The challenges of project-centric businesses
Regardless of their nature —professional services, law, construction, or engineering— the challenges of project-centric businesses are very similar. Unexpected twists and turns from project initiation to completion
Projects are complex tapestries woven with timelines, budgets, and scope. Project managers have to steer through challenges like budget overruns, scope creep, and schedule delays. This makes it almost impossible to deliver successful projects without the adequate project management software.
It’s intrinsic to projects that unforeseen challenges appear through the project life cycle. Budgets go awry, scopes expand, schedules get delayed, invoicing is time-consuming, and data is siloed. These are the common challenges that project-centric industries deal with leading to uncertainty and inefficiency.
Let’s have a closer look at the project-based industry challenges.
Budget overruns
Budget overruns occur when project expenditures exceed the planned budget, creating a ripple effect that can impact the whole project. The expenditures can include expenses directly tied to the project, such as materials, labour, and subcontractor costs.
On the other hand, there are also indirect costs that cover overhead, administrative expenses, and general project management costs.
Scope creep
The scope creep refers to the continuous expansion of project requirements beyond what was initially agreed.
Effective project managers must ensure that project scopes remain well-defined and deviations are addressed promptly to prevent strangled timeline and inflated budgets.
Schedule delays
Timeline complexities occur when project schedules face disruptions, delays, or unforeseen drawbacks, leading to a domino effect on tasks and deliverables.
It should be noted that on-time project completion percentage worldwide is around 50%. That’s why project managers need to act as proactive problem-solvers since more than likely there will be delays.
Strategic project planning as well as schedule realignment when necessary is crucial to ensure the project stays on course.
Effective resource planning
Project management is all about time and resource management. Ensuring the right workforce, adequate supplies, and proper tools is an essential part of a successful project.
The optimisation of resource utilisation stands as a paramount objective. It is not a mere task, but a strategic decision since an effective allocation of the resources contributes to the success of any project.
Siloed data
In the dynamic landscape of projects with lots of twists and turns, real-time insights into budgets are a must. Information should flow across the project and the company as a whole.
When data is isolated within specific departments or systems, it hinders collaboration and decision-making. Integrated data ensures that every project stakeholder has a comprehensive view, fostering continuous improvement.
Rather than viewing these challenges as barriers, project managers can employ strategies to navigate through these complexities. In this context, project management software with specific project accounting and resource management capabilities emerges as an essential tool.
It should serve as a compass, guiding project managers through the intricacies of budgeting, scoping, timeline and resource management.
Even if there have been project management software solutions around for many years, they always tended to be a separate tool, unconnected to the business management system or ERP.
How are project managers supposed to track project profitability if their project accounting tool is not part of Finance?
An integrated project accounting software ensures real-time budget tracking within the financial boundaries. It empowers thus project managers to take charge.
Would you like to see how businesses, much like yours, have faced these challenges and emerged victorious, all thanks to digitalisation? Have a look at our success stories.
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