We are writing this article for Consultancies and for Project Managers that are exposed to the challenges of juggling several projects simultaneously. Modern technology has proven to be a massive help to better project management, however, often companies either choose the wrong tools or don’t know how to utilise them. Our aim is to deliver clarity on these two aspects and guide you towards making better business decisions through software automation.
Anyone who’s ever worked on multiple projects knows the drill: a never-ending yet constantly growing to-do list, attention distribution across multiple clients and their needs, pains of switching gears as you jump between the projects and many, many more. Top it up with additional admin work such as spreadsheet maintenance and you have a perfect nightmare.
The key difficulty of running several projects at once is staying on top of them all. It’s extremely easy to get overwhelmed unless you have a holistic overview of all that’s happening and have the capacity to easily adapt to changes. From resource shuffling to reporting, living in a multi-project limbo can cause more than just a headache - burnouts that affect productivity and lead to errors are frequent consequences of heavy-duty multitasking. But not if you embrace the powers of software automation.
Adopting the Right Software
The first challenge to overcome is understanding that not all software is created equal. Although the majority of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions offer a degree of automation, in the world today basic functionality is no longer enough.
On the other hand, in a market as saturated as SaaS, you will run into the opposite of this problem; a range of software so broad you get overwhelmed with all the different features available. There is no correct answer as to what key functions you should prioritise for they should address your specific business needs, but there are two areas you should pay extra attention to.
Integrations for Advanced Automation
Unless you’re only starting out, you already have some software your business uses. When shopping for a new system, always keep your existing toolset in mind and research whether it can be integrated with a new solution. The reason is simple; while each piece of your owned software may have automation functions, linking them together through integrations expands the capacity of said functions.
For example, by integrating an employee expense management system with a payroll system, you will have expenses added to client invoices automatically, without having to key them in manually. This is just one of many examples of integrations potentially speeding up your processes; the possibilities are virtually endless as they depend on the capacities of each system individually as well as where their integration touchpoints are.
Centralisation of Project-Related Documents
Managing one project takes a lot of organisation skills, and it’s therefore natural that when running multiple the skill becomes absolutely crucial. The easiest way of staying on top of all project-related documentation is by relying on cloud-based storage. Most SaaS solutions offer this function, and therefore if they don’t - the solution is a bad investment.
First of all, centralisation and storage of data make it easier to collect and browse through relevant documents when needed. Secondly, cloud solutions are known for their accessibility - they mostly operate through an internet browser. With smartphones being part of our daily lives, many now offer mobile apps too. Finally, having a centralised document storage system makes it easy to spot any gaps in documentation as well as allows you to keep it up to date.
Managing Multiple Projects with Ease
The truth is that while multi-managing projects is a difficult task that poses a challenge even to the most organised and seasoned project managers. At the end of the day, we are only human. But this is precisely why software automation has been created - so the human brain would focus on areas where its judgement is necessary while entrusting technology with manual labour.
Striking the balance between the two and distributing the workload between the man and the machine wisely is what simplifies the simultaneous management of several projects, additionally reducing the risk of human error.
Automation of Workflows
When you add software automation to your workflows, you aim to improve the speed, accuracy and efficiency of your processes. As described above, this is done by reducing the amount of manual work and allocating your workforce to tasks that require human judgement.
Automated project workflows not only grant an increase in performance but also visibility. Having a centralised system outlining processes step-by-step allows the project manager to quickly identify problem areas and address them accordingly. For example, a workflow that is made of project management software that’s integrated with time tracking software can show you which employee is taking too long in completing their tasks. Additionally, it can present a report highlighting workers that have failed to deliver within the workflow frame.
Analytics, Forecasts and Resource Allocation
Since we have touched on reporting, let’s continue with it. SaaS platforms are notorious for their quick and detailed reports that, depending on the software, can be customised to meet the specific needs of the user. This is another area that gets enhanced by integrations, as when put in a context, data from different solutions can lead to identifying new patterns or potential threats.
By having in-depth visibility on various aspects of the project that would otherwise be overlooked or take a very long time to research, you’re put in a position to make better decisions, quicker. This is especially handy when it comes to resource allocation; it leaves no room for educated guesses and instead allows you to make very precise, data-driven judgements. Also, analytics data is available within seconds, making it easy to obtain deep insights for multiple projects at the same time.
Internal Communication
Finally, project management in general heavily relies on internal communication. However, it can become difficult and inefficient when you’re constantly jumping back and forth between the project. Simply put, depending on your progress with one project, you may find yourself neglecting the communication within another, which then leads to delays and dissatisfied clients.
Software automation addresses this issue as well. We want to talk about a specific function that our software offers.
Streamlined Timesheet Approval Process
Timesheet approval processes can be straightforward with just one stage of it; or they can be very complex, involving the input of multiple people and deep dives into specific sections. Either way, they can take time for various reasons. These range from comparing submitted timesheets against deliverables to the approver accidentally deleting the email.
Our Project edition offers automation of a timesheet approval process. It allows you to perform approvals against the whole timesheet, break it up per project or even by task - all with equal ease. The approval process history is also stored on the platform and can be attached to the client invoice. In the event of an approval-related error, it also makes it easy to track down who issued and approval and when.
Summary
While managing multiple projects simultaneously is a difficult task that poses many challenges, it doesn’t have to be. Software automation, especially when enhanced with integrations, opens the door to streamlining many processes and enables a holistic overview of the workflows.
Automating tasks within the project management doesn’t just speed things up and minimise human error, but it also delivers deeper and more detailed insights that become the cornerstone of success-driven decisions.
It sounds too good to be true and you want to see it in action? Book a demo and we’ll be happy to show you.
