Any business is only as good as its ability to execute its goals and objectives. One of the key components of successful execution is an effective enterprise project management system. But what happens when your current project management system isn’t cutting it? If you’re experiencing any of the following signs, it may be time to rethink your system.

4 Signs It’s Time to Rethink Your Enterprise Project Management System

1. Inefficiencies Working Cross-Department

In any large organization, it’s inevitable that departments will need to work together on projects from time to time. However, when inefficiencies start to crop up in the way that these departments communicate and collaborate, it’s a sign that something is wrong with the current project management system.

In order to avoid these problems, it’s crucial to have a system in place that is designed for cross-departmental collaboration. An effective system will make it easy for team members to stay informed about the latest developments on a project, share files and documents, and coordinate their efforts.

2. Downtime

With the increase in data processing and storage needs, the proliferation of new devices and platforms, and the rise of cloud-based applications, enterprises are finding that their project management systems are struggling to keep up. This is leading to increased downtime, which can have a serious impact on productivity and profitability.

When businesses are faced with these challenges, it’s time to rethink their management systems. By switching to a system that is designed for the modern business landscape, enterprises can avoid the costly delays and disruptions that can occur when critical information is scattered across different departments or disparate systems.

3. Multiple Delivery Methodologies

There are a number of reasons why multiple delivery methodologies have become more prevalent in recent years. First, the nature of work has changed. Projects are now more likely to be distributed across multiple locations and involve a greater degree of collaboration. Second, the pace of change has increased. Projects need to be completed faster and there is less time for planning and reporting the traditional way.

The result of all this is that executives and project managers are under increasing pressure to deliver results. One way to meet this challenge is to adopt a system that can support multiple delivery methodologies.

4. Siloed Teams

In today’s business landscape, the old model of siloed teams with little to no cross-functionality is no longer viable. With the rapid pace of change and the ever-increasing complexity of projects, businesses need a more holistic, collaborative approach to keep up with the competition.

By breaking down silos and encouraging cross-functional collaboration, businesses can tap into the collective knowledge and expertise of their employees. This will lead to improved project execution, increased problem-solving abilities, and overall better business results.

It can be difficult to know when it’s time to switch project management systems, but if you’re experiencing any of the four signs above, you need to make a change. Contact us today at Project Genetics to learn more about our project implementation solutions and how we can help your business make the switch to a better system that will save you time and money in the long run.

Do your projects get bogged down by constant revisions? Do your teams regularly fail to meet project deadlines or beg for extensions? Do projects go over budget more often than you’d like? If you answered yes to any of those questions, it might be time to reevaluate your project workflow. How can you find the thorns in your project’s side? Consider some of the common areas where problems arise and how PMO methodology implementation can solve your problems.

How to Identify the Weak Spots in Your Project Workflow

Where Do Delays Occur Without PMO Methodology?

It’s vital to track your projects: you should know whose court the ball is in at all times. Since projects involve multiple departments, it’s possible that one department, in particular, is causing most of your problems. Track your projects and pay attention to delays. Log those delays by recording when a deliverable was due, whose responsibility it was, and which department failed to meet its deadline. It won’t take you long to spot patterns.

Once you have a clear idea of where delays are coming from, zero in on the department that’s lagging the most. Talk to project leaders in that department to analyze the situation. A common problem with projects is that employees have other responsibilities, so they may not have enough time to prioritize the project. Alternately, there could be communication issues. Perhaps the project’s urgency wasn’t clearly explained. You won’t know until you find out who to ask!

Focus on Back and Forth

Ideally, projects should follow a set path from one department to the next. If you’ve mapped this out in advance, then you already have a measuring stick to use. Compare your ideal workflow with what’s actually happening in the company. Does your project take unexpected detours to other departments that weren’t in the original scope? Does it ping pong back and forth between two departments more than anticipated? Every time your project changes hands, it slows down the entire project.

You have to plan these exchanges in advance and take note of any deviations. Perhaps one department is being too strict and insisting on unnecessary revisions. You can minimize back and forth with a PMO approach. Having a single project management office facilitates communication between different departments and speeds up project transfers. Instead of one department passively receiving instructions from another, you can actively assign tasks across departments by using the PMO as a middleman.

Individual Vs. Group Responsibilities

Another way to examine your project hiccups is to examine whether you’re dealing with individual issues or group failures. On smaller project teams, individuals bear more responsibility for making progress. You can dissect a project’s advancement down to the individual level and see which employees are struggling to move the project forward. They might just not be very interested in the project. Perhaps they’re overwhelmed with other work. Maybe they lack confidence in their skills to move the project along.

