According to a 2014 survey conducted by RefineM’s CEO, NK Shrivastava, almost 75% of surveyed project managers say their job has grown more difficult. This survey was conducted almost two years ago, and what we hear in our day-to-day operation is that these issues are still applicable for the year 2016. If this is the case, what is a project manager to do? Here at RefineM, we’ve come up with an immediately applicable strategy for you to do more with less and deliver successful projects.

What is expected of today’s project managers?

In today’s project environment, there is a growing need for project managers to deliver projects successfully. In other words, delivering projects:

• Faster
• Using fewer resources
• With a more limited budget

What does it take to deliver a project successfully – on time, on budget, and exceeding expectations in this type of environment? If your team skips over crucial project management processes, your project is likely to hit unanticipated roadblocks and dead ends, introducing too many project risks. On the flip side, overly complex or unnecessary processes waste time, annoy teammates, and clog the works.

How can project managers do more with less and still deliver successful projects?

For many project managers, finding the path to project success can be like navigating a complex maze—full of wrong turns and dead ends. But it doesn’t have to be that way. By following the Eight Essential Project Management Processes, your team will be able to clearly see the path ahead of them. Your team will be able to deliver projects successfully, while also doing more with less. For a more detailed description of each process and how to implement them, watch our previously recorded webinar.

We specifically included risk register in the eight essential project management processes, which is particularly crucial when you are cutting down on other processes. Risks can be catastrophic (especially if you are unprepared), but risks can also be turned into opportunities. This process will help you accurately account for possible risks, and respond appropriately to any risks that may arise.

What helps project managers become more efficient and effective when doing more with less?

There are two processes that we believe will increase efficiency and effectiveness with project managers – stakeholder analysis and the communication plan. When project managers have a solid grasp of who the stakeholders are and how to manage their expectations, it helps the team know what is expected at each level of the project. When the communication plan is followed, the team and stakeholders are fully engaged throughout the project. By participating throughout the development of the project, team members and stakeholders will improve the overall quality of the project. For example, they will be able to more easily identify the entire scope, detect schedule and resource constraints, identify risks, and point out red flags from performance reports.

Conclusion

Although today’s current project environment isn’t ideal – with project managers frequently being required to do more with less – our strategy of Eight Essential Project Management Processes is tried and tested to produce successful projects. We encourage you to try them. If you feel like more or less project management rigor is needed than the eight essential project management processes, check out our blog post, A Tiered Approach for Implementing A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) [Infographic]. It will give you more information on choosing the appropriate number of processes for your particular project. Doing more with less and delivering successful projects is possible – it all depends on the strategy you take to get there.

What tips do you have to do more with less? Let us know in the comments!

Essential Gear for Project Managers is a toolkit with the eight essential project management processes you need to deliver projects on time, on budget, and exceeding expectations. Delivered to you via intuitive templates and a handbook describing best practices and pitfalls.