Even Software Research Finds ... Project Management Problems are People Problems

What challenges bring frequent frustration, along with the resulting drop in productivity, to your project teams? What do you do to deal with these situations?

Software guiding service Capterra did research on the “challenges” question and found that the number-one bugaboo is poor or inadequate communication. Number two is inaccurate task time estimates and number three is poor workflow management.

None of these should be a surprise to any project team member or project manager. Information is the life blood of successful projects. Providing too little or even too much information creates communication problems that bring this situation to number one. Capterra cited a Gallup survey that showed only 13 percent of employees strongly believe that their leadership communicates effectively with the rest of the organization.

As for inaccurate time estimates, what project team hasn’t been hammered by “do it yesterday” attitudes? Schedules are often made by those not familiar with the type of work the project team is doing. And let’s not forget the “optimism factor,” under which project deliverables are sold with time budgets not exactly sticking to reality.

Workflow management refers to planning and processes. While it is tempting to diminish or even eliminate planning and processes, especially under the guide of “being agile,” these aspects of project work cannot be skimped. According to PM Solutions’ 2018 research study, The Adaptive Organization, the biggest challenge regarding the implementation of projects that use adaptive approaches is the lack of skills/experience, including skills basic to all project management, such as communication. The study showed that communicating evolving and emerging details frequently and quickly is the most used practice by "highly capable personnel." PM Solutions’ 2015 Project Manager Skills Benchmark also noted that high-performing organizations rate communicating/listening the most important project manager skill. The same report lists managing project schedules among project management skills needing most improvement.

So, given that multiple research studies, over a period of four years, have come up with similar findings, how do organizations overcome these challenges? “[They] can invest in either on-site training and skills development by hiring a project management consultant; or, by investing in eLearning courses and virtual instructor-led programs through various accredited agencies,” says Eileen O’Loughlin, senior project management analyst at Capterra.

“In either option, training efforts should be led top-down. If senior leadership doesn’t understand or support the organizational changes that need to occur to correct these issues, then any effort to do so at a team level won’t be successful,” continues O’Loughlin.

“Once business leaders, middle managers, and project leaders have shifted their mindsets and corrected their own behaviors, they can model improvements in these areas for the rest of the organization,” she concludes.

O’Loughlin had these recommendations for tackling the top three challenges through training:

Training on effective communication is particularly helpful for people in leadership positions, as a Gallup study showed that this group tends to be the worst offenders because they often view communication as a one-time, one-way event.

Training on resource capacity planning and optimal utilization should be targeted at company leaders, PMOs and project leaders, as it will require a shift in mindset (i.e., planning at 80% utilization rather than 100%, to allow for slack time and increase productivity—this seems counterintuitive to many business leaders).

Training on workflow management should focus on why it is important in the first place, and then giving project leaders the support and resources they need to enforce workflow management best practices. For example, how to push back on changing requirements, or how to use an assertive “no” in response to taking on work outside the approved scope.

Results-oriented training, customized to your organization's culture and industry, can help your organization address these challenges.