How to Treat Project Management Like a Marathon (and Not a Sprint)

When it comes to today’s business world, nothing stays the same for long.

Thanks to the power and swiftness of the Internet, our clients and colleagues expect results now; meanwhile, our attention spans are shorter than ever in the midst of trillions of gigabyes of data and a never-ending flow of new content.

To meet modern users’ need for speed, project management solutions and software have become staples for companies looking to delegate tasks and keep chaos at a minimum.

However, project management can easily become a mad dash for novices who are perhaps new to the field or aren’t. As noted by a 2012 Gallup study, the price of poor project management goes beyond productivity and may potentially impact our bottom line.

• A review of over 10,000 projects from 200 companies noted that only 2.5% of companies actually completed 100% of their projects
• Poor project management results in “significant” wasted money and a lack of motivation amongst employees
• One estimate based on recent IT failure rates may be causing the industry a loss between $5 and $15 billion annually

Instead of treating projects as a sprint, boost your efficiency and ensure the success of your future endeavors by embracing the incremental approach to project management. If you’re open to new strategies in regard to project management, or perhaps are on your way toward your scrum master certification, consider how you can revamp your approach to your next project.

The Big Picture vs. Small Steps

Obviously we want to get our projects completed and see products on the market as quickly as possible; however, that doesn’t mean that we should sacrifice quality in the name of efficiency.  Therefore, overly aggressive or optimistic timelines should be eliminated. Instead, your team should focus on completing smaller steps rather than obsessing over the big picture.

But how?

Everyone Gets a Role (and Goes Home Happy) 

The scrum framework, for example, implements the following strategies:

• Relying on a relatively small team with succinct, defined roles to keep team members focused
• Team members work in small bursts, also known as “sprints,” to ensure that the project continuously progresses
• Transparency and visibility as a means of holding team members accountable for their progress or lack thereof

These strategies alone will take any team much, much further than a “spray and pray” approach to management where team members take on tasks at random.

Expect the Unexpected

You can spend days, weeks or even months planning out a project; however, the fact remains that a roadblock could appear at any moment. Focusing on smaller steps of a project results in less room for such setbacks. By determining that a sprint has gone poorly, team members can quickly reorganize and move forward.

There are many moving pieces to a successful project management strategy; however, implementing an incremental approach is perhaps one of the best ways to reduce waste, save time and increase efficiency. By building a team with well-defined roles and working smarter rather than harder, you can expect to complete more projects on time in the future.