Challenges often faced by client project management

Client projects are projects completed on behalf of customers , The results or deliverables are for external customers . The client project manager acts as an intermediary between the client and the project team , The responsibility is to ensure that customer needs are met , At the same time, ensure that the project is moving in the right direction . The customer project team can bring the project conversation back to how it will affect the business or whether it meets the set objectives of the project , This will win respect for their customers . The following are the project management challenges that customer project teams often face ：

1. Avoid the scope spread of specific customers  

Scope creep is what keeps client project managers awake at night . This is a continuing threat , Somehow hidden in every corner . When project requirements change halfway , The complexity of project deliverables will increase , And beyond the initial agreement with the customer . Scope spread often occurs , And it happens more often , It happens to the most kind team members . They see the problems of the plan and want to solve them . perhaps , As the head of the agency , You want to know why something doesn't have a specific function , Or make a final change due to the recent requirements of the head of the company or organization . So the scope spread happens again . As the owner or head of the organization , You can see the scope spread from two perspectives ： As a victim or as an agitator .
 
Common reasons for this ：

The spread of scope sometimes feels inevitable , But go a little deeper , There is usually an avoidable reason . These sound familiar ？

- Poor project planning , For example, vague or ambiguous scope , May lead to scope spread
- Stakeholders sometimes add new requirements after the timetable is approved and set
- Stakeholders failed to provide the necessary information at the project planning stage （ Or the project manager fails to collect enough information ）
- Sometimes , The project is too lengthy and complex , The spread of... Cannot be avoided , It's best to break it down into smaller activities

Ways to overcome this challenge ：

8Manage PPM Provide requirements management and change management functions , Let you control the scope of the project and deal with changes and impacts in real time . The best way to deal with changes is not just to suppress them . For high priority changes , Use 8Manage PPM Change impact information provided , Including time and cost , To make a trade-off . Many project scope issues stem from （i） Lack of previous research and （ii） The software used by the project team cannot provide impact information in real time . The end result is that the user group feels that the project manager has been saying no , The project manager feels that the user group has many requirements .

2. Create and maintain process documents

Although the project scope outlines what the project should and should not do , But the process document lists how the work should be done . Excellent process documentation allows new team members to get started quickly , This is especially useful when someone on the team leaves and must join others . It also helps to measure whether the team does everything according to the process . When disputes arise , The team needs to look through the processing documents to find the answer .

Common reasons for this ：

- There is no way to properly add details to client files that can be easily accessed and centrally managed by all team members
- There is no proper process to create and update this material , Or no responsible party
- No one has defined and documented a given process well enough
- Those in project management roles are busy tracking repetitive tasks , Unable to focus on more complex things such as process documents

Ways to overcome this challenge ：

8Manage PM Allows you to plan all project deliverables , Including the above documents , Set aside a fixed amount of time for the team to process documents .8Manage PM The deliverables include automatic time control mechanism and review and acceptance process , It even includes quality indicators and KPI Measure .8Manage PM Electronic document library subsystem is also provided , Some complex documents need to be created by multiple people , Or you need to keep multiple versions , At this time, the electronic document library subsystem can provide relevant functions .

3. Manage customer expectations

Every business decision gives priority to cost 、 Quality and time , But not every customer understands this . Even if the customer is excellent , Managing their expectations is also a challenge .

Common reasons for this ：

- Failure to communicate reality with customers in advance （ Time frame 、 Ability 、 Limit ）
- Customers change their expectations after agreeing to the scope of the project （ The scope of another version spread ）
- The customer wants more control than you are prepared to give

Ways to overcome this challenge ：

Most problems related to customer expectations boil down to proactive communication . although 8Manage PM It can't solve the problem of communication between all people for you , But it can help you communicate systematically , Confirm demand , And effectively manage the change and impact of requirements . adopt 8Manage PM Deliverables , You can ( As we mentioned earlier ) Create and maintain process documents , Make sure everyone knows the exact task 、 Deadlines and requirements . Creating written records and correctly recording who is asking for what in the project is critical to maintaining transparent customer relationships .

4. Provide sufficient project visibility to all stakeholders

Stakeholders seem to have no vision of what the project involves . Sometimes , It's really the fault of stakeholders , But it usually boils down to project visibility .

If stakeholders don't see what's involved clearly , They can't make the best decision .

Common reasons for this ：

- Insufficient tools for presenting and visualizing projects （ Whether in project planning 、 Update meetings or something else ）
- The project manager is unclear when providing oral or written updates
- The data is in a format that some stakeholders do not understand （ For example, the Gantt Chart ） Or based on project management methods （ For example, agile project management ） present

Ways to overcome this challenge ：

In addition to improving communication skills , Use 8Manage PM It can also turn stakeholders from alienated to active through better project visibility . 8Manage PM It allows you to invite as many customers as possible to use the system , In order to work together better . Worry about specific customers damaging your project workflow through this access ？ Set customer access and keep your team focused ！

5. Consistently manage and meet customer deadlines

The project manager has a frustrating job ： They must convince the team to complete the task on time and prioritize the work , But the project manager may not have all the executive power . If you are the owner or head of the organization , So you have an advantage in this area , Because you do have executive power . For all that , You still can't tell exactly which software engineer is developing faster . It's a real challenge .

Common reasons for missing deadlines ：

Team members are not prioritizing tasks correctly , The project schedule contains unrealistic workload , Agencies over commit and take on more work than they actually do , Inefficient workflow .

Ways to overcome this challenge ：

The solution here depends on why your team is not consistently on time . Use 8Manage PM Better prioritization 、 Project planning 、 Staffing and learning .

6. Ensure good team communication with customers

We have advised managers to communicate , But it's not just that . Your team also needs to establish good internal and external communication between members and customers . Changing others is always more difficult than changing yourself , Many professional project managers have been trying to create an effective communication culture in their team .

Common reasons for this ：

Poor communication skills of team members , Poor communication that damages team relations , The working environment is not conducive to team building , Unrealistic customer deadlines or stakeholder dysfunction are undermining morale .

Ways to overcome this challenge ：

You can take some small steps to improve your team's relationship and morale , For example, set aside time at the beginning of the meeting to break the deadlock and unstructured dialogue . You can also use it 8Manage PM Designed project management communication plan , Make it easy for team members to view 、 Visit or comment on tasks or subtasks , Avoid email black holes for project details , And make sure your team can improve customer communication and work more effectively across departments .

When you look for the right software tools for your company , Please consider using 8Manage PM To meet your customer's project management needs .8Manage PM It can help enterprises solve customer project management challenges of any complexity and scale .