6 red flags that show your team needs a PPM solution

We looked at our customer cases and identified six recurring issues in several of them that have a negative impact on the entire organization. These problems appear in companies from different industries, such as the energy sector, professional services companies, the construction industry, utilities and transportation. Despite their huge differences, companies from all these branches have one commonality: they manage multiple internal or external projects simultaneously.   

One of the following issues alone can do severe damage to a company. The good news is that all of them can be solved with our solution proMX 365 Project Portfolio Management, short proMX 365 PPM.  

If you notice some of these red flags in your company, it is time to act. Have a look and be honest with yourself! 

Missing deadlines and delaying progress

Missed deadlines are embarrassing and often hard to explain to the client. More than that, they trigger an avalanche of delays because your team is unable to start the next project in the pipeline on time.

In the worst case, this is dragged out for weeks or months and affects multiple projects. The reasons why projects take longer than planned are manifold and can be traced back to different situations. 

Challenges for project managers: poor portfolio overview 

Imagine business is going well and orders are pouring in. Great! But without a proper planning tool project managers may soon lose the overview of what is most urgent. That leads to poor prioritization of projects or tasks and finally missed deadlines. 

How can project managers delegate effectively if they do not know what there is to do and who is available to do it? The answer is as simple as it is frustrating: They cannot. Firstly, they do not know which team members are the best fit for the jobs at hand and secondly, dependencies of different to-dos are unclear.  

This becomes even more complicated when third parties, like vendors, external partners or service providers are involved. While a project manager can relatively quickly assign another internal team member to a project, third parties often need to be contracted weeks if not months in advance.  

Challenges for team members: mismatched contribution of tasks 

The managers’ decisions are reflected in what team members do – or do not do. If an employee is assigned a task that does not match their skills very well, they take longer than planned. The same applies when employees do not receive clear assignments and need to figure out what to do in which order on their own.  

If, on top of that, materials or third-party resources necessary for a job are missing, because they were ordered too late, the project team is unable to proceed altogether.  

A last time-consuming factor worth mentioning is manual time tracking and documentation. 

How proMX 365 PPM helps to meet deadlines 

proMX 365 Project Portfolio Management was developed to tackle all obstacles that hinder smooth workflows. Proactive scenario planning and scheduling tools enable project managers to create flawless project outlines.

Exceeding budgets

Every company needs to be profitable to survive and grow. That cannot happen when budgets are constantly overrun and consequently revenue is lost.

Challenges for project managers: insufficient insights 

We identified two basic scenarios on the side of management that lead to higher expenditures than expected: The first one – again – is an insufficient overview; this time of budgets. In the second scenario, unforeseen costs appear that ruin the financial plan. Maybe material prices went up, an additional external expert is needed to carry out the project or any other sudden cost factor emerges. 

Or the project manager orders way more material than needed. The vendor does not take them back so they must be paid to lay around until – hopefully – they will be useful for a future project.  

Something similar can happen with internal resources: Too many team members are booked on a project. Obviously, they get their salary no matter whether they are working at full capacity or not. 

Challenges for team members: idle time 

Admittedly, it is not their fault if a worker is assigned to a project team for which they are not of much value because enough skillful colleagues are already working their best. While sitting around and drinking coffee for a couple of days might sound nice to some employees, it is bad for the company financials.  

How proMX 365 PPM solves budget issues  

The solution gives you real-time insights to avoid cost overruns, plus, it helps to plan what costs are likely to come up during the project execution. 

Losing track and lacking a clear overview

Limited insights into project performance impairs smart decision making.

Sometimes it is necessary to not only map out the project in advance, but to decide along the way or even change the strategy when you see the current course heads into a dead end. Without a solid knowledge of the current status, you can hardly do so.  

Furthermore, your customers, be it individuals or business clients, want to be kept in the loop of their project progress, too. Customers need to be sure their project is in good hands. That impression vanishes quickly when project managers are unable to provide updates of projects or cannot answer specific questions. 

How proMX 365 PPM helps to have full visibility 

Timelines, budgets, resource and material needs – have it all in one customized screen. 

Disengaged employees and low team morale

The reasons why employees are unhappy are varied and highly individual. But there are two fairly common problems that can be fixed easily with proMX 365 PPM: Overbooking and underutilization.

Both extremes can have a negative influence on the team’s mood. On the one hand, an overload of work stresses workers. In the worst case, this stress can cause burnout or other stress-induced illnesses. On the other hand, employees that have nothing or not enough to do might start to feel useless and less valuable to the organization. Which then again degrades their performance on the tasks they are assigned to do.  

Equally important of the amount of work is that the jobs at hand match the resources’ skills. 

How proMX 365 PPM helps to avoid resource bottlenecks 

Allocating your team members perfectly is a lot easier with proMX 365 PPM. It not only shows you the resources’ availabilities but also their skills.

Unexpected issues due to ignored risks

Surprises are seldom pleasant in a business context. Managers need to know what to expect to deal with any situation.

Not every problem can be anticipated and avoided, but proMX 365 PPM helps to keep unpleasant surprises to a minimum by addressing issues before they turn into major disruptions.

Challenges for managers: unexpected incidents  

Accepted work orders, which do not align with the company’s overall objectives and values may pose problems: Maybe it is too small or too big to be profitable; maybe it is out of the company’s skill range; or it does not contribute to ROI (Return on Investment).  

There are many more things that can go wrong, for example: 

• Wrong material orders 

• Shortage of materials  

• Mismatched resource allocation  

• Avoidable waiting periods between subtasks 

Challenges for team members: too little project knowledge 

Everyone makes mistakes. It is only human. But the more each team member knows about the project, their task and their team, the more confident and project-focused they can work.  

How proMX 365 PPM helps navigate the unknown 

Unfortunately, proMX 365 PPM cannot do magic when workers are absent for longer due to illness, or similar uncontrollable happenings. Still, the solution prepares your organization as well as possible to recognize potential issues early and solve them quickly.  

Chaotic workflows and inefficient processes

Structure and order are important for a business to run smoothly. It is tedious and time-consuming to jump between applications to gather or share information or collaborate with colleagues on ideas and plans. 

Over the years, most companies have deployed various tools. They all served their purposes for their users once or maybe they still do. Most of them are likely not connected though. If, for example, the finance department needs some information about a customer, they need to ask project management to provide it.  

It is not only about difficult data access either, communication and collaboration are aggravated due to disconnected applications. Data silos and disconnection create chaos and slow down progress. 

Often managers hesitate to implement a new solution because they fear weary data migration and the extra amount of work that comes with introducing a new tool to employees. 

Team members may have their reservations too: Will the new tool steal my job? Will I learn to use it quickly? 

How proMX 365 PPM ensures smooth workflows 

We don’t just hand you our proMX 365 Project Portfolio Management solution, but make sure you and your team get the support you need to get going with it. 

It is time to act 

The signs you need a PPM solution are manifold and can be found in all areas of an organization. On closer inspection you notice that it mainly comes down to a lack of overview and insights that a simple spread sheet won’t fix. 

Our tip: don’t ignore your red flags, they won’t magically dissolve into thin air! Instead, take a deep breath, be brave and reach out to us. In a free meeting – no strings attached – we will discuss how proMX 365 PPM can make your life and that of your team easier.