While studying for my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, a statistic that stood out to me was that nearly 17% of software projects fail. Though the blame might fall on many shoulders – everything from inaccurate requirements, changing objectives, and neglectful project stakeholders, I feel that the real culprit is the lack of effective Project Management.
At Unosquare, our Project Managers play a critical role in every software project we undertake. With that in mind, and with my experiences on a long list of projects, I want to point out six things that will help you to become a reliable Project Manager and help guide your teams through their efforts in digital transformation projects.
1. Know Your Project
Have a deep understanding of the project. At the outset, define and document what will be considered successful completion. Confirm those goals with the Project Sponsor and Stakeholders. In the end, use that documentation to compare with the result. Communication is one of the most critical areas where project managers base their role, perhaps 90% of the time is used to communicate with all project-related stakeholders. Use metrics such as ROI or Customer/Employee Satisfaction Score to measure success.
2. Adapt
Be adaptable to the project management methodologies your team is using and know how to implement them effectively. Have, at minimum, a basic understanding of software and Agile software development principles. Take a certification course on Agile or Scrum basic or go a step further to become a certified Scrum Master. Understanding these methodologies will help in all levels of communication with your team and the Scrum Master.
3. Work Well with your Scrum Master
Develop a good working relationship with the Scrum Master. People often think the roles of Project Manager and Scrum Master are the same, and though they are interlinked, they are different. The Project Manager focuses on the overall success of the project – milestones met, budget maintained, and blockers resolved. The Scrum Master is concerned with the Scrum Team and Scrum Ceremonies. The camaraderie between the two roles is beneficial to the team and the project overall.
4. Plan Effectively
Plan for effective issue risk management. Before the project starts, work to predict potential issues and consider solutions ahead of time to mitigate their impact. When an unexpected item arrives, prioritize and resolve them quickly and efficiently. Be sure to learn from any mistakes wrong decisions you make and avoid them in the future.
5. Continuous Learning
Always be learning. Be aware of new methodologies and practices developing in the industry. Read, network, attend conferences, and presentations. Learn from the experiments and mistakes experiences, yours, and others but continuously build upon your skills and knowledge.
6. Stay Positive
A great attitude of service is everything. Managing with a positive approach, multiplies knowledge and skills, supporting delivery with a purpose. Be an approachable and optimistic Project Manager that your team will come to with issues before they grow into monsters. Know your team and understand what motivates them, what makes them grow, and how to recognize their efforts. Determining their motivations will help you drive the project to successful completion and deepen your relationship with your team and your client.
Ready to start your digital transformation journey?
Building a successful digital transformation strategy doesn’t have to be a challenge. With the right support and expertise, you can adapt to change and outpace evolving demands. Unosquare is a trusted partner for these projects.
Our experience has proven that a successful digital transformation strategy needs to focus on two things. First, your strategy must include ways to manage evolving business goals. These strategies also need to account for the cultural change that comes with those advancements. Using our proven Distributed Agile Framework, our software development engineers provide the kind of external perspective, agility, and understanding required for real innovation.
When you partner with Unosquare, you’ll have access to highly skilled software development professionals, Business Analysts, SCRUM Masters, Quality Assurance Engineers, and all the ancillary roles for delivery of your strategy. Each of us at Unosquare is directly accessible to your project stakeholders. We also live and work in your time zone, and have the support and training from one of the best global software development companies in the world. To learn more about what we can do for your organization, check out our blog.
