Only 2.5 percent of organizations completed 100 percent of their projects, according to a study of 10,640 projects from 200 companies in diverse industries. Why do so many projects go wrong?
Nobody is born knowing everything. ‘You live and learn,’ as they say. Nobody just wakes up one day and becomes an amazing project manager
If you ask any experienced project manager, they will tell you that they developed their talents with time. You make mistakes, learn from them, and move forward.
Project management errors are common. That implies you won’t have to start from scratch. So, if you research typical project management issues, you may learn from others’ mistakes and avoid doing them yourself when managing your projects.
8 Common Project Management Mistakes and Strategies to Avoid Them
1. No Clear Description of Roles for the Members Right From the Start
Each person on the team at the boardroom table should clearly comprehend following two points by the end of your first project meeting:
- What people must do individually to contribute to the project.
- What role their particular contributions have in the project’s broader objectives.
“I don’t know where to start,” is the last thing you want a team member to say after the launch meeting. Each employee must understand what is expected of them and how their unique efforts will contribute to the project’s important milestones being met.
Project managers may keep team members completely engaged and productive by continually emphasizing how each contribution is significant and critical to success.
2. Becoming Engrossed in the Fine Print and Losing Sight of the Broader Idea
When you’re stuck on a task that seems to be taking a long time, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is this assignment in line with the project’s major goals?
- Can I adequately communicate the task’s overall goal to my team?
If you answered no to either of these questions, it’s time to take a step back and reconsider how your work fits into the project’s overall objectives. Each project component should cleanly fit into a quantifiable outcome.
Ifyou don’t understand why you’re doing something, it doesn’t warrant your valuable time or resources. You can either check in with your team to find out if or why the assignment is vital. Alternatively, you can abandon it in favor of something more productive.
3. Choosing the Wrong Project Manager
Project management is not a one-size-fits-all role. An efficient project manager on one project may not be the ideal fit for another.
In the early stages of the planning process, teams should sit down and make a list of their abilities and traits. This will assist you in finding a manager who is familiar with your issues, capabilities, and objectives.
4. Not Dividing Down a Project Into Small Chunks
It’s easy to become overwhelmed and start dragging your feet if you only focus on the result of a job. To keep team members on track, a skilled project manager must communicate the project in terms of steps and checkpoints.
Attainable, realistic milestones will help break down a large activity into smaller, more manageable chunks that can be done daily. Include all of these processes in a project management application that allows you to collaborate and remain on top of progress once they’ve been approved by the customer.
5. No Clear Communication
Your team needs a mechanism to share information and keep everyone up to date on their progress. Otherwise, members may get off track and miss important deadlines. Develop a clear communication method for your kickoff meeting to keep everyone on the same page.
Consider creating a shared calendar or a shared document where team members can post updates. If you’re unsure what your team members are working on at any point during the project, it is time for a check-in.
6. Too Much Emphasis on the Negative Elements While Ignoring the Good
Small steps from leadership can help to establish a positive culture. Meet with each team member individually and express your gratitude for their achievements. Rather than highlighting characteristics of each team member that are currently outstanding, effective project management frequently focuses primarily on things that team members need to fix.
This easy boosting exercise can significantly improve team morale and result in a more productive project.
7. Not Informing the Appropriate Parties About Progress and Setbacks
Stakeholders with high levels of authority and interest should be your primary priority; keep them informed and be as transparent as feasible. If a stakeholder has little interest and power, keep them informed only about key milestones; sending them more frequent updates is likely to irritate them.
8. Resisting Change
Consider your project as a live, breathing organism rather than a checklist. When things don’t go as planned, it’s critical to stay receptive to criticism and alter your management strategies accordingly.
A good project manager is open to new information or data that has the potential to improve the project’s outcome. Take the time to reflect on your accomplishments and shortcomings, and determine how you might be better in the future.
As a result, you should avoid making major changes that divert your attention away from the project’s main goal. Make sure you’re making clear expectations with your stakeholders regarding the project’s scope. Your team was put together with a specific aim in mind.
Conclusion
Every endeavor will teach us something new. You will most likely encounter blunders while managing a project. Each project is unique, with its own set of external circumstances that you can’t control.
However, the bulk of project managers make the same mistakes. You can at least prevent some of these pitfalls by learning about common project management challenges.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to advance as a project manager. You will definitely achieve success if you learn from others’ failures.