Running a business can be broken down into a series of projects that need to be completed effectively. When those projects produce great results, the business as a whole produces great results. Those results can be everything from satisfied customers and happy employees to rapid expansions and growth.
There is no doubt that good project management is highly beneficial in a business environment. Every department in the company has projects to run, and those projects include tasks to complete. Having a good system to manage projects is a must, especially since good project management brings a lot of benefits for the company.
High Customer Satisfaction
One of the primary benefits of meticulous project management is high customer satisfaction. If you run a startup that produces its own app and delivers solutions to customers, faster release of updates and new features will certainly keep customers happy. Faster resolution of bugs and errors is good too.
The Kanban project management methodology, combined with the Agile approach and CI/CD as a strategy for development, is one of the best methods to use. In fact, the Kanban method is suitable for virtually every project in the business, especially since you can now customize how the method is implemented down to the very last detail.
High Employee Engagement
Sticking with the Kanban method, you can also increase employee engagement through better project management using Kanban boards. The visual nature of Kanban boards is what really shines here. All team members can monitor the progress of the project and the tasks related to it, which means they can be more proactive.
Rather than waiting for new tasks to be assigned, employees can take the initiative for the benefit of the project (and the company). Employees struggling with a lot of tasks in hand can also benefit from the help of their peers, allowing for better distribution of workloads.
Better Workload Management
Speaking of distribution of workloads, project managers also benefit from the visual nature of Kanban boards. It is much easier to see the flow of a project when each task is represented by a visual card and those thinking of using these may want to look at this to help them. Since Kanban cards can also be customized using colors and tags, the whole visual approach can be more effective.
High-priority tasks will appear differently than low-priority ones. Team members handling the tasks at hand are also much more visible. As a result, project managers can assign tasks in a more effective and efficient way. They can maximize the capacity of their teams and push for better results faster.
Accurate Forecasting
Kanbanize, a comprehensive suite of digital Kanban board tools, offers in-depth analyses of tasks and projects. The insights generated by the analytics tools are valuable for multiple reasons, including for better future project management through forecasting. The simulation method is known as a lean project Monte Carlo simulation.
A lean project Monte Carlo uses metrics such as past performance and other details to predict the amount of time needed to complete a predetermined number of tasks. The simulation allows for continuous improvement since managers can offer sufficient challenges to the team while maintaining a reasonable deadline.
Improved Efficiency
Of course, good project management also improves efficiency, particularly in a financial way. Every cost in a business is crucial; it affects the bottom line one way or another. Higher cost efficiency means you are operating at capacity while minimizing unnecessary costs and keeping the whole operation efficient.
The Kanban board may not be designed to specifically manage project costs, but that doesn’t mean it cannot be used to improve efficiency. At the very least, you can maximize time efficiency with every project. Saving time means saving money, doesn’t it?
Faster and More Sustainable Growth
One key advantage of good project management through the Kanban methodology is sustainable growth. Every bottleneck and potential issue are seen as opportunities; more specifically, they are seen as opportunities to improve the company’s processes and workflows. This was the reason why Toyota implemented the Kanban approach years ago.
The ability to refine workflows is how you achieve higher sustainability. As each project gets managed meticulously, the company gains the ability to improve continuously and operate at a staggering level of efficiency. Faster and sustainable growth is inevitable when projects and workflows run smoothly.
Effective People Development
Let’s not forget that there are benefits to team members involved in projects too. Refining workflows and solving problems aren’t just good for the company, but also good for the team members involved in the process. In fact, analyzing bottlenecks often lead to the formulation of effective employee development programs.
When the bottleneck is caused by an employee spending too much time to perform a specific task, providing that employee with training on how to complete the task better and faster can really help change the landscape. It won’t be long before you start identifying other ways to develop your best business assets: the people.
Agility = Better Market Flexibility
In a market as competitive as it is today, being agile and flexible is exactly the kind of competitive advantage you need to succeed. With good project management in place, you can adapt to market changes and respond to customers’ demands faster. More importantly, you can react to external challenges with incredible accuracy.
The Kanban approach, for instance, lets you strategize better. Analytics tools and the different analyses that you can now do certainly make forecasting (and preparing for) future projects easier.
Better Business Decisions
These analyses lead to one inevitable outcome: better, more data-driven business decisions. This is the ultimate benefit of managing projects – processes – within the company using a capable approach like the Kanban method. Combined with the wealth of tools and insights you can gather, every business decision you make will be the best one in the situation.
When it is time to expand the company, for example, you can choose between recruiting more employees or adding more machinery based on bottlenecks seen on the Kanban board. This way, you invest in the right thing and at the right time, every time.
These nine benefits of good project management aren’t to be missed if you want to stay competitive in a fierce market. Through the implementation of good project management and the use of solutions like Kanbanize, you can take your business to the next level.