When a group of people within a department is in charge, communication breakdowns tend to be the cause of your problems. Internal power struggles can also pose a threat to your projects. Sometimes, it’s best to bring in external help. Reach out to Project Genetics if you need a PMO to step in and get your projects back on track.

The act of planning and executing projects is itself a skill. However, many managers fail to see the utility of having a designated project leadership team or project management office. Without any central authority for projects, departments often end up competing against one another, prioritizing their interests over the project’s greater goals. This can lead to dysfunctional project teams that fail to finish their projects. Project consulting can solve these problems and set you up for future project success.

How Project Consulting Can Bridge the Gap Between Different Departments

Filling the PMO Void

Businesses are gradually starting to see the need for designated project staff. The Chief Project Officer role exists now, something that was unthinkable a few years ago. In fact, some experts predict that the CPO will become more important than the COO as companies shift their focus to projects over regular operations. We’re already seeing this trend develop as more companies have put project management offices (PMOs) into place. Some are department-only PMOs, while others are enterprise-wide.

However, even when a company does have a PMO, they tend to be inexperienced. The number of PMOs has risen considerably since 2017, which means that most of them have fewer than 5 years of experience managing projects. If your PMO is failing to move projects forward, or you have yet to implement a PMO in your company, consulting can help you fill that void in the meantime. We can even teach you how to best build a PMO.

A Neutral Perspective

One of the reasons departments fail to work well together on projects is that each department has its own interests. When the IT department needs to work with finance, each side is likely to value their own priorities over those of the other. IT wants better infrastructure and more features, while finance wants to keep the costs as low as possible. Each side has valid arguments, and without a neutral arbiter, decisions and compromises are hard to make.

A project consultant is more likely to be listened to by both sides since they have no vested interest in either department. By listening neutrally to what both sides have to say, a consultant can find a healthy middle ground and look for ways to compromise. This ultimately leaves both departments more satisfied with the final decision and encourages better interactions going forward. Just like courts rely on neutral judges, your projects should have a neutral person in charge.

Fewer Conflicts, More Collaboration

No workplace is completely free of internal power struggles. Personal conflicts between workers in the same department or even heads of different departments vying for positions in the company can destroy projects. An outsider can spot these tensions quickly and resolve them. A consultant can also tear down the barriers that silo teams and limit communication. In the end, your teams will collaborate instead of competing.

To get a project consultant for your company’s endeavors, contact Project Genetics. Our experts in project management can help you meet your deadlines and pave the way for smoother projects in the future.

Software releases are some of the most stressful dates on any calendar. New and existing customers alike can be severely affected by delays, or worse yet, bugs upon release. Software developers find themselves under immense pressure as deadlines loom large. Although there are unique aspects to software development, projects of all kinds are similar in nature. With proper technical project management, release days can be a cause for celebration rather than a source of stress.

4 Tips for Improving Your Release Process

1. Adopt an Agile Development Methodology

Agile development isn’t just the buzzword of the day: it’s the real deal. Agile software development makes it easier to implement changes into software and respond to sudden modifications. Through frequent communication and concurrent processes, an Agile approach gets work done faster and minimizes bureaucratic bottlenecks in your company.

However, Agile is such a different methodology that the learning curve can scare companies off. The prospect of switching systems terrifies many managers. It’s important to bring in experienced Agile coaches who can teach your staff by letting them live the Agile experience.

2. Keep Documents Updated

Documentation is vital for technical projects. Change logs, test results, feature requests, and the company budget all pull projects in different directions. If you don’t keep track of these details throughout the project, redundancies and mistakes are more likely to occur. Fixing these problems later slows down releases.

A technical project manager needs to keep documentation up to date and make sure that employees have access to the latest information. Consider assigning the job to someone who can oversee documents across departments, unify the writing style and format, and push notifications out to workers.

3. Consider Technical Project Management Software

Software can help create software. Project management software can make managing technical projects much easier. Switching to software-based project management can cut down on unnecessary meetings that sap valuable time that could be spent developing. Software also helps you keep track of who is responsible for various tasks within a given project. Tracking that data can help you find roadblocks such as underperforming departments or excessive back and forth between departments.  

Cloud-based project management tools will also make it easier to manage projects remotely. Since you can access everything from any device, work-from-home situations and hybrid offices can seamlessly handle projects despite the distance. If you’re not sure what kind of software is best suited for your technical projects, reach out to Project Genetics to learn more about your options.

4. Don’t Rely on Crunch Time

Crunch time has become so commonplace in software development that many companies just assume that if a deadline gets too close for comfort, they can crunch their way out of it. While that might work, it’s not a sustainable solution. Crunch time costs more, burns out workers, and produces more errors.

A smoother approach to technical projects is best. If you want to reach your release dates and put out the best product possible, contact Project Genetics. We can help you optimize your project management and have the latest version out right on time.