The Good News and the Bad News in Project Management

You need something done and you need it done right. This is why you turn to a project manager, entrusting your needs so it is done right the first time. But before you go any further, consider that there are two sides to every story and this is just as applicable to project management as it is with anything you do. The trouble with task management is that most of the time you’ll usually hear only the good things about it. Do a quick search online and you’d be bombarded by the many benefits that working with a virtual team has. It’s the way of the future! It’s the big thing right now and you’re definitely missing out if you’re still working with a traditional workforce. You’d have to look harder if you want to see what’s on the other side. There are two sides to every story, and both offer important considerations which would help you figure out if agile project management is indeed the way to go.

The Good News

The good news about working with a project management team is that you get to see collaboration at its finest, with each person in the team doing what is expected of them and more to achieve goals that were beyond anyone’s imagination at the beginning. What would seem impossible for one person is just another day for a team. And a great deal of that is thanks to the many collaboration tools that have been released today, both free and paid. With the range of options available, there’s sure to be a tool you can use that will address your needs. You don’t even have to pay a single cent to try out many of them so working with a budget need not get in the way. And you know what; more are on their way so you can expect even more convenience and efficiency in the future.

The Bad News

The reality is that virtual project management is not for everyone. While there is much to be benefited from turning to virtual management, the process is not 100% applicable to all kinds of projects and business settings. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is flexible, yes, and can be twisted and tweaked in a variety of ways to address needs more perfectly but success remains to be a case-to-case basis. It does take advantage of collaboration but that only works when you have the right people in your team. Simply having a team is not enough. Finding the right members of a team is probably the foremost challenge in creating a successful project management team.

The devil in the details

Understanding and following best practices for creating a virtual workforce is a great way to succeed in virtual management because it gives you a good grasp of what already works. Follow those to the T and you’ll likely achieve decent results. While different projects will have different requirements, these best practices are generally applicable to everything so you don’t have to worry as well about what kind of industry you’re in. Think of them as solid advice you can rely on. Still, you must be able to assess if virtual management is for you in the first place. If going virtual is not in the cards, there’s nothing wrong with that. They’re called best practices in virtual management for a reason—you can only apply them once you’re sure that virtual management is for you.

Don’t line your ducks in a row

All this talk of the two faces of project management can give you tunnel vision because you’re only looking at it like your only options are to either go virtual or not. While it’s important to consider software project management in its entirety, take note that you don’t have to go fully virtual to take advantage of what it has to offer. It is possible that what your business or your project needs is a mix of traditional and virtual solutions. The important thing here is to take a good hard look at what you need. The aim is to achieve your goals. It is not to simply give virtual management shot. If using collaboration software looks like a feasible way to get what you want, then go for it. it’s true that you’ll never know how something will turn out until you give it a try but it is also just as true that needlessly spending time and resources on a mere option takes away from what you could be investing in an actual solution. Rewards are bigger when the stakes are higher, but taking on unnecessary risk is also unwise. Again, best project management practices form the basics that keep virtual management running smoothly, but they can only give the results you’re looking for if it’s a right fit.

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