Running a project always requires incredible organizational abilities. A project manager is responsible for giving everyone their tasks and ensuring they follow the schedule and do their job. They also have to resolve conflicts, ensure high morale, and handle questions.
As you can guess, doing this is never an easy task.
Today, on the other hand, this is simpler than ever.
With the right tools, you can automate most of this process, make progress easy to track, and elevate security to the maximum level. Here are the top ten ways you can improve your project management in the digital world.
1. Agile methodologies
Seeing projects as cycle-based instead of traditionally is probably the best way to get an optimal result. This is why agile methodologies are such an amazing thing. You make the first usable product, launch it, and wait for the feedback. Then, you use reflective methodologies to see what you did right or wrong and how to improve it.
The bottom line is that you gather the right feedback:
- What did the client love?
- What did they hate?
- What did they learn?
- What did they lack?
Then, you start the next phase, addressing all four of these. After that, you gather some more feedback and repeat the process.
2. Cloud-based collaboration
The most important thing about any project in 2023 is that it’s based on cloud tools. Businesses work on hybrid models, while some people work remotely full-time. This way, everyone can collaborate on the project, check real-time updates, and share data.
In the past, people would have to return from home to make an urgent edit. Now, they can just sit behind their computer, log in, and make the necessary changes. The best part is that, with cloud storage and cloud computing, in general, the device no longer matters. You're good as long as its hardware settings are good enough to handle the software in question.
3. Embracing project management tools
The most important thing for the project is the right project management tool. You make schedules, assign tasks, leave comments, share files, and analyze the records here. Still, choosing business tools is not an easy task. No matter what they might have told you, these platforms are not all made the same.
First of all, you’ll notice that their to-do lists differ. Some are better at color coding, while others have a superior task card system. Also, keep in mind to show the UI to your team and put this thing to a vote. You’ll be surprised at how much time you’ll spend staring at these screens, so you must like what you see.
4. Introduce cybersecurity measures
Cybersecurity is the most important thing for any project. Some parts of the project can’t leak before the project is ready to launch. Others can never leak. So, there are a few things you should do.
You might want to outsource your cybersecurity since, this way, you’ll get the most value for your enterprise. Also, while free antivirus and antimalware are good enough for individual users (even that’s debatable), the truth is that, as an enterprise, you should pay for a premium (usually business/enterprise) package.
Another thing you must address is your BYOD (bring your own device) policy. People will work from their personal devices, and you must introduce rules to ensure your data is not compromised. Explain to them why public networks are dangerous and what keyloggers are (why other people shouldn’t touch their devices).
5. Insisting on higher cybersecurity standards
Many people take cybersecurity more seriously while gaming than collaborating on an important project. The bottom line is that while the measures you introduce are important, people must take them far more seriously.
You should insist on a 2FA and request strong passwords, but you can’t force people to make them unique. Sure, “password” is a bad password, but so are:
- “Password”
- “Password1”
- “Password1!”
- “P@ssword”
Just because you’ve forced them to customize their passwords doesn’t mean they’ve done well. Ensure to enforce this by other means, like incentivizing and encouraging people to do so.
You must educate your staff on why this matters and give them examples.
6. Introduce access control
If every single member of your team could access all your files, this would be a proper security nightmare. Fortunately, modern platforms have safeguards that can restrict access based on one’s rank. Even in the past, most of this was handled on a need-to-know basis, but today, this is even easier to control.
Previously, we’ve talked about collaboration tools, and these sometimes have a method of controlling who has access to which project. This is one of the simplest, crudest methods of setting access control. Some platforms have an even more direct method of handling this. While the technical aspect may vary, there’s no denying just how necessary this is.
7. Team composition and delegation
A good team composition is the most important thing. Unless your employees are cross-trained and interchangeable, you must fill in the team based on their roles.
Remember that while everyone gets a voice on the project, each project needs to have clearly defined roles and a hierarchical structure. Sure, you’re all working together toward the same goal, but not all the same. A team leader needs to be fair and unbiased. They also can’t afford to be afraid to stand up to their staff.
Also, the worst thing you can do is try to micromanage every task on the project. Trust your team and give them autonomy. This is the only way forward.
8. Introduce communication tools
Your team needs to know how to communicate while on the project. Sure, even collaboration tools are a form of communication, but you’ll also need IM platforms for this discourse.
This tool needs to be unique, and the reason is simple - you don’t want your team to use the same platforms they use for private correspondences. You don’t want an employee to send important company documents to their crush instead of their team leader just because they pop up first after they push to share.
Not to mention that even casual workplaces must maintain a certain degree of formality. You can’t conduct serious business via Instagram DMs.
9. Find a way to handle version control
Document management tools and even document comparison tools are great for version control. This can become quite problematic when many people work on the same file and regularly update it.
When too many people work on the same file, it’s easy to make a mistake but without proper tools, it will be hard to retrieve a previous version or diagnose who made a mistake. This can make conflict resolution more difficult.
10. Find a capable tech support
The last thing you want is minor technical issues to slow you down. To avoid this, you need to find capable tech support and find a way to integrate them into the project. Sure, simple things like hardware setup and formatting are something that your entire staff should know how to handle; however, what about other issues?
Through remote access, good technical support will be able to resolve some of these issues and actively participate in the training and onboarding of some of your members.
With the right infrastructure, effort on a project will have more effect
While the basics of project management haven’t changed, the logistics behind it are much different. With the right tools, you can easily monitor, schedule, and communicate with your teams. This means that the logistics behind the process become a lot easier for everyone. As a project manager, you get to spend less time on cosmetic upgrades and the privilege of focusing on creative tasks and conflict resolution (things that only you can handle).