3 Challenges for Project Success
In this article, guest contributor Piers McLeish explains the data behind his recent survey.
Following a recent survey we looked at areas for improvement, where a lack of visibility over data is causing problems as well as the most important features and factors key stakeholders should look for, in both new business software and vendors. Based on the findings from the research we also outlined 5 project lessons for 2014.
Throughout the survey there are three main focuses that challenge the success of project based organisations.
1. 62% of project based organisations identified ‘capturing time/costs against projects’ is their biggest challenge.
If you’re struggling to capture time and produce costs against projects, you’re not alone. 62% of organisations questioned admit to the same struggle, and could benefit from re-evaluating their integrated project management software.
2. 55% of project based organisations admit ‘paper based approvals’ were stifling processes.
If you’re currently passing around manual information to approve projects, expenses, proposals, this is the second most common issue. Over half of participants surveyed agree that paper based approval processes are detrimental to their project processes, admitting that they are creating an admin burden.
3. 45% of project based organisations agree that ‘re-keying of data’ is a further challenge.
The third highest statistic faced by project based organisations is that the re-keying of data proves to be a challenge, creating unnecessary tasks which could otherwise be consolidated through automation.
The above statistics highlight that project based challenges are not un-common. But what is uncommon is the awareness and knowledge of how to tackle these problems. Not only can confronting these problems be beneficial for efficiency and financial reasons, but also project hand-overs. By reducing these challenges, the ownership transfer of projects can become seamless with features such as visibility of data, reports and documents. Time keeping can be automated and managed with integrated project software.
Integrated project software can not only streamline processes throughout projects, but also incorporate a centralised hub for all data to be accessed. This makes the handling and sharing of data a much more manageable task as opposed to spreadsheet printouts, invoices and reports.
If you’re finding cost capture difficult or time consuming, finding that paper based process are flooding your desk, or the re-keying of data has become an integral process of your project management, it may be wise to have a consultant review your processes and recommend the next best action to take for guaranteed ROI and improved efficiencies.
Only 30% of businesses surveyed are likely to review their project processes and software in the next 12 months. Should you be getting a head-start?
About the author
Piers McLeish is the director of consulting services, responsible for all pre-sales and pre-contract scoping and business analysis work, mostly involving larger clients and implementations. Prior to Access, Piers worked with well-known names such as MBNA International Bank and Accenture.
