Managing a project seems straightforward at a glance. However, things aren't always as they seem. Managing a successful project isn't easy when you factor in team management, endless tasks, changes, and the countless other hurdles you'll face.
That's why 70% of projects fail.
Choosing project management services is an essential part of building an efficient business process and can help you improve your project success rate. Keep reading to learn six tips that will help you meet your project management goals.
1. Figure Out Your Project's Scope
It's essential to understand the scope of your project before you start looking for help with your projects. Without understanding your scope, it's hard for a project management company to understand your needs and determine how well they can help you meet your goals.
Knowing your project scope can also help you find a company to meet your needs better. Not all project management services will have the same experiences. If you work with a firm that's never done a project similar to yours before, they may not know everything necessary to provide the service your company needs.
Some companies are also willing to talk about their past projects to help ease your mind about working with them. If this happens, check into how effective they ran the project and what kind of success they brought to their clients.
2. Find the Right Management Method
There isn't a single project management framework out there. You have many options to explore when you want to find the most effective way to manage a project. Each method will have its own pros and cons.
Here are a few of the popular management frameworks you can consider:
Waterfall
Agile
Kanban
Scrum
Critical chain
Learning your project scope will also help you figure out the best management method to pursue. Read about each of these methods to see which one will work best for you.
Once you do, you can start narrowing down your choices for project management companies. Most services specialize in specific management methods. Find one that will use the management style your company prefers.
3. Look for Professional Certifications
You don't need to rely on the word of a project management company to verify that they know how to do their jobs. There are many professional certifications in the project management world that you can get to prove you can do the job.
The types of certifications out there depend on the type of project management you can do. Once you find the proper management method, see what certifications are available for project managers to acquire.
Once you have this information, check with your project management company to see which team members have those certifications. When someone has the proper credentials, you can ensure that they have the knowledge needed to manage a project correctly.
4. Compare the Cost
Most projects in the professional world aren't short. In many cases, they'll take months to complete. The last thing you want to do is work with a company that charges a ton of money and doesn't provide much value during that time.
Try to get as many quotes as you can before you decide on your project management partner. Once you get several quotes, you should notice a pattern in pricing and determine the average cost of project management.
Of course, don't just go for the lowest price quoted either. You want to get a lot of value for your purchase. Make sure the company you hire provides more value for the money than the rest of your options.
5. Customer Testimonials
You won't learn everything about project management services by speaking with their representatives. They'll do everything they can to try to sell you their services. That means you won't always learn all the downsides of working with a company.
You'll need to talk with past customers of a project management company to get the complete picture. Ask the potential providers you speak with if they can provide references for you to speak with. If a company does excellent work, this shouldn't be an issue.
When you speak with the references, make sure you focus on more than the qualifications and processes of a project management company. A company may be qualified for the job, but it may not provide a great experience during the process.
6. Get Feedback About the Project Before Hiring
You don't want to hire a project management company that doesn't do their due diligence about a project before hiring them. If all they do is say yes to all your ideas, you won't know if they can give good feedback and help point out issues with your project.
Bounce your project ideas off a project management company before you commit to working with them. See if they have any feedback about your project that can improve things and avoid potential errors.
If a company can do this before you hire them, the chances are good that they'll take more care when working on your project. They won't be afraid to tell you the truth instead of only what you want to hear.
Now You Know What Choosing Project Management Services Takes
You need all the help you can get to keep your projects on track. It's challenging to do this when you don't have systems in place to streamline the process. Use the tips above when choosing project management services to ensure you find a product that will meet your company's needs.
Are you interested in learning more tactics that will help you run a more effective company? Check out the latest business articles on the blog to learn more.