Project management checklist for today's digital workplace

In the first of a series of blogs, we look at how project organisations are adapting to the demands of an increasingly digital business environment. This month… the skills and behaviours needed for digital delivery.

The growing influence of technology in organisations has bought untold benefits – but also new challenges. For example, mobile technology has paved the way for true mobility but has changed working habits and not always for the better. In fact, new research* reveals that despite the addition of tools and technologies, project managers waste up to 20 days a year due to inefficient ways of working. So what’s gone wrong?

The answer is simple: project managers need to relearn the skills to manage projects in the digital workplace. While project organisations need to develop new capabilities to compete. But aligning new investment with existing capabilities is no mean feat. According to the research 74% expect new project management tools to make a difference e.g. fewer project delays, but only 52%say their IT departments are set up to support the use of new technologies. To resolve the issue we need to look at what works and importantly, what is a help and what is a hindrance.

Let’s start with a few simple questions:
Are trends such as mobility and cloud computing giving you headaches when managing projects? Do you find yourself working on your days off? Do you sometimes feels stressed out because of chaotic ways of working?
If the answer is yes to most of the above, You’re not alone. To help project managers and teams work together more effectively in the digitally-driven workplace, here’s a checklist:

• A common platform:

Create an online project room where your team can plan, execute and follow-up on activities. With all in one place, everyone is fully engaged. It allows the project manager to easily visualise project progress and workload of each team member.

• Smarter tools:

Use collaboration tools that allow you, senior management and team members to keep track of actions and project milestones more easily.

• Updated technology:

Stop email addiction and embrace more efficient communication tools to ensure all information is not in people’s inboxes but in the online project room and easy for your team to access. Communicating project details and status on messaging platform allows for fewer meetings and will save you time.

• Secure workspace:

Make sure that your team knows how to keep data and documents safe. Working in a safe platform allows you to share any kind of data anytime and anywhere.

• Transparency:

With a fully transparent, open work culture you can cut back on the need for touch-base meetings. An all-in-one cloud collaboration tool with visual features allows team members to become more aware of their responsibilities and project progress.
 
*To learn more about how technology can help you get rid of chaotic ways of working, check out our whitepaper.

This blog is written and sponsored by Planview.