Top 10 Common PM Mistakes

Mistake #1: Lack of the right resources and skills

Result: Proper project staffing is important. While you may be tempted to hire an entry or junior-level contractor to ease up on costs, the time spent in training and managing mistakes can eat your budget.

Solution: Hire well. You want a strong staff.

Mistake #2: Inexperienced project managers

Result: Projects can quickly grow out of control without a keen PM.

Solution: Hire certified PMs with both soft skills and technical expertise to handle IT and business staff.

Mistake #3: Constrained IT from too much process

Result: FRUSTRATION.

Solution: Maintain flexibility

Mistake #4: No tracking of changes to the scope of work

Result: Unpleasant surprise in budget and timeline.

Solution: Use of a formal change request process keeps everyone and everything in line. Explain all specific changes and determine how it will impact the budget and timeline.

Mistake #5: Lack of live data about the status of projects

Result: We’re human and it’s very easy to lose track of things.

Solution: Reliable PM Software.

Mistake #6: Ignoring problems

Result: Problems are like weeds-they show up from nowhere, take root, and invade your harvest. The longer you ignore them, the longer it’ll take to uproot everything.

Solution: Fess up early, fix quickly.

Mistake #7: People forget that the world is NOT perfect

Result: Freezes with sudden challenges and issues.

Solution: Perform a risk assessment as part of the project planning. This not only prepares you for a “battle,” but also helps you identify the vulnerable areas of the project.

Mistake #8: Project schedules are incomplete

Result: Project team members forget the due dates of items, which may very well lead to a failure to meet the project deadline.

Solution: Document a detailed Scope of Work with a number of hours and due dates for each activity. PM software greatly assists in creating schedules and tracking work progress.

Mistake #9: IT goes along with unreasonable deadlines

Result: From the client’s perspective, IT under-delivers over-time.

Solution: IT management must explain clearly the need for the stated time to meet all objectives-and stick with it. If the client still demands an earlier date of completion, he will have to pay more for the additional resources needed to cover for time.

Mistake #10: Generic documentation of needs, assumptions, and deliverables

Result: Unsatisfied client upon delivery of finished project.

Solution: Start off on the right foot. You want to start strong with a shared roadmap to a solution. In PM, the first step is the paper agreement between you and the client. This contract states the client’s needs, and outlines what changes you’ll make to achieve a desirable solution. Be sure to document mutual understanding, mutual agreement, mutual assumptions, and mutual expectations.