Time management is a crucial aspect of Project management across the industries. It is probably the toughest job and the most important one too, failing which the entire project can become a disaster. Everything is time-bound and hence, time tracking has become one of the major aspects of Project Management. Let us analyze the major issues faced by project teams and also a way to overcome the issues successfully with a good time tracking system:
- Costing
Costing or Estimation is at the base of all projects and time is a major factor in determining the cost of completion of a project. The more time you take to complete a project, the project costs will also increase. Material cost, resource cost and local taxes all tend to change over the time and during estimation, the project manager gives a buffer time for project completion considering a percentage increase in the costs. But if the project delays beyond this estimation, the costs will go beyond expectation and affect the profitability of the project. More than profitability, the organization’s competency and reputation are questioned and this can affect the overall brand image the company has created by years of hard work. Time tracking ensures that all tasks are completed on time and alerts the supervisor or project manager on the slightest delay on anyone’s part. This also ensures they are able to make alternate arrangements to guarantee the project completion on time.
- Job Allocation and Review
The Project Manager allocates time-bound task to team members and sometimes the tasks are allocated in a chain. Based on the estimated time, an employee is supposed to complete a particular task. The next task may be planned accordingly. But if the employee is unable to complete the first task itself within the timeframe, all the other tasks are disturbed and the project manager will have to reschedule the entire team’s job. Once the target is set, the employees are motivated to complete the assigned task within the target deadline which keeps the momentum right for successful project completion. Using a time tracking software, the project manager keeps track of project status in real time and plans for future resources well-ahead.
- Real-time work status
Time tracking software provides real-time work status of the entire project team. Even if the project manager is handling multiple projects, he or she can easily track down the status of any individual project easily. The time tracking software keeps check on the deadlines and alerts the team member whose task deadlines are approaching, which further helps him speed up his work. The project manager is also alerted on the approaching deadlines and any shortfalls in the milestones at any given moment.
- Prioritizing the job
Time tracking software lets the project manager prioritize the job and allocate the same to the right employee. Since the details are available with the software, the employee knows which task has to be completed first and accordingly, they plan their work. This ensures that the priority jobs are completed first so that the project manager gets enough time to check them thoroughly before it is moved on to the next stage.
- Employee productivity
Time tracking gives a clear picture of how productive or not an employee has been at any given point of time. The plans are available, job allocations are also available, and the time set for each employee for completing each milestone is clearly available in the timetracker software. The employee inputs daily or weekly work status which the time tracker compares with the allocated tasks and deadlines, and reports the same to project manager. It’s but obvious to state that employees who meet most of their deadlines are more productive than those who don’t do it. Sometimes, the deadlines are way too unrealistic which the management will easily figure out if none or most of the employees fall short of meeting the deadlines. So it keeps a check on the deadlines too.
In short, time is money and everything depends on the time taken to complete the tasks and the project in general. Keeping track of multiple projects and employees located in different places is very difficult; however, good time-tracking project management software ensures that everything goes as per the plans, and the project is completed on time successfully.
Article Submitted By community Writer
