Project management is a well-established and practiced methodology typically used by medium and large businesses. However, projects come in all shapes and sizes, and project management that is particularly important for professional service firms. Whether the project is hourly or value-based having a strong, disciplined, and repeatable process is critical.
A project is something your organization does beyond its routine, ongoing tasks and activities. Stop here for a moment to consider business operations you’ve carried out in the last few days that fit into this category.
An important challenge for professional service businesses is to identify correctly what is a “project” and what is “work.” If you misidentify a project and identify it as work, you may fail to give it the proper planning it needs or you identify it as an internal project and do not apply the same rigorous process that you do for your external client, the results can fall short of your expectations. You’ll end up with a project that is not executed well. It will lack the upfront planning, tracking, and follow-up that it needs.
For more information on how to effectively manage your professional service business projects, check out our report titled, Project Management for Professional Service Businesses.