Every workday brings new challenges. You start the day relaxed and chipping away at a project due at the end of the week, and then the emails start to come in…
Jim needs you to run a report for him ASAP.
Sally is out with the flu but was supposed to complete a big project by Wednesday. You’ll have to finish it for her.
An impromptu meeting is called to discuss the need to push up the time frame for a long term project by three weeks.
Ron accidentally sent you the wrong information last week, so you will have to re-write numerous aspects of your completed article.
A virus has been infecting numerous computers on the network. You need to schedule a time for IT to come by to make sure your files haven’t been compromised.
You get the idea. By the end of the day you haven’t accomplished what you set out to do and probably have a series of unfinished or forgotten tasks left over for tomorrow.
When working on a project that requires collaboration with other professionals, good communication and time management are crucial in order to complete an optimal project. Often times, this collaboration occurs through barriers that challenge traditional project management communication. You may be working with professionals in other departments, companies, or geographic regions. It’s possible you may never meet these professionals in person. They will all also likely have other projects that they are working on in the background. This can make it easy for miscommunications to occur, allow for items to “fall though the crack,” and jeopardize the projects time frame or budget.
Obviously, that is not optimal for any party involved. In order to adapt to the changing dynamics of the modern workplace, it is important to always critically evaluate your methods to make sure projects run as smoothly as possible.
In my experience, I have found that email has become the easy go-to tool for project management for remote or semi-remote teams. This makes sense since email is highly accessible. Everyone already has it, they regularly check it, it makes mass communication easier, it provides a documented record of communication, and (theoretically) is less intrusive to everyday life than a phone call or in person meeting.
However, I would argue that it can become an ineffective crutch when not used properly. Instead of being a tool for effective communication, it can easily become a facilitator for distractions and can allow for important information to be disregarded. That’s not to say that email doesn’t have an important place in project management—it most certainly does—it is just not a all-in-one solution. It is important to understand its limitations and find additional tools that can make up for its shortcomings.
Over the next few weeks I will spotlight various project management tools that I personally have found incredibly helpful, especially when working with remote teams. I will go over their benefits, limitations, and how to effectively use them. Although you will have your own preferences when it comes to project management tools, hopefully this will be a good spring board to inspire you to try out new software and conduct your own personal research as to what methods work best for you and your team.
Additional Reading
- The Case for Trello: Coming Soon
- Collaborating with the Google Suite: Coming Soon
- The Underrated Importance of a Good Calendar App: Coming Soon
- Using Email the Right Way: Coming Soon
J.Lane.Writes 