Project Management Myths To Avoid

Project management is tough enough without the myths. However, many untruths are still pervasive in offices and meeting rooms around the globe. It is time to rid yourself of these old-fashioned urban legends of the innermost workings of team management and supplant them with fresh insight based on research and observation. Phenomenal projects cut through false assumptions and confusion. This allows their teams to make smart decisions based on reality.

Over the last couple of years, project management principles have been utilised in order to:

• Transform process as well as people,
• Optimise talent and tools,
• Attain desired outcomes within the clarifying parameters of budget, quality as well as time.

As more companies adopt a project-based approach towards value creation and setting goals, the field of project management develops into even more crucial to organisational success.

Not everything you hear about project management is true, however. Managing projects comes with a throng of challenges. Giving myths more weight than they deserve just makes it more challenging to achieve project objectives. So, it’s high time for some genuine myth-busting.

Rely On The Experts For Everything

As a project manager we need to gather as much information as possible in order to make great decisions. Whether it is data, reports or interviews, data itself is nothing short of context. We could have, for instance, estimates for a venue rental for a marketing event however without looking closely at the information, we may not realise the estimates are from 1990.

Although a software engineer will probably know best how long a feature will take in order to be developed, he or she may forget a step or task in the process, say testing. Utilising expert research, interviews or information is vital; however, it is even more important to examine that information from multiple angles and to also make sure it is in context. Allow some space for contingency planning.

Process Is Everything

On face of it, project management seems to rely heavily on process in order to move a project from start to finish. The truth is that project management is a field which does involve process but also deals with a lot of individuals called stakeholders. These are:

• Customers,
• Talent,
• Decision makers, as well as
• Other individuals with differing skills and personalities who provide unique contributions which are aimed at the successful completion of a project.

Even if an “air-tight” procedure is in place, a project could still face delays — and even breakdown at the end of the line — if there are loose ends in the people aspect of the equation. Without a well-coordinated team of competent as well as motivated professionals, even a faultless process will not be able to guarantee success. This is where a project manager’s people-centred soft skills may make a big difference.

The Customers Know What They Want

Individuals may know what they want however what they don’t always know what the solution is to get there. For instance, a customer knows that they want to save time on project planning and not checking email however they may not know that project management software exists, and that this is the best solution.

Feedback is extremely important in order to figure out the challenges of a client or customer, however it is up to you/your business and designers, engineers, marketers, to solve that problem in the most efficient as well as cost-effective way.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

If you would like to become a project manager then you should really check out our Project Management For The Media Course. Find out more by following this link.