The IPM Blog

We often encounter problems on a project, and sometimes even the best of project management practices isn’t able to avoid them. But we know there are also those other problems on a project that should never have arisen in the first place. Sometimes it comes down to the way the project is managed, and the skills and experience of the project manager, as to the kinds of problems you encounter, and whether they are the avoidable or non-avoidable type. But there are other times when problems can be avoided by simply using the right kind of project management tools for the job. So I thought I would illustrate 4 common project problems that are avoidable, or at least mitigated with the right project management software.

1. Budget blowouts
We’ve all encountered budget problems on projects before and it is inevitable that problems will arise that force the budget skywards. But there are also times when the budget is beginning to come unstuck, and the project manager isn’t even aware of it. It’s at these times that it’s crucial to know exactly where your budget and costs figures are at so you can begin to make immediate changes to get the budget back in the black. As I was once told, being in the red on a project is often manageable so long as you are aware of it, but being in the red and not knowing is where the real problem lies. Good project management software should be able to give you up to the minute accurate budget information.

2. Unexpected events that you really should have expected
How often have you heard someone one a project say ‘Well I didn’t expect that to happen’, yet it’s something that they really should have been aware of? Good project management software should have an issues log and risks register, as well as a user friendly interface to ensure everyone is accessing and contributing to the database. With project management software, you only get out what you put in, so you need a data rich central database in order to be able to expect and predict problems that may arise. If the solution is user friendly with a comprehensive issues log, more people with use it and contribute data so everyone stays on the same page and ‘unexpected’ issues don’t arise.

3. Schedule blowouts
All kinds of things can affect a project’s schedule, including (but of course not limited to!) weather delays, funding, change orders and defects. We know project management software isn’t good enough to control the weather, but it should be good enough to help you identify where your schedule is being affected and take immediate steps to minimize the impact, or alert other stakeholders of changes to the schedule. Gantt charts are one of the most effective ways to manage your schedule, and interactive Gantt charts that integrate with other areas of the software to provide accurate schedule information are a must.

4. Customer demands not within the original scope
Another headache encountered on projects is a customer demanding something that was not within the original scope of the project, but insisting that it was. Or worse yet, refusing to pay for it. This is when you need accurate records with detailed information about the project scope at your fingertips, as well as any emails or other records of communication between the two parties. Good project management software will have all the project information stored in a central database that everyone working on the project has been contributing to. And in the case of IPM, all email communication can be automatically filed under a unique tracking code for each transaction, so you not only have a comprehensive email log, but individual emails are also easy to locate.
 
Of course, project management software is not the answer to every problem on a project, but there are certainly some problems that can be countered with a combination of good project management, and the right kind of project management tools.

You can find out more about IPM Project Management Software by contacting us for a free demo, or posting a comment below.

We all know projects carry some degree of risk, but the important thing is to try to manage and mitigate the risk so that it doesn’t evolve into an issue on your project. Too many times, companies have either not conducted a risk assessment, or have ignored risk assessments and not properly addressed and dealt with the risk, and the risk has come back to bite them tenfold.

One of the most straightforward ways to monitor your risks is to keep a risk register and gauge the degree of risk according to the probability the risk will affect the project, and the impact it will have if it does. The risk register in IPM lets you record various risks and score their probability and impact so you know the importance of each risk when addressing them.

What’s more, the new conditional formatting feature of CRM 2011 means you can make high risk items in your register appear in a different format in the list, so they stand out at a glance. You can also set up workflows that can notify relevant people on the project if the degree, impact or probability of the risk is changed in the risk record, or if a new risk record is created. This way everyone is on the same page and up to date with the latest information about your project risks.

So even though identifying risks at the start of the project is good practice, it is still so important to continually manage and review the risks as the project progresses. With IPM, this process is automated and efficient so it’s easy to stay up to date with the developments of risks on your project.

I’ll leave you with an interesting thought I came across from PMP Dr Sam Elbiek, and that is the difference between a risk and an issue. A risk is something that could happen in the future, whereas an issue is a problem that is happening now – so make assessments of your risks and pay attention to them to avoid having multiple issues to deal with down the track. Thanks Sam!

The project game is quite a complex and risky one.  Everything revolves around business processes, from approvals,to meeting follow-ups, risk management, change management (variation) control, the list goes on.......  Typically, many of these processes are managed in one way or another, often externally via a spreadsheet, or an Outlook reminder, or quite frankly a piece of paper on the Project Manager’s desk.  And of course because every business, in fact every job, can be different, why should the software author be the one to determine what path a process should follow? 

 

Enter .....  the user defined Workflow Engine.  Because IPM is a Microsoft Dynamics XRM solution, it automatically assumes functions that are native to this environment – one of these being the workflow engine.  This is great news because what this means is that pretty much any business process can be defined electronically, and then triggered based on rules.   E.g. when raising a variation it needs to be routed to the client for approval and these sorts of approvals can be complex or simple depending on the project.  So there might be a simple one step approval or a more complex four or five step approval process.  Another example could be as simple as an overdue meeting task – a task has been assigned to a project team member but if they haven’t completed this within a particular timeframe, I need the system to tell me and also send them an automatic reminder.  Or maybe I have a high risk item on my Risks Register that I need something to happen on based on degree of risk.

 

These are all examples of workflows and as you will appreciate, each organisation will undoubtedly have different requirements, all nicely dealt with using the workflow engine inside IPM.