In this article, we'll take a closer look at the benefits of progress management, what makes it effective, why it doesn't work, and the best tools for the job.
Progress management is a must when you become a project manager. If you can effectively manage the progress of a project, the project will be much closer to success. However, there are many people who encounter problems such as schedule delays, and things don't quite go as planned.
If you are struggling to manage the progress of a project, or if you are a future project manager, take a look at this article.
Table of contents:
- Progress management
- Benefits of progress management
- Clarify and visualize priorities
- Cross-cutting understanding of work and schedule
- Recognize issues and problems earlier
- Key points for effective progress management
- Subdivide tasks
- Implement a progress management tool
- Causes of poor progress management
- Traps in the progress rate
- Psychological factors of team members
- A process chart is not being utilized
- Summary
Progress management
In any project, the business needs to complete the service on time.
Progress management ensures that the project is delivered on time and successfully.
Progress management involves checking for any discrepancies between the work performance of the project members and the project work plan.
If there are any discrepancies or delays between the plan and the actual results, we will correct them. If the work is not progressing according to the schedule, reassemble the schedule, modify the work contents, or change the person in charge.
The purpose of progress management is to understand how much work is left to complete the project.
By understanding "how many days will be left," "how much will it cost," and "how much manpower will be needed" to complete it, it will be possible to meet the delivery date.
Benefits of progress management
Clarify and visualize priorities
In order to manage your progress, it is essential to think about the priority of the tasks you are going to start.
Because in some cases, you may not be able to proceed to the next task until one task is complete.
Therefore, it is important to understand the nature of the work and clarify the work process at the time of project planning.
Progress management also helps identify work processes and necessary human resources and visualize priorities, allowing team members to start with high-priority tasks.
Visualization of priorities prevents confusion in the field and ensures high-quality services.
Keeping track of work and schedules across the board
Projects are usually carried out by multiple people.
By keeping track of progress, no matter how complex the project, you can manage schedules, work content, and processes across the board to ensure that the project is efficient and successful.
It also allows you to see at a glance which work members are currently working on and how much they are working on it.
Therefore, you can reduce the uneven burden on specific members and cover for those falling behind.
Recognize issues and problems earlier
Problems can arise as the project progresses, so managers need to resolve them quickly and appropriately.
In order to manage the progress, meetings and status reports from the members will enable early hidden detection of problems and issues in addition to the progress.
As a result, it is possible to take on the challenge of solving problems and issues at an early stage.
Effective progress management
Subdivide tasks into smaller ones
A project consists of multiple tasks.
If there is a difference between the estimate at the planning stage of the work and the level of the actual task, it is not clear what range task A refers to and when to start task B.
Therefore, the work content needs to be subdivided down to the level of the actual task to be performed.
Make it clear when and what, and plan your work to make it easier for your members to understand.
Implement a progress management tool
If you have the budget, one way to do this is to implement a progress management tool.
A progress management tool visualizes the progress of a project on a Gantt chart and facilitates the sharing of information, so you can reduce errors and work more efficiently.
If you don't have a budget, there are free Excel templates to consider.
Poor progress management
Traps behind the progress rate
There are some things that you need to be careful about when you make progress rates.
If you manage your progress rate through reports from members, members may think that they can't report badly to managers and report their progress rates higher than they actually are.
Also, when tasks are not subdivided, the progress of the work cannot be measured, and there may be discrepancies with the actual rate of progress.
Therefore, managers can improve accuracy by subdividing tasks and clarifying the criteria for work hours in advance.
Also, focusing only on the rate of progress may fail to manage the task.
For example, if a task requires five sub-tasks and you have completed up to four of them, the progress rate for that task is 80%.
However, if the remaining 20% of man-hours are more than expected, you need to be careful.
Psychological factors of team members
Progress management can also fail when there is a lack of trust in the team.
If there is insufficient trust, team members may be reluctant to report problems or issues when they arise and may be slow to resolve them.
Also, a poor project atmosphere can make it difficult to rely on team members and work less efficiently.
If you have a relationship of trust, you will be able to say, "I don't think the task will be in time, so I want you to help me." "I finished the task early so I can take on more work."
Try to be smiling instead of a grumpy look, and actively encourage communication within the team so that you can build trust.
A process chart is not being utilized
A process chart is created to manage progress, but one of the reasons for failure is that the created process chart is not being used in the actual field.
Sometimes it is just created first and not edited even when new tasks are added or not filled in even when progress is shared during meetings.
A process chart is an effective way to check the rate of progress at a glance and make work more efficient.
It is important to edit the process chart regularly so that it's up-to-date and can be added to and updated as needed.
Summary
This article explained the benefits of progress management. The key to successful project progress management is to break down tasks into smaller pieces, use a process chart, and build trust within the team.
In order to succeed in progress management, I hope you will find what I have introduced here helpful.