20 May 2021
Being able to manage projects effectively is a key skill in many businesses. Whether it’s facilitating a capital expansion project or managing customer facing service delivery projects, having the correct skills and tools at hand can make the difference between successfully completing a project and not.
“I have found that there is a clear gap in the knowledge and tools employed in large project focussed enterprises as compared to project focussed SMEs.“
Large enterprises have the resources at their disposal to hire diverse project management teams and roll out enterprise level software to aid in the management of their projects. Owners of SMEs must make the most of the resources at their disposal whilst juggling many facets of their business at once. If the growth of the business is dependent on the ability to manage projects efficiently, then a point will be reached where ‘winging it’ will no longer be sufficient and proper tools and processes will need to be put in place.
Finding the right project management tool, and having the ability to implement it according to best practice, can be a tricky business when the budget is limited and because the variety of options is so vast. Additionally, there is no one size fits all solution.
After evaluating many of the popular small business project management tools available, it became apparent to me that many are built up as an advanced task management tools and that very few contain the features required to manage a project according to tried and tested project management principles. This makes sense as most small business users would start with basic task management apps and progress from there. Coming from a ‘mega’ project background, I was rather looking for a tool that could successfully take the key principles of project management and incorporate the related key features of enterprise level software into a simplified and more cost-effective solution for the SME market. This proved harder than expected in the SME suitable price range, but a few suppliers did stand out above the rest (I’ll include more details on these in my next post, including the criteria I used to compare the different tools).
In summary, I have found that there is a clear gap in the knowledge and tools employed in large project focussed enterprises as compared to project focussed SMEs. This doesn’t have to be the case. SMEs can benefit from improved project efficiency and profitability by closing this gap. To this end, when deciding on a tool and method to use in managing their projects, I would recommend SME owners employ the expertise of an experienced professional to guide them. This would help in educating their team in the best project management practices to adopt, as well as guiding them in implementing the best system for their particular circumstances. This would be well worth the cost involved given the project efficiencies and profitability that should be gained.
Jason Gordon, Chartered Accountant and owner of Grow Business Management
Grow Business Management 