Project Portfolio Management Software
Before technology became commonplace in business operations, we made do with manual-intensive ways of doing things. Some business owners still prefer to operate mostly tech-free. Sometimes, it’s out of fear of the unknown. Other times, they’re worried about cost or don’t think technology has a place in their business.
However, technology can be fundamental to your success if you’re in a project-based business with many people and firms relying on you to provide results. Now might be the right time to explore project portfolio management software if you can relate to these scenarios:
You Work On Multiple Projects At Once
Most businesses wouldn’t survive if they only focused on one project at a time. While a project is ongoing, you must still have income to cover business-related costs like wages, taxes, and insurance. That’s why handling multiple projects at various stages of completion can be crucial.
However, it can also be complicated, which is why project portfolio management (PPM) technology is often so important. You can make sure that you allocate your resources wisely, prioritize the most critical tasks across all projects, and balance your workload. These tasks can sometimes be much more challenging without technology providing an overview of each project on an easy-to-read platform.
You Regularly Go Over Time and Over Budget
When you meet with a new client for the first time to assist them with a project, you usually discuss a timeframe for completion and a budget for achieving the work within that budget. Ideally, the work would be completed on time and within budget, but that rarely happens. In fact, at least 85% of projects end up over budget for various reasons like:
- Project leader inexperience
- Poor communication
- Human error
- Employee absenteeism
- A lack of foresight
- Poor resource allocation
Not all reasons for going over time and over budget are within our control. However, many are. With PPM, you can gain real-time insight into project statuses, timeframes, and how to manage risks and issues that have the potential to result in delays. The more informed you are, the more accurate you can be with your quoting.
There Are Strict Compliance Requirements
Many organizations and businesses have strict governance and compliance requirements. These can be overwhelming for the average business owner, which is why they prefer to outsource their projects to well-equipped and knowledgeable project managers.
You can’t always rely on your knowledge alone when you’re tasked with leading such projects to success. It’s all too easy to forget about various policies and regulatory standards. In that case, PPM can be worth considering. Most project portfolio management software has compliance information and regulatory standard details to ensure you’re well-informed of your obligations.
Your Projects Are Interdependent
Many projects are interdependent or codependent. This means that any changes you make in one project can directly affect the other. This can be frustrating when you’re already struggling with poor project management practices.
PPM can be a game-changer in this respect. Many of the best PPM software is designed to identify those interdependencies and ensure all changes are managed across an entire project portfolio. You typically don’t need to worry about small changes falling through the cracks.
You Struggle to Prioritize Projects
Dealing with multiple projects and various deadlines can be overwhelming. You have limited time and working hours. Knowing where to focus your resources and efforts can be tricky.
PPM software typically provides options for ranking and evaluating projects based on their importance. You’ll always know which tasks must be completed first to plan your workforce and working days around them. This insight means you have more control in the planning process and may stand a better chance of staying on time and within budget.
Your Progress Is All Guesswork
Stakeholders, project leaders, and businesses all require updates about how their projects are being tracked. They want to know whether key stages are on time and whether they need to make adjustments to ensure the work is completed in a timely fashion.
If you use guesswork as a metric, it’s certainly time to consider PPM or other advanced tracking technology. With such software, you can receive reports identifying your projects’ statuses, financial metrics, and resource utilization. Having this information can foster good habits and take all the guesswork and stress out of project management.
With so much technology at our fingertips, operating tech-free businesses no longer makes sense. Introduce project portfolio management software into your project-based business, and you might be surprised by how less stressful your future projects can be.
