Strategy to Avoid Missing Development Deadlines
Managing a technology project is different than other project management. There are a lot of moving parts (many of them requiring translation between the various departments) and delays that can occur without the proper team in place.
Why You’re Missing Deadlines
You set up the project, flesh out the details, assign the timeline, check in with the programmers or head of your development team as you should, and yet you still miss the mark consistently. What are you doing wrong and why don’t technology projects work the same way as your creative marketing campaigns do?
Inexperience
Could be the programmers you hire, the way they work together, or the manager of the team. But any way you look at it, a green team can affect your ability to deliver on time. Newbie programmers are less likely to know the difference between a major program issue and a minor wrinkle. They may decide it’s not worth reporting back to you on it and so you’re unintentionally left in the dark. Having a team of experienced programmers, or even a head programmer who knows Scrum or other methodologies and frameworks for handling a technology process is invaluable.
Not Understanding Expectations
If your team or Project Manager is inexperienced, fleshing out the expectations and asking the right questions to determine the true scope of the project can be difficult. Finding people who communicate well with marketers, customers, and programmers is a daunting task as they possess a special skill set. They must ask the right questions of the marketing team/customer to find out what is needed. Technical managers also anticipate issues as well as understand the drive behind the project, so that they can make suggestions that will improve the depth and breadth of the project. That’s the difference between a project that’s completed to the satisfaction of the client and one that knocks their socks off.
Overcommitting Resources
Another rookie mistake comes from overcommitting your resources. Once you’ve broken down the project into milestones and established how long each would take, it’s tempting to schedule every minute of the week. However, an experienced technology manager knows that just because there are 40 hours in a week doesn’t mean your team will be working all 40 of them on the project. Issues arise not only through complications with the project, but personal matters of the team, technology resources, and project changes. Ensure your work schedule contains some flexibility and unassigned time to factor in these issues.
How We Can Help
The solution to the experience and communication problems is easy. Leave it to someone who knows the unique demands of managing a technology project.
At Oyova we have a seasoned team of technical professionals at your service. They’ve worked together under driving deadlines and function well as a group.
We’ve managed hundreds of projects within stringent deadlines and our process for doing so is second to none. Give up the burdensome task of managing a technical team and let us handle it for you. Call us today and we’ll help you meet every deadline without the headache.
