Project Management: What Are The Benefits?
Every year of high school I bought a new planner, thinking “This is the year I keep track of my work.” And every year my planner ended up in the garbage within a few weeks because I refused to take it out during class. And from then on, everything lived in my head, my notes app, and on random sticky notes scattered among my belongings. Needless to say, it was certainly not the the most organized of project management plans.
While I never returned to the paper planner, college has proven the importance of using a real project management system for all aspects of my work. Gone are the days of scattered information, the days of detailed lists and specific project managements tools are here to stay.
So, what is project management?
Project management is the creation of a plan that allows for people to organize, track, and execute projects. And there are a handful of project management tools and platforms that makes planning and executing plans easy.
I have been using Trello to keep me organized as I move through the creation of my project. Through creating categories and checklists to make sure everything gets done, Trello has played a crucial role in keeping me on track.
Project management is easy to implement into your planning practices to help you reach your goals and improve your overall organization (especially if you are using a system to help you!)
What Are the Benefits of Successful Project Management?
Keep Your Goals Clear: Project management helps outline what the project is supposed to achieve. By outlining project goals and objectives and stating a clear path of how exactly you and/or your team is supposed to get from A to B makes it easier to achieve the overall goal.
Save Your Time and Resources: With a quality project management plan, everything within your project is planned out very carefully. This careful plan and commitment to details helps avoid wasting your time and resources. The clearer the directions, the better!
Improving Teamwork: Having detailed plans through project management allows for everyone to communicate and work together smoothly. Having your project planned out helps prevent misunderstandings and makes it easier for your team to get the job done.
And who said you couldn’t be your own team? Even if you are only a party of one, you are able to set yourself up for success by addressing your goals and plan for yourself.
Spot Problems Early: Spot potential issues before they become bigger problems. This means that risks can be managed better, and solutions can be found quickly, preventing long lasting damage/effects.
Constant Improvement: When Katy Perry said, “Just because it’s over, doesn’t mean it’s really over.” She was obviously talking about project management. Once your project is done, it’s time to take a step back and look at the plan that got you here. Make note of what worked well, and what needs to be changed moving forward!
Project management is essential for setting clear goals, improving efficiency, upping communication, managing risks, and promoting continuous improvement. Don’t let your form of project management be a scattered stack of post-it notes, find a strategic way to organize your plan to set you up for success.