Does project management seem like an unadventurous, tedious process? Perhaps, if you are relying on the old dogs of project management — the been there, done that approaches you’re keeping. But when your organization works to revitalize IT project management, you will discover new tricks that make it much more engaging.

When your organization transforms its approach to IT project management, you gain all of the benefits of a new perspective. Alongside that fresh perspective for project teams, you will also regenerate enthusiasm and vision organization-wide. You will also enhance team culture and the way your members relate and work with one another.

Getting to this point takes commitment. As you can see from its advantages, however, it is well worth the effort of teaching those old project management dogs how to use new tricks. Keep the following considerations in mind as you move toward revitalizing your IT project management.

A Perspective Shift

Revitalized IT project management calls for a perspective shift. It also results in a perspective shift! Instead of thinking, “this is the way it is and has always been,” allow new perspectives on succeeding with a project. When someone identifies a problem or stressor within project management, the organization needs to hear their opinion and consider how it can be implemented.

This perspective shift leads to change and revitalization instead of maintaining the status quo. As your organization revitalizes its project management, everyone will see proof positive that there’s room for change and improvement. This may lead to revitalizing even more aspects of the business.

Adjusting Your Project Management Metrics

Without tracking metrics, project management approaches are guesswork. Metrics prove value, showing important data like return on investment, gross profit margin, and customer satisfaction. When you’re working to change IT project management, there are a few key places to watch. A key indicator is productivity or how much your business gets out of what you put in. When trialing new IT project management tools or techniques, the ideal result is the organization creating more for less.

Watch out for how you track and promote customer satisfaction as well. Organizations often trigger a project management change when they realize that customers are not happy with the status quo. Any shift in approach should result in more satisfied customers. Consider measurement tools like survey results, the level of repeat business (and lost business), and the number of complaints after implementing a change.

Finding New Project Management Tools

Today’s technology ensures that the manual processes, human error, and silo-based work of the past can stay in the past. Project management tools have come a long way in supporting organizations and businesses, opening the doors to all kinds of potential. Of course, it can be challenging to narrow down the right IT project management tools for your needs.

List the features you need in a project management tool.

• What are you trying to replace or improve?
• What could you easily leave behind?

Then consider:

• The budget.
• What level of support you will have on the technical side.
• How new tools will integrate with legacy systems or platforms you wish to keep.

The Human Impact

Project management conversations often focus on the tools, tech, and strategy that keep projects moving from start to finish. However, it’s important to remember the human impact of revitalized IT project management, too. It may not be as flashy or as simple to measure, but it’s an important indicator that your revitalized approach is working.

Your team should be enthusiastic about the potential for revitalized IT project management practices. To accomplish this, early buy-in and a shift in organizational culture are often needed. Staff needs to not only know but also understand how these changes will impact roles. Ensure that everyone appreciates how the technology or other changes will benefit them and their work.

With every wonderful endeavor comes the potential for challenges. Follow along in our series, with our next article: Revitalized IT Project Management: Overcoming Obstacles. Learn how your organization can implement project management changes to gain the benefits we’ve outlined above. And we’ll help you do so without falling victim to common roadblocks and problems.

As always, we encourage you to get in touch with our team if you have any questions or want to discuss revitalized IT project management. You can also email us at info@grouplink.net or call us at 801.742.8386.