Trends: Small Business Management & Online Project Management Software

What is Projectification and Its Pertinence to Small Business Management?

As projects are currently becoming seen as one of the most efficient, productive and profitable ways of doing business, many companies are consequently utilizing an increasing number of such operations, bringing about a phenomenon known as ‘Projectification’.  One company, ProTasker, has developed online project management software to help with small business management in this new environment.

In many cases however, businesses are rushing into projects, generally commencing operations in less than ideal circumstances. Patrick (1998) has outlined some of these negative project launch scenarios as: prematurely commencing projects without a full understanding of what is needed or expected; launching simultaneous new operations; and commencing projects with a disregard for the capacity or capability of the company.

The negative consequences of project launches in such situations however, are generally not felt by top management personnel, falling instead to project managers and collaborators, who must: scramble to meet tight deadlines; deal with resource unavailability or shortages; work with dwindling budgets; and operate effectively under the elevated pressure to multitask, owing to the fact that many modern organizations tend to run various concurrent operations, sharing personnel.

The steady presence of the above mentioned issues in many industries have driven companies, managers and collaborators alike to look for methods to mitigate the negative effect had on personnel, productivity and overall project outcomes. Many project orientated businesses have consequently chosen to utilize project management software in an attempt to more effectively steer, control and monitor projects.

There are currently many different forms of project management software on the market; however most software packages offer the same basic options. The majority of modern applications support  project managers and collaborators right from the planning phase of a project to completion, presenting functions such as: task allocation and tracking; resource allocation and management; risk mitigation and management; scheduling, including the addition of milestones and deadlines; document and report production; and various forms of both open and closed communication.

These packages also permit many of the above functions to be monitored, controlled and altered by both the manager and team members in real-time. This means that imperative project attributes such as resources, budgets, milestones, risks and deadlines can be tightly controlled, with involved personnel being aware of the exact status of each factor throughout the life of the project.

The main advantage of project management software in the case of projectification however, is the fact that it is transparent and easily accessed by collaborators. This means that all related team members generally have access to project information, documents and files, and communications. This permits better team work and multitasking, and consequently results in more efficient operations. This also gives collaborators the option to bypass the manager regarding non-vital proceedings, which further streamlines processes.

It can therefore be seen that project management software is an extremely important utility for project managers and collaborators in the current ‘Projectified’ business environment. As the tendency toward implementing projects shows no sign of abating in many industries it is predicted that the small business will be forced to rely increasingly upon such software packages in the future.

The Utilization of Program and Project Management Software by Program Managers

Since the 1970’s the utilization of projects as normal business operations, opposed to the conventional repetitive manufacture and sale of products, has become an increasingly popular concept. There has consequently been much conjecture regarding the complex practice of project management, and its effect on project efficiency and outcomes.

Owing to the increased attractiveness of projects in the current international business environment however, the process of project management has began to move away from traditional methods and ideals. This has occurred primarily due to the fact that project managers are contemporarily undertaking numerous simultaneous projects, opposed to the established practice of running singular, often micromanaged operations. This rapid change has consequently birthed the term ‘Program management’.

Program management, is defined by The Project Management Group (2009) as “The planning and monitoring of tasks and resources across a portfolio of projects”. Program management can therefore be viewed as a method of controlling project management and consequently project managers over concurrent undertakings, which often overlap, share resources and exist in different physical locations.

Due to the difficulty involved in carrying out such a task, many so called ‘program managers’ have resorted to software solutions in order to organize and track the numerous projects for which they are responsible. Although there are various program management specific software applications currently available, many project management packages have also been designed to offer similar applications, and may therefore be additionally or alternatively utilized by program managers.

One of the main advantages of program or project management software packages from a program managers’ perspective, is the fact that such software is able to provide a detailed overview of all projects in which the manager is involved. This overview, depending upon the management software in question, can supply information regarding: resources; roles and responsibilities of collaborators; risk management; and progress reporting.

Most software packages also provide real-time information relating to many project aspects, allowing program managers to: make well informed timely decisions; allocate or reallocate resources as needed; and quickly provide high quality, detailed, standardized reports. Such programs furthermore permit the utilization of batch processes, which means that managers can apply a particular process, such as resource allocation, to numerous projects simultaneously.

The fact that project managers and collaborators may also have the ability to access and alter many aspects of their particular project within such software, has the potential to create an extremely dynamic, efficient working environment. This efficiency basically stems from the fact, that management software provides the transparency needed for managers and collaborators to take the initiative to work ahead, opposed to waiting for orders from higher management.

Program and project management software can consequently be seen, not only as specific tools for program management, but as an invaluable organizational and time saving asset for program managers. With current practices within many industries moving increasingly toward project utilization, it can only be assumed that the use of management software packages will become standard, in order to make many processes more simple and straight forward.

Project Management Software as a Time Management Tool

Projects are generally defined as a team of people, or ‘collaborators’ working toward a specific goal or outcome, and usually involve a manager, who controls factors such as task delegation, risk management, budgets, and milestones or deadlines. As many projects operate under strict time constrictions, one of the main issues faced by many project managers is effective ‘time management’.

Haughey (2001) describes time in relation to projects as an ‘expensive, irrecoverable, irreplaceable, highly perishable economic resource. He also outlines numerous causes of ‘wasted time’ such as: paperwork and filing; the inability of many managers to appropriately delegate tasks; ineffective communication; and meetings.

As the contemporary project manager is often involved in numerous different concurrent projects, it has been increasingly found that the compilation of time wasting actions over the scope of different projects has the potential to be extremely detrimental to efficiency and productivity. Many managers have consequently turned to various project management software packages in order to improve their project time management.

The management software package utilized by a project manager is generally chosen either by the manager themselves, or the company by which they are employed, to best suit the nature of the project. Regardless of the package however, most software or web-based applications offer the same basic time management operations such as: document management and reporting; task tracking and delegation; and advanced communication functions.

The document management and reporting applications offered by most project management software packages are quite advanced and well organized, with many applications allowing the quick storage and backup of required documents. These documents may then be accessed by the desired collaborators at their convenience. Numerous packages also permit the generation of detailed reports from pre-stored information, consequently removing the need for timely paperwork and filing.

The task tracking and delegation options presented by most project management software are also great time savers, due to the fact that they allow team members access to a list of current project tasks, as well as the personnel involved in completing each task. This application in many packages, also gives collaborators the option of assigning themselves duties or checking off completed operations, consequently removing the manager from the equation.

The communication function embedded in basically all contemporary management software is believed by many however, to be the most useful application of management software packages. Online project management software generally offers a myriad of different communication options ranging from closed communicative methods such as email, to extremely transparent means such as forums, instant message applications and video conferencing.

This continual open communication also allows collaborator to contact each other directly, or to follow communications between other members, which may relate to work in which they are also involved. Such contact, furthermore, has the potential to reduce the need for time consuming phone calls and meetings, permitting staff to focus upon the tasks at hand.

It can consequently be ascertained that project management software is becoming an increasingly utilized time management tool for project managers in many different situations. It can only be assumed, due to the current trend toward project utilization in many industries that such software packages will continue to be modified and developed in order to better serve managers time management needs.

 

Sources: www.protasker.com/

www1.uwe.ac.uk/bl/bbs/research/gorg/projectmanagement.aspx