As companies across adopt social distancing measures, remote work is increasingly becoming the norm. Although this change has been convenient for many employees, others have been struggling to manage their time and work effectively at home.
Nowadays, project managers are now facing a new set of problems. Social restrictions, remote work, and an increasing need to adopt technology, project managers need to shed traditional approaches and handles all problems dynamically.
Project managers must handle people with complex personalities, budget constraints, and time limitations. Therefore, it’s understandable that project managers are hesitant to engage in new technologies as they already have a lot on their plate.
Every business is looking to make the most of innovative technology to gain an edge over their competition. However, the rapid change of technology can be a little overwhelming for people, especially for project managers. In this article, we will discuss the top priorities of project managers in today’s workplace.
Improving Communication
As a project manager, you must know that communication is critical for the success of any project. Therefore, it’s no surprise that one of the most critical uses of technology in project management is ensuring proper communication.
Some time ago, project managers were accustomed to inter-office memos, voice messages, faxes, and other forms of communication. However, after the advent of emails, they had to adapt to this change and use it as the key tool for communication.
However, times are changing again and relying merely on emails is not sufficient anymore. New technologies such as social collaboration tools and intranet portals have begun to replace emails. These innovations offer a uniform communication platform that is more integrated and effective than emails.
As a result, businesses use these platforms to share documents, updates, and other critical information with their project teams. Since the communication structure in modern businesses now relies on these technologies, project managers can’t afford to lag behind.
Leveraging Cloud Technology
Using project management software is not something out of the blue for experienced project managers. However, the unique thing about software and technology, as a whole, is that they never remain the same.
Experts continue to make improvements in existing systems and do their best to come with comprehensive solutions. This allows businesses to utilize advanced technologies and adopt them to optimize their workflow.
The latest example of this is the advent of cloud technologies in the corporate world. Cloud solutions have influenced countless business processes. However, what they have done for project managers is nothing short of incredible.
Businesses now use cloud-based project management tools like Clarizen to get the best out of their project managers. The use of cloud technology for project management solutions is more cost-effective and easy to manage. It allows people to benefit from mobile access and interoperability, something that on premise PM solutions didn’t do well.
Therefore, if you need to stay relevant in a technology-driven environment, you must be willing to adapt to changing technologies in your workplace.
Establish Benchmarks for Success
Establishing benchmarks for success early in the project is necessary for keeping track of project requirements and evaluating how well you have achieved them. Sometimes, goals seem straightforward at first, but as the project continues, you discover various dimensions to the given objective.
For instance, if you want to build a page for account login for a mobile app, it seems relatively straightforward. However, this simple task can have many hidden requirements depending on what kind of mobile application it is. A mobile app for banking services needs to have a more secure login than an app for food delivery, and you will need to limit the number of failed logins.
In such cases, simply making a login page would not satisfy the security requirements of the client and, thus, should not be considered a benchmark for success. If you establish accurate benchmarks for success before the project starts, you can keep project requirements in check during the project.
Utilizing Real-Time Updates and Reporting
In the early days, the process of gathering information and updates from stakeholders was extremely tedious and time-consuming. It would take days or even weeks for project managers to update project plans and distribute the latest Gantt charts and reports to teams.
Today, domains such as data analytics have paved the way for instant reporting and real-time updates for managers. Coupled with cloud-based project management tools, these technologies allow project managers to make critical decisions with insights derived from data.
Even if these systems lack the predictive capabilities of more advanced systems, they can help project managers to handle their tasks efficiently. For instance, they can update project documentation, check on task status, and alert team members in a matter of seconds.
However, if you are not willing to learn tools that enable this to happen, your company will not able to reach the same level of efficiency as your competitors.
Managing Remote Teams
Not very long ago, it was difficult for project managers to imagine that a project team could work effectively if they did not meet regularly face to face. However, like the rest of the world, the internet has knitted the organizational structures together and deconstructed previous limitations in project management.
Thanks to astounding advances in project management software and communication, organizations can work in a decentralized manner. This means that companies can now build project teams that have contractors and employees located in various cities, time zones, and countries.
This has enabled businesses to allocate their available resources to their project needs more efficiently. Moreover, teams can work in a more organized way and with greater speed, despite physical barriers. Refusing to engage with new communication tools is a recipe for losing customers on projects.
Summary
Today’s workplace is driven by technology. Adopting new management approaches and merging it with technology can help you resolve rising problems at the workplace and improve management. In the end, the only way you can become more efficient as a project manager is by accepting technology as the sole driver for growth.