about what tools are available and what they should be used for.

3. Building and maintaining trust

Anche se un team virtuale dispone dei migliori processi e strumenti, non riuscirà comunque a fornire risultati positivi se i membri non si fidano l’uno dell’altro o – ancora peggio – non si fidano del proprio project manager.

Una mancanza di fiducia può manifestarsi in vari modi, ma nella maggior parte dei casi, il problema alla radice è la mancanza di relazioni forti e genuine all’interno del team.

Per lavorare insieme in modo produttivo, le persone devono capirsi e fidarsi l’una dell’altra.

I project manager virtuali devono quindi ricordare che queste relazioni sono importanti e, per mantenerle e coltivarle, promuovere regolarmente esercizi di team building.

4. Getting the most out of virtual meetings

Virtual meetings are one of the most effective ways for remote teams to share information, review progress and set priorities.

They are also a good opportunity to maintain relationships and become more familiar and comfortable with each other.

A virtual meeting should never be something obvious and improvised, but it must be planned very carefully.

Meetings should be regular enough for people to know what to expect from them, but not so regular as to interfere with their daily work.

Information will be shared in the minutes, which can also be shared in project management software documents.

5. Emphasizing responsibility

One of the most important activities for a virtual project manager is to make sure that each member feels responsible for their own work.

Because team members are often highly dependent on each other, having some people not following their commitments can make it difficult for the rest of the team to follow their own.

Virtual leaders should not only be an example when it comes to shaping responsibility, but they should also determine what is expected of everyone and how responsibilities are distributed.

Yet, communication is crucial, because it is impossible to hold someone responsible for an outcome when they have not fully understood what is expected of them.

By communicating expectations in advance and checking with people along the way, virtual project managers can build a solid foundation to make the entire team responsible.

 

Now we find ourselves at a time where it is necessary for people to be able to manage these virtual work environments.

A good virtual project manager can make the difference between an efficient remote team and one that fails to achieve goals consistently.

A good virtual project manager can understand that a remote team has very different needs and characteristics compared to a traditional one.

This will allow the implementation of solutions and practices that make it easier for everyone to succeed in their role whilst working remotely.

Not everyone is familiar with the Six Sigma method and especially what it is for. We will try to break it down in this article.

Digital transformation has become the buzzword of this decade.

New technologies and tools are supporting the transformation path of large and small organizations that are competing for a larger share of the market in an extremely competitive environment.

Although digital transformation quickly follows the growth of an organization, it must be equally supported by management methods of quality control and business transformation.

Focusing on emerging markets and processes, the American company Motorola developed a new concept of quality management process in 1986.

Over the years, this process has been refined into a defined process aimed at corporate transformation.

This method is called Six Sigma.

What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma is a set of management tools and techniques designed to improve the business by reducing the odds of error.

It is a data-based approach that uses a statistical methodology to eliminate defects.

The etymology is based on the Greek symbol “sigma” precisely – σ – a statistical term that measures the deviation of the process from the average or target of the process.

“Six Sigma” is taken from the bell curve used in statistics, where a sigma symbolizes a single standard deviation from the mean.

If the process has six Sigma, three above and three below average, the defect rate is classified as “extremely low”.

The 5 Six Sigma key principles

The Six Sigma concept has a simple objective: delivering near-perfect products and services considering business transformation with the aim of optimal customer satisfaction.

Six Sigma has its foundations in five key principles:

1. Customer Focus

The primary objective is to offer the ultimate benefit to the customer. For this, an organization must understand its customers, their needs and what drives sales and retention. This requires the definition of quality standards defined by what the customer or the market require.

2. Measuring the value flow and identifying the problem

Mapping the phases in a given process to determine the areas of waste and collect data to discover the specific area of the problem to be addressed.

3. Removal of defects

Once the problem has been identified, adjustments must be made to the process to eliminate activities that do not add value, thus removing defects.

4. Engaging and training stakeholders

Engage all stakeholders and adopt a structured process in which the team contributes and cooperates in problem solving. Six Sigma processes can impact an organization in general, so the team must be competent in the principles and methodologies used. Therefore, training and specialist knowledge are needed to reduce the risk of errors and ensure that the process works optimally.

5. Guaranteeing a flexible and reactive framework

The essence of Six Sigma is business transformation and change. When a defective or inefficient process is resolved, a change in work practice and/or employee approach is required. A corporate culture of flexibility and responsiveness to changes in procedures can therefore offer an advantage. The people and departments involved should be capable of adapting to changes with ease.

Six Sigma in project management

The Six Sigma methodology is generally implemented for project management and includes the following steps:

• Define the objectives and scope of the project. Relevant process and client information is collected at this stage.
• Measure: data on the current situation and process metrics are collected.
• Analyze: collected data is analyzed to identify the root causes of the problem.
• Improve: solutions to the problem are developed and implemented.
• Check: the implemented solutions are evaluated and, if the outcome is positive, the mechanisms are introduced and standardized in the process.

