Hosted project management software has certainly grown to be a popular option for modern businesses to centralize tasks, instill accountability and automate workflows. By eliminating silos and maintaining a single, unified platform for all processes involved in any project, project management software products are therefore highly coveted, and are here to stay, no doubt.
A combination of project management, project change request handling and billing software further leverages the efficiency of business processes, since all-in-one applications of this nature require little to no integration of third-party tools. When buying project management software, for example, integrations with other external applications (especially ERP systems) are common to encounter among vendors.
However, no matter which project management software company and its project change request products you choose, your business needs to be able to achieve its unique project change request end goals. Whether you’re a business owner or department manager, ensuring this is a key responsibility - especially as you compare project change request tools when trying to purchase a new system or upgrade an existing one.
While there are many ways to lead your team with project management software efficiently, this article focuses on how you can ensure profitability through your project change request system.
There is No Such Thing as Too Little Information
Whether it’s a preliminary business plan or an unexpected project change request crisis, taking action without having all the facts at hand is a risky encounter, and can magnify troubles, to begin with. Always aim to gather as much project change request information as possible for any task before deciding on successive steps. No matter how small or insignificant your project change request concern may seem, having all the facts at hand can make all the difference between a mindful decision, and a disastrous project change request.
What’s more, sufficient data (especially big data) can enable your team to create professional Gantt charts or dashboards to obtain a bird's eye view of pending project change request tasks, particularly if activities need to be mapped against timeframes. With every day, hour, and minute essential in the face of client budgets, business intelligence tools of this nature can offer valuable insights into how many tasks can be accomplished in the wake of a regular cadence of revenue.
Of course, not all project change request tasks can afford your team plenty of time. For items that are running on a time crunch, gather as much data as possible, and think about the potential pitfalls that certain project change request decisions may bring in the absence of a complete picture.
Analyze whether fallback options can be arranged to manage any future project change request problems, and make sure all relevant parties are informed of all circumstances, clearly and transparently.
Assess Project Change Requests Extensively, to Prevent Scope Creep
There is a reason why project change request management is a component within overarching project management; with a significant portion of project change requests entering unexpectedly into delivery pipelines, teams are frequently left scrambling to meet deadlines amid severe bottlenecks in such situations. Carefully understanding every project change request which comes in is crucial, as this helps determine whether catering to it is a worthwhile (and therefore profitable) endeavor in the first place.
Upon careful consideration (again, with all the facts at hand), if your team identifies no value in initiating a project change request to an otherwise predetermined project pipeline, feel free to communicate this to your client to preferably discuss alternative options for their project change request which warranted the project change request in the first place.
For software development that is being undertaken based on Agile project management methodologies, a constant dialogue of possible project change requests/improvements is always encouraged. However, ultimately deciding whether the project change request should indeed be implemented or not depends on careful analysis of whether the pros outweigh the cons, especially when it comes to the client meeting their end project change request objectives.
It's Okay to Start Small
Pilot projects are generally given the leeway to start small, and expand as they go - provided they prove to be successful during the initial stage. Although brand new project change requests in their infancy are afforded this advantage, this can seldom be said for project change requests that are tried and tested to success before. As clients and project owners alike push for feature-rich applications and complex implementations, it’s wise to take a step back and focus on executing the most essential of tasks/objectives, via the first deployment project change requests.
This way, only the most necessary items will make it to the first cut of the final deliverable. This will not only save you and your client money but will also speed up time to market, especially in a fiercely competitive marketplace where handling customers can be tricky. With consumer preferences constantly changing, this project change request feedback can be used to layer on top of what is already up and running.
As a result, your project change request will only capitalize its budgets on activities/functionalities that customers and employees genuinely find useful, and reduce wastage in the process.
Centralize Collaboration, to Maintain Transparency
With so many moving parts even in the simplest and smallest of projects, it is imperative to centralize all communication and collaboration amongst teams. This is one of the hallmark characteristics of modern project change request management software, along with supplementary applications such as video conferencing software that can be conveniently integrated to initiate virtual meetings without ever having to leave the platform.
Workboards and planners that consolidate every single task that each team member has been assigned offer managers a complete picture of operations from a glance or two. Version control is another useful feature that creates great transparency among teams, as the same document can be iterated by multiple members at the same time - without ever having to worry about duplication.
For customer service teams, integrating CRM systems to understand customers better and deploy unified communications can maximize the flow of crucial data across the organization, so every department leader has better context on how to carry out their duties, and about the project change request objectives which other departments need to meet
