Why You Should Hire a Project Manager for Dedicated Development Teams
Companies invest a considerable amount in projects to upgrade systems, to develop new applications, or to roll out strategic initiatives. However, sometimes the development teams dedicated to these projects fail to deliver the desired results, especially if it is an offshore development team.
There are a ton of reasons why a project suffers, including poor planning and execution, and lack of coordination. You can avoid the failure of a project by hiring a competent project manager. He or she will enable you to reap the promised benefits of the project.
What is the role of a project manager in dedicated teams?
If you have hired an offshore development team, successful collaboration between it and your onshore team is crucial for achieving success in projects. For that, you need proper planning, clearly defined goals, and effective communication. The project managers make sure that all the requirements are met. They have the skillset to plan, organize, execute, and bring the project to a close.
The project managers also play a vital role in improving the performance of the team. They make sure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities, and the goals of the project. Not only that, but they also regularly monitor and assess the team’s project performance.
There is no one right project management methodology for all projects. Plenty of options are there to pick from, and the project manager selects the approach based on the project’s requirements and scope so that it does not fail to deliver the expected benefits. And, as the onus of the project’s success is on the project manager, you are free to focus on other aspects of your business.
Let’s take a look at how a project manager ensures that the projects are completed on time and on budget. They:
- Create a clear vision.
- Provide a framework for the project-related tasks.
- Identify resources needed to achieve project goals.
- Set milestones, gauges progress, and ensures they are achieved.
- Coordinate activities between different team members — offshore team and onshore team; and mediate if there is a conflict.
- Motivate team members.
- Identify potential risks that are present throughout the project’s lifetime, assess them, and proactively respond.
- Keep work on the track.
Project Management Tips for Startups
As the business environment is changing fast and there is high uncertainty, a startup can no longer take its time to complete a project. But it has limited resources, and its employees handle more than one responsibility. So, how does it defy the odds and become a successful organization? Project management can make a big difference and help startups to manage projects effectively.
Here are some suggestions for selecting tools and methodologies.
• Project Management Methodology: For startups, an adaptive project framework can be the best approach as it continuously adapts to the changing circumstances of the project. It allows you to change the project’s scope. Moreover, as the project progresses in iterative stages, the team can evaluate the previous performance at the end of every stage. Based on the evaluation, the team can improve their performance.
• Voice Communication Tools: Startups rely on excellent teamwork, and for that effective communication is essential. With voice communication platforms such as Skype and Google Hangouts, which offer audio and video group calls, team members can easily plan, communicate and work as a cohesive group.
• Chat & Messaging Apps: Slack, Microsoft Teams and Facebook Workplace, the group chat tools, enable startup teams to collaborate successfully. Whatsapp, the cross-platform messaging and VoIP service, also lets the team members to plan, organize, and share work updates.
• Task management: Leveraging task management software such as Asana, JIRA, and Confluence, the startup’s team members can manage, organize, and track the progress of project-related tasks.
At RabIT, our project coordinators handle communication and administrative tasks between development team members and our clients. Our lead engineering manager is also involved in each project to provide constant technical support. Since we primarily work on project basis, it is extremely important to us to constantly optimize and improve these processes, and we are happy to share them with others as well.
If you have any more questions about your own project or regarding project management best practices, feel free to ask them via email at info@rabit.hu or through our company website.
More useful Agile project management advice and resources:
Overcoming Communication and Cultural Challenges
Overcoming Challenges During the Work Process
