The Importance of Project Management

‘Why is project management important?’ is an interesting question that clients sometimes pose.  They’ll ask: “Can’t we just brief the team doing the work and manage them ourselves? It’ll be loads cheaper.”

They wonder if they really need project management because on paper it looks like an unnecessary tax and overhead as project managers don’t really deliver anything and often get in the way of what they want the team to do!

So if all that’s true, why does project management matter?

The truth is, running projects without good project management is a false economy. It’s often thought to be an unnecessary burden on the budget, and there’s no doubt it can be expensive – as much as 20% of the overall project budget.

But can you afford to not have project management? 

Without it, what holds the team and client together? And without it, who is left to navigate through the ups and downs, clashes, and catastrophes of projects?

Great project management means much more than keeping project management’s iron triangle in check, delivering on time, budget, and project scope; it unites clients and teams, creates a vision for a successful project, and gets everyone on the same page of what’s needed to stay on track for success. When projects are managed properly, there’s a positive impact that reverberates beyond the delivery of ‘the stuff’.

Why Is Project Management Important?

Video from Mc Gill School of Continuing Studies

1. Strategic Alignment

Project management is important because it ensures what is being delivered, is right, and will deliver real value against the business opportunity.

Every client has strategic goals and the projects that we do for them advance those goals. Project management is important because part of a PM’s duties is to ensure there’s rigor in architecting projects properly so that they fit well within the broader context of our client’s strategic frameworks.

Good project management ensures that the goals of projects closely align with the strategic goals of the business.

In identifying a solid business case, and being methodical about calculating ROI, project management is important because it can help to ensure the right thing is delivered, that’s going to deliver real value.

Of course, as projects progress, it is possible that risks may emerge, that turn into issues, or even the business strategy may change. But a project manager will ensure that the project is part of that realignment. Project management really matters here because projects that veer off course, or which fail to adapt to the business needs may end up being expensive and/or unnecessary.

2. Leadership.

Project management is important because it brings leadership and direction to projects.

Without project management, a team can be like a ship without a rudder; moving but without direction, control, or purpose. Leadership allows and enables team members to do their best work. Project management provides leadership and vision, motivation, removing roadblocks, coaching, and inspiring the team to do their best work.

Project managers serve the team but also ensure clear lines of accountability. With a project manager in place, there’s no confusion about who’s in charge and in control of whatever’s going on in a project (especially if you’re using a RACI chart or other similar tools). Project managers enforce processes and keep everyone on the team in line too because ultimately they carry responsibility for whether the project fails or succeeds.

3. Clear Focus & Objectives

Project management is important because it ensures there’s a proper plan for executing on strategic goals.

Where project management is left to the team to work out by themselves, you’ll find teams work without proper briefs and without a defined project management methodology. Projects lack focus, can have vague or nebulous objectives, and leave the team not quite sure what they’re supposed to be doing, or why.

As project managers, we position ourselves to prevent such a situation and drive the timely accomplishment of tasks, by breaking up a project into tasks for our teams.

Oftentimes, the foresight to take such an approach is what differentiates good project management from bad. Breaking up into smaller chunks of work enables teams to remain focused on clear objectives, gear their efforts towards achieving the ultimate project goal through the completion of smaller steps, and quickly identify risks since risk management is important in project management.

Often a project’s goals have to change in line with a materializing risk. Again, without dedicated oversight and management, a project could swiftly falter but good project management (and a good project manager) is what enables the team to focus, and when necessary refocus, on their objectives.

4. Realistic Project Planning

Project management is important because it ensures proper expectations are set around what can be delivered, by when, and for how much.

Without proper project management and a solid project plan, budget estimates and project delivery timelines can be set that are over-ambitious or lacking in analogous estimating insight from similar projects. Ultimately this means without good project management, projects get delivered late, and over budget.

Effective project managers should be able to negotiate reasonable and achievable deadlines and milestones across key stakeholders, teams, and management. Too often, the urgency placed on delivery compromises the necessary steps, and ultimately, the quality of the project’s outcome.

We all know that most tasks will take longer than initially anticipated; a good project manager is able to analyze and balance the available resources, with the required timeline, and develop a realistic schedule. Project management really matters when scheduling because it brings objectivity to the planning.

A good project manager creates a clear process, with achievable deadlines, that enables everyone within the project team to work within reasonable bounds, and not unreasonable expectations.

5. Quality Control

Project management is important because it ensures the quality of whatever is being delivered, consistently hits the mark.

Projects are also usually under enormous pressure to be completed. Without a dedicated project manager, who has the support and buy-in of executive management, tasks are underestimated, schedules tightened and processes rushed. The result is bad quality output because there’s no quality management in place.

Dedicated project management ensures that not only does a project have the time and resources to deliver but also that the output is quality tested at every stage.

Good project management demands gated phases where teams can assess the output for quality, applicability, and ROI. Project management is important to quality because it allows for a staggered and phased process, creating time for teams to examine and test their outputs at every step along the way.

Summary The Importance Of Project Management

Without PM, teams and clients are exposed to chaotic management, unclear objectives, a lack of resources, unrealistic planning, high risk, poor quality project deliverables, projects going over budget and delivered late.

Great project management matters because project managers with great training deliver success.

Project management creates and enables happy, motivated teams who know their work matters, so do their best work. And that project management enabled team ensures the right stuff is delivered; stuff that delivers real return on investment, and that makes happy clients

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What Do You Think?

Do you agree with this list of why project management is important? Are there any other reasons that should be included? I would love to hear what you think!