Six Sigma Criticisms

The Six Sigma method certainly shows several advantages but, like all methods, there are also critical remarks about it. This is why:

• Scope: the implementation of Six Sigma in the management of the project scope would require a clear definition of requirements and strict management of changes. The risk could be that this application could inhibit innovation.
• Time: the application of Six Sigma in time management. It would require a better planning, set deadlines, close monitoring of progress, immobile risk management and the application of better resource management. The risk could be that this application could encourage further planning freeze and increase buffers.
• Cost: The application of Six Sigma in cost management would imply absolute budgets, the imposition of accurate cost audits and effective forecasting. The risk could be that this implementation could require an “untouchable” budget.
• Quality: the implementation of Six Sigma in project management could set strong quality objectives and a rigorous selection of standards. The risk could be that this application could cause hidden problems and blame others for defects.

Some believe that Six Sigma promotes a process of incremental improvements, hindering and disregarding radical improvements, such as a major technological innovation.

Therefore, it would seem not to fit well in the case of projects or organizations geared towards the search for new innovative methods and processes.

Moreover, in project management, the person in charge is the project manager. For Six Sigma, it is generally the so-called “Black Belt” person.

When it comes to executing projects, these two types of leaders may have a different focus.

Project managers use project management methodology tools that focus on executing a project on time and on budget, aligning it with overall business objectives.

Black belts, on the other hand, are generally more focused on solving a specific problem and finding a solution as quickly and efficiently as possible.

In general, neither approach is the perfect answer in every scenario and a lot depends on the people involved, the type of project and the type of organization.

“Traditional” project management and Six Sigma focus on different aspects, but this does not mean that they cannot perform well together when used in the right way.

To understand what timeboxing is, it is imperative to think about it and consider a regular working day.

What is the standard approach when you have a list of things to do?

Most people, as well as most project managers, chooses an activity to start with and work towards completion.

You cannot move on to anything else until that first task is successfully completed.

Only then will you choose another task and repeat the process once again.

This is the standard method of doing things, but is it really always the most effective?

What if, for example, one of the tasks on the to-do list is so broad and complex that you won’t be able to work on anything else during a certain period of time?

In this situation, the timeboxing technique can help you to better manage your time.

What exactly is timeboxing?

We have already discussed time management in projects several times, such as the GTD method, when we talked about time management or when we mentioned the smoothing, but we never brought up the timeboxing technique.

Timeboxing is a very simple technique to manage time and become more productive.

The concept is to allocate a certain period of time to a task in advance and then complete this task within that time.

A practical example is to plan a meeting agenda and determine in advance how long you want to work on each topic.

During the meeting, you then set a timer and when the time is up, you move on to the next topic.

What makes timeboxing effective?

Timeboxing is a tactic designed to help you stay focused and achieve significant progress by focusing on time rather than the activities in question.

This technique is based on the psychological principle called “Parkinson’s Law” which says the work grows to fill the time for its completion.

To give you an example: If you allow yourself a week to complete a two-hour task, this task will expand to fill the whole week.

It may also not fill the extra time with more work, but only with stress and strain from having to complete it.

That’s why when you set a time limit, you focus solely on getting the activity done.

What are the advantages of timeboxing?

Obviously, the aforementioned sense of self-imposed urgency is one of the major advantages of timeboxing, but this approach also carries a number of other positive aspects, including:

• Enhanced focus: timeboxing increases the level of attention when performing an activity. There will be no room for distractions and productivity will increase.
• Recurrent revaluation opportunities: Most people do not spend time evaluating their performance until the end of the working day, when they look at their to-do list and see clearly how much remains to be done. Timeboxing allows you to analyze and evaluate your work when your time is up.
• Less stressful projects: when dealing with a particularly demanding and activity-packed project, work can become intimidating. The project seems to stretch infinitely and you feel overwhelmed. Here’s how timeboxing becomes useful in these cases: it’s much easier to think, “I’ll work on this activity for an hour”, than to think, “I’ll work on this activity until it’s over”.

How hard is it to implement Timeboxing?

Especially when you have a workflow that focuses on activities rather than time, how difficult will it be to turn the perspective upside down and make use of the timeboxing technique?

Here are some tips to start applying timeboxing in your workflow and, why not, in everyday life as well:

• Instead of starting with a daunting project, select a relatively small and simple task or job, something that you can complete in a short space of time and without too much stress. In fact, nobody runs a marathon without first training step by step.
• Likewise, set short time intervals when starting to adopt this technique. The best option is to start with 15 or 20 minutes for an activity and, if possible, to start at the stage where you are most careful, focused and energetic.
• Set a timer on your phone or computer and, when the time runs out, observe it and finish the job.
• Focus and force yourself to work, without any interruption, for that set period of time. This is probably the most difficult part and means, basically, not answering the phone, not looking at emails, not surfing the internet and no small talk with colleagues.

In the end, it is important to examine how things went and make the necessary changes for the next time.

Do you really need to check your emails during the activity? Is answering the phone mandatory due to your role in the company?

By following these steps and tweaking them over time, you will be able to effectively implement the timeboxing technique to your workflow.

