Project management

How to solve time problems in a project

River in mountain in winter

Sometimes, projects stay on track, but more often we are behind schedule time. Usually, there is no big problem, because we have the margin to manage project delays, but what to do when the buffer runs out and we still have a problem delivering products in the project?

The project is successful only when all products are delivered

I know, that the best way to avoid this thought situation is perfect planning, keeping an eye on the schedule, and managing project parts. But this time it was different. I jump into a project, with looks nice and is easy to finish. Most of the project products were ready, the last thing was to deliver the last product in the last part of the project.

How to solve time problem in a project

Unfortunately, the last product has the biggest value and there was the biggest problem with finishing it because suppliers fail. What’s more, the supplier wasn’t available at all.

Emergency plan

The problem in project management is highly possible so we need to have an emergency plan. I would like to have some, but in this project, there was no emergency plan.

The first idea was to find another supplier, that will make this final product. But there were two main problems: time and cost. Time doesn’t exist as you probably heard, so the cost was this element, that made finding someone else to finish the job impossible.

When you stay on the edge don’t forget about communications

So you and your team are crying and see no future. Project speeding up, and wall standing in front of your track. There is no hope to deliver all products in this project in the promised time. What’s the next step?

Communications. There is tons of good advice to communicate all problems to your client. But who likes to do this? Nobody, but one of the worst roles of a project manager is telling clients that we have a serious problem.

The way, how you do this is extra important. Remember that the biggest advantage of this crisis could be your client being convinced that you are able to manage the trouble in a perfect way.

To do this, you need to propose to your client how to solve this issue. The best solution is based on the client’s must-have parts of products, if there are any parts. So you need to know what the client will do with your product, and when he needs it ready in 100%.

We don’t fink about it at the beginning of the project, because we assume that everything will go as we planned. But when problems appear it’s a good time to figure out, what is the major element of products for the client and how to deliver it to him as soon as possible.

Effective Communication of Project Issues: A Practical Guide

Now it’s time to restore controls of the project

When we find what the client needs mostly it is possible that we are able to deliver these parts in an acceptable schedule. This is the first, huge step to solve the problem.

Then you need to keep close attention to deliver what you promise because there is no place for mistakes.

Success

When you finished this project, there is a high possibility that your client will recommend your services. Why? Because when everything going well, there is no place to check how your partner dealing with problems. Most companies have huge trouble when something goes wrong, and there aren’t able to solve problems in a transparent way.

On the other hand, clients often wonder what will happen, if our contractor will have problems. If you show to the market, that you can handle problems, and you do this in a professional way, new clients appear, because they will know even if things go wrong, your company gives 100% to solve a problem and finished the project with success.

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