© Copyright Acquisition International 2024 - All Rights Reserved.

Article Image - Why the Project Management Sector Needs a Shake-Up
Posted 29th October 2024

Why the Project Management Sector Needs a Shake-Up

Failing projects result in wasted resources, time and increased risk for companies. They negatively impact staff, customers and clients, costing businesses dearly.

Mouse Scroll AnimationScroll to keep reading

Let us help promote your business to a wider following.

Why the Project Management Sector Needs a Shake-Up
Business team having morning briefing

By Stephen Repton, founder, and CEO of Flowlio

Failing projects result in wasted resources, time and increased risk for companies. They negatively impact staff, customers and clients, costing businesses dearly. Yet the majority of UK projects, across manufacturing, service industry and most other sectors, are still allowed collapse or fail to meet expectations.

I’ve led large-scale change projects for over 30 years, specialising in digital and business transformation. In my work at Flowlio, I’ve advised on best practices, highlighting to many businesses’ areas for improvement, to avoid serious problems. It is clear to me that the UK project-management landscape needs serious overhaul.

I have had to intervene numerous times to prevent project failures, in both private and public organisations. In the IT sector alone, 70% of digital transformations fall short of their goals. We have seen major engineering projects, such as HS2, cancelled due to spiralling costs. These are symptoms of widespread problems with PM practices. Some local authorities have fallen into financial crisis due to failed projects, putting more strain on service and the public purse. High-profile entertainment-sector projects [SUCH AS?] have hit challenges, delaying the unveiling of new venues, show cancellations and lost ticket sales. There are many mor examples.

There are several key challenges that project-management sector must overcome.

Insufficient investment in upskilling

One of the most pressing problems is the lack of adequate funding or focus on project-management skills and training. Many UK organisations are yet to develop the internal expertise to handle projects ranging from departmental reorganisations to large-scale construction projects The Public Accounts Committee recently noted that out of 16,000 project professionals required to gain accreditation from the government’s major project leadership academy to allow them to oversee infrastructure projects, only 1,000 have done so.

However, merely attaining an academic certificate is not the answer. Where project management is concerned, theory is no substitute for practical hands-on led training based on real world scenarios, accompanied by a recognised accreditation.

I have seen the consequences of this skills gap many times. Projects often suffer from poor planning, inefficient execution, and inadequate risk management, leading to delays, budget overruns, and sometimes complete failure.

The alternative to staff training is to rely on external project managers to oversee initiatives. But this creates extra cost and can lead to problems when the PM consultant finishes working with a company and leaves staff with limited project knowledge or information on how to deal with day-to-day problems the projects implementation may create. It is also usually far more positive for staff development and morale to upskill them and train from within, rather than turning to temporary, incoming experts.

Inadequate resource allocation

Working across many industry sectors, I have noticed a tendency to underestimate the time and resources required for successful project execution. In 2023, Gartner, estimated that 55% to 75% of ERP projects fail to meet their objectives. This miscalculation frequently leads to premature project abandonment. It is crucial for companies and public bodies to conduct more thorough, realistic assessments of project costs – with spare funds set aside for unforeseen events – and resource requirements. More in-depth feasibility studies and risk assessments are needed, too. Addressing single points of failure and building resilience into projects from the outset is crucial to success.

Poor monitoring and data usage

Lots of organisations fail to compile and leverage ongoing data effectively to make sure projects are progressing properly. All too often, they rely on project managers monitoring work via ad-hoc meetings, conversations, and emails. Asking project teams for real-time updates on a piece of work, via centralised digital-reporting systems, such as Flowlio SaaS, allows managers to see where they may need to intervene to stop small problems becoming major ones. Centralised real-time data reporting also allows senior leaders to quickly see how a project is going, without having to take up too much project-manager time with reports and meetings.

Communication breakdowns

Clear, consistent, and timely communication is vital for aligning all stakeholders and ensuring smooth project execution. Here again, centralised reporting and information systems allow everyone to see what others are doing, at any one time. This gives them a sense of ownership, avoids silos, and prevents one team’s work overlapping with that of another’s or causing project hold ups.

