What styles of project management are best suited for your business?

If you work in the services professionnels, vous savez à quel point il est important de veiller à ce qu’un projet respecte les délais et que les résultats soient livrés aux clients à la date convenue. Ce n’est pas une tâche facile, raison pour laquelle les équipes comptent beaucoup sur leur méthode de gestion de projet privilégiée pour rester sur la bonne voie. Dans cet article, nous allons examiner les deux méthodes de gestion de projet les plus populaires – la gestion de projet en cascade et la gestion de projet moderne – et les avantages de chacune.

First of all, it is essential to understand the difference between the two before deciding which method is best for your business. The last thing your team needs is to embrace a new way and find out it's not right for their style of work. Since it takes 1-3 months to see if a method works, it is imperative to have confidence in the method you choose. Let's go into the details of each method.

What is traditional project management?

Often referred to as the “Waterfall” method, this style of project management requires that one task be completed before the next can begin. Plans are developed before the start of the project and sequential phases are defined very early in order to clarify the work to be done to achieve the end goal. This method is still used by many businesses today and works well for projects with a fixed budget or deadline.

The 3 advantages of traditional project management are:

• No surprises
• Fluid knowledge transfer
• Sets expectations internally and externally

No surprises

This strategy leaves little room for flexibility or changes once the project has started. The plan is defined and approved from the start, which means that it does not need to be readjusted and the chances of slippage are reduced. Both parties agree on the project schedule and tasks, which helps clarify the process and assign responsibilities from the start, with each knowing their contribution.

Fluid knowledge transfer

Comprehensive documentation is essential in the waterfall methodology. With information available at all times, it is easier for new team members to catch up quickly. In addition, information will not be lost if an employee decides to change companies.

Define expectations internally and externally

A lot of time is spent developing a detailed project schedule for the client to review. One of the main advantages is that the customer knows what to expect early on and can plan accordingly. After this initial phase, the client's involvement is very low and he has enough time to gather the resources he needs for a particular phase. Internally, team members can better plan their time, which is very useful when working on multiple projects at once.

What is modern project management?

Modern project management relies on automated tools to facilitate the planning, execution and organization of work. It is also considered the more flexible of the two. As more and more professional service companies take on short-term or even exceptional projects, companies are looking for an alternative to the traditional method of project management. This is where the modern method of project management comes into its own - in a fast-paced environment, able to quickly and effectively manage changes during the course of a project.

The 3 advantages of modern project management are:

• Possibility to manage several projects at the same time
• Minimizes risks and human errors
• Provides more flexibility over time

Possibility to manage several projects at the same time

Instead of having all of your tasks fully outlined at the start of each project (as is the case in the waterfall methodology), use technology to create a more flexible method that allows you to start a project without having a clue. complete of the final result. This way, you can easily make adjustments to your project when a client's vision or needs change (without having to go back to the beginning each time).

Reduce risks and human errors

With a smart platform offering better visibility into your team and projects, you'll be able to see if a given task in your project is going over budget and fix it before any real damage is done to your bottom line or to your relationships with your customers.

The right smart platform will also automatically log customer data, calculate billable hours and budgets, and automatically update calendars for you - so you don't have to do manual work at the end of the day when you are. exhausted, short on time, and more likely to make mistakes. Imagine the extra time you will have to work on your projects if you no longer need to add up your timesheets at the end of each month: the beauty of intelligent automation!

Be more flexible with your time

With a traditional approach to project management, you are usually assigned a fixed number of days or hours to complete a task. But what happens when you're suddenly tasked with a high-priority project or when you have to work from home for personal reasons?