How to Overcome Six Challenges in Project Management

In large organizations, projects come in many shapes and sizes. Small projects are much more common, but they tend to get overlooked because they don’t attract the resources and internal promotion and level or buy-in like larger projects do. However, that’s not to say they don’t come with their own set of challenges and the potential for innovation and professional development. Here are the most common challenges project managers face when heading small projects.

1. Irreplaceable Team Members

With smaller projects come smaller teams. This requires each member to fulfil multiple roles that sit outside their area of expertise. By donning many hats, individual project team members can quickly become irreplaceable should they be taken ill or need to take time off work. The effect is inevitable scope creep, as timelines slip and team members struggle to adapt.

Although absenteeism and employee multi-skilling on small projects are forces outside of your direct control, there are means of mitigating their worst effects. For small teams, it’s important to rely on contingency planning and risk prevention tactics. Multi-skilled teams that have the ability to delegate and step in for other members is also an absolute must on smaller projects. Planning and risk management must also take into account the effect of a team member being absent and appropriate breathing room should be factored in for other members to get up to speed before picking up the slack.

2. Lack of Specialized Knowledge

Smaller project teams mean a wider set of skills need to be applied by each team member to carry out the work and bring the project to fruition. On occasion, a lack of specialized knowledge can pose a serious problem. There is only so far overlapping roles and teamwork will get you when intimate specialist knowledge is lacking.

There are two ways to deal with this problem. You can recruit a highly specialized project team, but this is not a practical solution and may leave skills shortages elsewhere in the business. The other, more practical solution is outsourcing specific tasks to a technical specialist. Although hiring outside help isn’t ideal and presents its own challenges, it does offer the opportunity for pairing project team members up in order to develop their own skillset.

3. More Accountability

With greater accountability comes greater risk. PMs running smaller projects do have more autonomy over the overall direction of that project and while this can be seen as an advantage it also puts a lot of pressure on them.

Greater accountability can expose strengths as much as it can weaknesses in project managers. Prep before project launch. This means getting a full understanding of what’s involved, the area of the business you’ll be operating in, and an understanding of where your own lack of knowledge lies in order to identify areas you can educate yourself in.

4. Increased Workload

PMs overseeing smaller projects are still accountable for the direction and successful execution of the project on time and on budget, but the nature of small projects means they will likely have an increased administrative workload too. Checking timesheets and filling out progress reports may not represent the best use of your project manager’s time, but they are tasks that need to be done nonetheless.

PMs need to be as honest and realistic in their assessment of timescales and workloads involved as possible, given the size and makeup of their team. If they feel that additional help will be needed at any stage, ask for help. The more rounded the skillset and knowledge base of your project team, the more flexible and adaptable you can be, as tasks can be shared or reassigned if necessary.

5. Less Attention

Smaller projects tend to get less attention from senior management as they are often not seen as critical assignments. While the lack of attention from senior management may facilitate more autonomy from a project manager, it is crucial to have senior buy in and an engaged sponsor to see any project through to its conclusion. Address the engagement issue from the outset. Make sure that an appropriate senior sponsor has bought into the project and will give your project the support and attention it needs throughout the project cycle when it needs it.

6. Fewer Resources

Smaller projects tend to get tiny budgets which means having fewer resources. There is even the chance your own project members may be requisitioned temporarily if a larger project requires their skillset. All of this can cause project creep and can cause your team to feel undervalued, seriously impacting morale.

Working on less illustrious projects within an organization can be frustrating for some employees, especially those looking for recognition. Project managers must step in as leaders, being good motivators, and team players. Creating a well-functioning small project management team means developing interpersonal relationships built on trust and comradery and it’s the PM that needs to facilitate this and champion the project to team members, as well as senior management.

David Baker has worked within the training industry for many years with Prince2 Training. Working on courses such as PRINCE2, ITIL, PMP, Agile, Scrum, Lean Six Sigma. Prince2 Training delivers world-class accredited training solutions to thousands of organisations and individuals throughout the world. You can connect with Prince 2 Training on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Deborah Sweeney

Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With extensive experience in the field of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah provides insightful commentary on the benefits of incorporation and trademark registration.

Education: Deborah received her Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Pepperdine University, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in corporate and intellectual property law.

Experience: After becoming a partner at LA-based law firm, Michel & Robinson, she became an in-house attorney for MyCorporation, formerly a division in Intuit. She took the company private in 2009 and after 10 years of entrepreneurship sold the company to Deluxe Corporation. Deborah is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with some of the top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites including Forbes, Business Insider, SCORE, and Fox Business, among others.

Fun facts/Other pursuits: Originally from Southern California, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin and Christopher, and practicing Pilates. Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Deborah, and MyCorporation, have previously been honored by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s List of the Valley’s Largest Women-Owned Businesses in 2012. MyCorporation received the Stevie Award for Best Women-Owned Business in 2011.

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View Comments

Nadine Rochester says:

6 years ago at 1:49 AM

Strong guidance for all key aspects of project management. One team member performing below par can be critical whether at the senior management or administrative level. All team members need to be aware of their obligation and sign up to the task with sincere determination.