Why is progress management important in projects?

Project management involves various tasks such as planning and assigning human resources, and progress management is one of the most important tasks. Let us explain why progress management is important in the progress of a project from three perspectives.

(1) Prevent delays in delivery dates

The primary purpose of progress management is to prevent delays in delivery. Projects do not always progress as planned, and various problems and issues can arise that affect the delivery date.

By frequently checking to see if work is progressing as planned, delays in delivery can be prevented.

(2) Identify problems at an early stage and correct the course of the project

When delays occur in the progress of a project, it is essential for the leader/manager to identify problems and issues in the project as early as possible in order to make quick course corrections. However, if progress management is not carried out at the appropriate time, members will delay reporting to the leader/manager, making it difficult to recover from the delay.

If progress is managed frequently, problems and issues that arise during the course of a project can be identified at an early stage.

Not only can you catch up on work, but you can also minimize the impact of missed deadlines on your customers and suppliers.

(3) Effective use of resources

In the course of a project, work progress may vary from team to team and from person to person. For example, one team may complete work ahead of schedule, while another team may be behind schedule. In such a case, if the progress is managed frequently, the person in charge of the completed work can be sent to the team that is behind schedule to provide support.

This will not only optimize the overall project schedule, but also lead to effective use of resources.

Tips for effective progress management

In this section, we will explain the basic points to keep in mind when managing the progress of a project, as well as tips on how to recover from delays in actual progress.

(1) Visualize work processes and procedures

In a project, there are various processes and work processes, and the leader or manager in charge of progress management must understand each of these processes. This is because without an understanding of these processes, it is difficult to accurately manage the progress of a project because it is impossible to grasp the extent to which delays in progress will affect the project.

What is important, therefore, is to visualize the work process and processes. For example, the system design phase includes defining requirements and making estimates, the development phase includes coding and testing, and the implementation phase includes creating procedure manuals and system migration. Depending on the scale of the project, these tasks can be further subdivided to get an overall picture.

(2) Accurately identify gaps between plans and current status

Progress management does not end with hearing reports from project members; it is important to accurately grasp the extent to which gaps have occurred. The more frequently progress is managed, the easier it will be to close the gaps, but there may be a concern that too many reports will increase the burden on project members.

Therefore, it is effective to ask project members to report as needed when there is likely to be a delay in progress. However, some project members may think that they are responsible for delays and try to make up for them on their own. In other cases, they may feel uncomfortable reporting to the leader or manager.

To avoid such a situation, it is important for leaders and managers to communicate proactively with project members and create an atmosphere in which they can feel free to discuss even trivial matters.

③Take measures for recovery

If there is a delay in progress, it is necessary to recover as soon as possible to minimize the impact. We will also calculate the number of personnel needed for recovery, the number of personnel with the necessary skills and abilities for the job, and the man-hours required for recovery.

There are various patterns of recovery, and it is not always necessary to extend the final delivery date. In some cases, it may be possible to generate the man-hours required for recovery by reviewing the overall project plan or temporarily securing support personnel.

How to manage progress for a successful project

What methods are available to effectively manage the progress of a project? Here are four typical methods that are often used in a variety of settings.

①Daily report

The first is to ask project members about their progress in the form of daily reports. The merit of the daily report is that it enables the project leader/manager to hear not only the status of progress itself, but also detailed information such as the causes of delays and countermeasures.

On the other hand, it has the disadvantage that the leader/manager must read through the daily report of each member, and the workload of the project members who prepare the daily report tends to increase.

Therefore, to avoid burdens on both the person creating the daily report and the person reading the report, it is necessary to narrow down the items to be filled in, or to keep the wording simple.

(2) Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a method of managing the progress of a project by listing the work processes and steps of the project and arranging each step on a calendar. Since the work processes are displayed in chronological order on the calendar, it is easy to see at a glance which tasks require how long to complete and how much time is required for each task. The advantage of the Gantt chart is that it is easy to manage work progress visually.

Kanban method

The Kanban method is a method of identifying all work processes and managing them like a to-do list. Specifically, you prepare a tag with tasks listed, and fill in the boxes such as "working on," "completed," and "not yet addressed" on a whiteboard or the like. As the project progresses, the tags with each task are moved to the corresponding slot.

The merit of the kanban system is that it is simple, does not require much management cost, and can be applied to a wide range of projects.

④Project management tools

The daily reports, Gantt charts, and kanban methods introduced above have traditionally been based on Excel and other files or paper documents. Project management tools are one way to solve these problems while incorporating the advantages of these traditional progress management methods. File and paper reports are basically reviewed between the project manager and the project members themselves who created the report. However, project management tools are available online and can be viewed by the project manager as well as any project member by setting permissions.

Streamline progress management with project management tools

Progress management in a project is essential not only to prevent delivery delays, but also to identify and resolve problems and troubles at an early stage.

Effective progress management requires visualization of work processes and procedures, and appropriate recovery from gaps between the plan and the current status. There are a variety of effective tools for progress management, among which project management tools are an effective option for solving traditional progress management issues.

Works Applications' Project Board project management tool supports Gantt charts and Kanban methods, and can be applied to both internal projects and projects with external parties. It can be used not only for internal projects, but also for projects involving external parties.