However, it is also important to underline that timeboxing is not a wonder and will not automatically make you more productive and efficient.

Moreover, it is not suitable for all types of activities or meetings. For example, when it comes to creative activities or brainstorming, you will need time that often cannot be as limited as with timeboxing.

It is also important to always pay attention to the quality of the results.

No matter if with or without timeboxing, the goal of every project manager, project team and organization in general should always be top quality work.

Project benefits are referred to as “the measurable improvement deriving from a result perceived as an advantage by one or more stakeholders, which contributes to the achievement of one or more organizational objectives”.

Basically it means that the benefits should represent an improvement resulting from the project.

The purpose of launching any project is, in fact, to provide some kind of benefit as a result of the delivery of the output.

It is obvious that not all projects bring the same benefits to the organization. Let’s look at some types of benefits that can be achieved.

Types of benefits in a project

The types of benefits are, as stated earlier, variable. Here are some concrete examples:

• Quality improvement,
• Production cost reduction,
• Error rate reduction,
• A higher level of customer service,
• Increased customer retention rate.

Benefits can be classed as tangible and intangible benefits.

A tangible benefit is quantitative, i.e. something that can be measured, such as a reduction in operating costs.

An intangible benefit is something that cannot be measured accurately, although its effects can be seen, such as increasing brand awareness.

The performance management plan describes what the benefits of the project will be and how they will be classified and measured.

In order to measure the delivery of some benefits, such as cost reduction, a study of current costs within the organization is needed so that a comparison can be made after the delivery of the project.

The benefit management plan will therefore include the following key elements:

• A description of the benefit that should be provided.
• The “owner” of the benefits.
• How the benefit will be determined.
• Assumptions and risks considered in determining the benefit.

This plan will be reviewed regularly throughout the project lifecycle to ensure that the stated benefits remain on the project’s delivery path.

Some benefits, in particular, may be awarded even after the project has been delivered, which is why monitoring and measuring benefits may expand beyond the completion of the project.

Benefit management process

The project benefit management process can be divided into four distinct phases. In each phase there are a number of associated key objectives, activities and results. These are:

Benefit definition

The project must clearly outline what benefits will be provided and how they will be quantified before the start of the project.

The audience for this communication consists of all stakeholders who share an interest in the project.

When defining the benefits, it is important to take into account that most of them occur after the distribution of the output.

Therefore, the measurement and communication of benefits should also – and above all – continue after implementation.

Benefit structuring

It can be tricky to know when and how to assess the benefits of a project, but it is important to make sure to specify:

• What is measured and what is expected.
• What measures will be used and how these measures comply with the general measures of the organization.
• When and how the benefits will be assessed.
• What is the threshold of success for the realization of the benefits.
• What will be the impact on the project if the measured benefits do not match the expected benefits?

It is imperative that the method of measuring the benefits is established before the launch of the project.

Implementation and monitoring of benefits

Once the project starts, it is also important to measure and report on the actual outcomes against the expected results throughout the entire life cycle and not just at the end of it.

These reports can be used during periodic reviews to assess whether a project is still on track in terms of benefits.

Often it may seem that a project is on track, but if there are no formal reports it may be impossible to know that for sure.

Regular reporting will clearly show whether a project can achieve its objectives.

Clearly, in many cases the final benefits cannot be determined during the project, however it is possible to measure progress towards the benefits and then determine whether action is needed before it is too late.

Often the achievement of benefits can be influenced by factors external to the organization, such as government, competitors, and customers.

These factors must then be included in the measurement and taken into account to determine whether the project is still valid.

Benefit assessment

Monitoring the benefit measures and comparing them with the expected benefits identified at the start of the project will provide a good indication of a project’s performance.

This performance evaluation can be a useful guide in determining what course of action should be taken in relation to the project.

It is a fact that projects do not always achieve the expected benefits and that there are several levels of success.

Having hard data and comparing it to a predetermined threshold will help the organization maximize the potential of a project and know when there is no benefit to it.

The benefit management process certainly offers a structured approach to managing the benefits of a project, but this does not mean that this is a mechanistic activity; it is proactive and takes into account changes.

7 reasons why projects fail to deliver benefits

Sometimes it can happen that a project cannot deliver benefits. How come?

The reasons are different, but mainly this is due to:

• The initial work on identifying strategic benefits has not been expanded or developed.
• Poor definition of the corporate objectives of the projects.
• No mechanism or strategy in place to manage the achievement of the benefits.
• Lack of commitment from key stakeholders to delivering the benefits.
• Lack of unambiguous ownership of the benefits.
• Lack of robust processes to monitor benefits.
• Lack of updating in case of changes during the project lifecycle.

That is why it is important to have a clear and structured benefit management process.

To be successful, this must become standard practice for the organization, especially every time a new project is started.

During the life cycle of a project it may be necessary to change objectives, change priorities or redefine desired outcomes in light of changing circumstances.

It is critical that this process continues throughout and beyond the life of the project to ensure that the benefits are achieved.