All of those involved with or effected by a project need to be involved in deciding its precise aims and execution methods, from the start. They need to know exactly what their roles are in achieving change and how it benefits the company, its customers and their individual jobs, such as a new IT system making their tasks easier.

Open, transparent communication between all stakeholders from the outset will align expectations, stop money and time being wasted on impractical or unrealised project ambitions, too.

Clumsy implementation

Often projects fail because there has not been enough planning as to how a new piece of technology or way of working developed by a project will fit into business as usual. Projects are sometimes viewed as being imposed on staff, rather than, again, them being involved in how its outcomes can be implemented, day-to-day, from the project outset.

Software solutions that have certain steps that all stakeholders must sign off on, before a project is implemented, can provide a useful check and balance to avoid problems and ensure that the business is ready for change, and has the capacity for it.

Stephen Repton is CEO and founder of Manchester-based Flowlio. It offers project-management training for all staff, from C-suite to junior team members, and an SaaS tool for managing projects from initial idea to implementation into business-as-usual. For more information, visit www.flowlio.co.uk/

Stephen Repton

Categories: Innovation, Leadership, News, Strategy


You Might Also Like
Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
UK Law Firms: More Cyber Security Support is Urgently Needed from MSPs
Legal
19/10/2023UK Law Firms: More Cyber Security Support is Urgently Needed from MSPs

Recent research by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has found UK law firms are increasingly appealing targets for cybercriminals interested in stealing and exploiting client data.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Civil Mediator of the Year – UK
Finance
20/05/2016Civil Mediator of the Year – UK

Greater London and East Anglia mediation LLP (GLEAMED) provides dispute resolution services.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
How to Start Cloud Mining Bitcoin Cash
News
13/06/2022How to Start Cloud Mining Bitcoin Cash

Cloud mining bitcoin is a valuable alternative to traditional mining. It’s an option that’s better suited to small and mid-size investors since it doesn’t require an initial investment in the equipment used for mining. Instead, the process takes place in

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Are You Ready for ESOS?
Legal
17/04/2015Are You Ready for ESOS?

Nearly three quarters of businesses (73%) have not started their mandatory energy audits to comply with the new ESOS legislation by the deadline of 5 December 2015.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
The Changing Face of Shipping
Legal
14/10/2015The Changing Face of Shipping

CDG is an English law firm based in the City of London and provides a range of services to the shipping and oil and gas sectors.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
How to Start Trading Binary Options In 7 Easy Steps
Innovation
04/01/2023How to Start Trading Binary Options In 7 Easy Steps

Many people find binary options trading complicated; the majority don’t even know where to start. Well, this is true if you don’t have the right information and the necessary tools to equip you when betting on these types of investments. Binary trading can

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Handling Industrial Progress and Strategic Mergers
News
06/05/2024Handling Industrial Progress and Strategic Mergers

In an era where rapid change defines the business landscape, the adoption of industrial automation is a critical shift. Industries ranging from automotive to general manufacturing are seeing reshaped production environments due to advanced machinery

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
African Business Awards 2016
Legal
01/07/2016African Business Awards 2016

Kanokanga & Partners, established in 1991, has a reputation for offering high quality legal service. For the firm, clients come first. The firm looks after its clients’ interests as if they were its own. Furthermore, the firm is open, honest and straightforw

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
What lessons has the pandemic taught us about the fluidity of labour in the run up to Brexit?
Innovation
25/11/2020What lessons has the pandemic taught us about the fluidity of labour in the run up to Brexit?

So much time and angst has been spent on the B word since May 2016, much of it around the issue of fluidity of labour across borders. But what this year has shown is that technology and talent refuse to recognise borders: try building a wall in the cloud. So m



Our Trusted Brands

Acquisition International is a flagship brand of AI Global Media. AI Global Media is a B2B enterprise and are committed to creating engaging content allowing businesses to market their services to a larger global audience. We have 14 unique brands, each of which serves a specific industry or region. Each brand covers the latest news in its sector and publishes a digital magazine and newsletter which is read by a global audience.

Arrow