Organizing and managing your resources to complete a project within a specific time frame, scope, and budget—that’s what project management is all about. Software project management oversees these activities when a company is trying to successfully select and implement a new software or integrate applications.  

Clients sometimes ask us why a project manager is necessary and what project management involves. Today, let’s explore some of those frequently asked questions so you can make an educated decision about how to approach your next software project.

What is Software Project Management?

Software project management translates the practical applications of project management to the specific needs of a software project. So, for example, if your company decides to purchase marketing automation, software project management helps you organize the deliverables around that goal.

How much are you looking to spend? How quickly do you need to have the solution up and running? What specific outcomes are you trying to achieve? Who on your team should be involved? How will your existing software ecosystem come into play? Will you need to migrate data from another source into the marketing application?

Once all these questions are answered, you have a plan. Then, it’s the responsibility of the project manager and the company stakeholders to make sure specific milestones are met at the right times so that plan is followed. 

Why is Project Management Important for Software Implementations?

When a company decides to invest time and resources into a software project, they expect profitable outcomes. To maximize the scalability and innovation new software can bring, it’s crucial to stick to a defined budget, timeline, and project scope.

Software project management keeps all the pieces of the project organized so the outcomes accurately reflect the intention of the project. It makes it more likely the project will align to the budgetary concerns of the executives and the needs of the day-to-day users.

What are the Risks if I Don’t use Software Project Management?

Without project management, a company risks running over the allotted budget proposed for the project. Getting approval for the additional funds to fill that gap can be challenging, especially for SMBs with strict finances. Without someone monitoring the progress of the project, it can also stall and get pushed to the wayside, which has negative implications for the launch date. Most companies looking to implement software or connect systems are doing so because they see an immediate need. It’s a solution to a problem that’s happening NOW, so unnecessary delays can prolong that issue in the meantime.

Project scope can also be in danger without software project management. Why is that?

The project scope (which defines the project boundaries in terms of related activities, details, and responsibilities) is what ties together the budget and timeline. When you start to add-to or change that scope, you also change the budget and timeline necessary to complete it. This further delays the project, causes reworks and slowdowns, and adds to overall costs.    

How Do I Choose a Good Software Project Management Team?

A practiced and professional project management team should have a set process they follow for every project. For example, at TAI, we use a variation of agile project management called Disciplined Agile that we’ve perfected over our 30+ years in business. We know these methods of building task lists from user stories and then breaking them down into timed sprints works and can be refined for any project we undertake.

Good software project managers should also be using a task management application to keep all stakeholders looped into the project, schedule meetings to review progress, and track project deliverables.  

How Much Does Project Management Usually Cost?

Most consultants will include project management in the price of the overall software implementation or integration. So, if you come to a software consultant for help finding the right solution or integrating solutions together, they’ll include the project management costs in their estimate for that entire project.

Ideally, you want to select a consultant who can provide this full-service approach so they are able to guide your project from start to finish.

If you have your own project manager on staff, the consultancy team will work in lock-step with that individual across the project timeline.

At What Point in Our Software Journey Should I Bring in a Project Management Team?

The most straight forward answer to this question is: As soon as possible!

Don’t wait to hire a project manager until after you select your software. It’s better to get a consultant aligned to your goals and budget upfront to avoid making costly mistakes.

Why?

We’ve had too many companies come to us over the years in a complete panic, looking for help with a project they started on their own. Either they realize after-the-fact that they invested in the wrong solution and now must figure out how to make it work, or they wasted too much time getting the solution in place and are in a time crunch to get it running.

It’s not impossible to get the project back on track at this point, but it oftentimes leads to the company spending a lot more time and money than they originally intended. There’s a general air of frustration and nervousness as management and accounting teams start to put pressure on the team responsible for getting it done. It’s not an ideal situation for anyone.

The best-case scenario is to hire a software consultant at the onset of your project. This consultant should be able to carry you through the entire process of software selection, managed implementation, training, onboarding, customization, and support. Keeping all tasks under this singular umbrella is more likely to lead to a successful and profitable result.

If you’re ready to add a new software solution or integrate two existing solutions together, our team would be happy to provide you with a free consultation and quote. We can offer our best advice for how to attack your software project head-on with a strategic, results-focused approach. Email our sales team to start the conversation.