{"id":224008,"date":"2020-03-15T00:02:14","date_gmt":"2020-03-14T18:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qcsglobal.com\/marketing\/how-project-onboarding-can-prevent-catastrophic-failure\/"},"modified":"2020-04-18T17:10:35","modified_gmt":"2020-04-18T11:40:35","slug":"how-project-onboarding-can-prevent-catastrophic-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qcsglobal.com\/blogs\/how-project-onboarding-can-prevent-catastrophic-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"How Project Onboarding Can Prevent Catastrophic Failure"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Think about the last time you failed at work. What are the chances you could have avoided that failure had you taken a little extra time to plan?<\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re a project manager the answer to that question is obvious. You\u2019re paid to be the Planner-in-Chief of your project teams. Project failure comes from missed communication, blown budgets, and unforeseen roadblocks.<\/p>\n

While some of those things are unavoidable, there\u2019s a strategy you can utilize to increase your chances of project success.<\/p>\n

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What is project onboarding?<\/h2>\n

Project onboarding is the process of gathering the necessary resources and team members to ensure a project is completed correctly. Project onboarding involves the project manager front-loading the planning process so that projects can be completed on time with all the required deliverables.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s not an exaggeration to say that project onboarding is integral to project success. You can avoid issues and streamline workflows with the right project onboarding strategy. By taking the extra time on the front end of project planning, you can eliminate possible roadblocks near the end of a project\u2019s completion.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

5 common problems project onboarding helps solve<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s nothing worse than getting halfway through a project only to realize it doesn\u2019t align with overall company goals. Or worse yet, you find out you\u2019re on a project that nobody told you about in the first place.<\/p>\n

These types of problems are more common than you think. 75% of employees<\/a> say they believe their projects are doomed from the start.<\/p>\n

\"Project<\/div>\n

Source: Dilbert<\/a><\/p>\n

Project onboarding is your chance to prevent wasted time and resources before they happen. Here are a few common project problems that your project onboarding strategy will help fix ahead of time.<\/p>\n

1. Project miscommunication<\/h3>\n

The client wants one thing, your dev team is telling you it\u2019s not possible, and your sales team is asking for the moon. Project onboarding and planning will help you get everyone involved with a project on the same page before getting started. This helps manage expectations and ensure everyone is working toward the same shared goal.<\/p>\n

2. Lack of necessary tools<\/h3>\n

If I asked you to knit me a scarf but didn\u2019t provide you with knitting needles or yarn, do you think you could still make a scarf? You might be able to even without the traditional tools, but it would take you much more time and effort.<\/p>\n

This same logic should be applied to any project your team takes on. Project onboarding requires you to sit down with your team and figure out what you\u2019ll need to get the project over the finish line before you begin.<\/p>\n

3. Blown project budgets<\/h3>\n

Nothing will stop a project faster than running out of budget. According to the article above, 55% of project managers cited budget overrun as a reason for project failure.<\/p>\n

When your team establishes the entire project lifecycle within your project onboarding the chances of blowing your budget decrease drastically. Involving everyone from the beginning will help you set more realistic goals for your project budget.<\/p>\n

4. Understanding project priority<\/h3>\n

There are very few people who work on one project at a time before moving onto the next. It can be hard for employees involved in multiple projects to prioritize their daily workflows. Project onboarding helps communicate project importance to everyone involved.<\/p>\n

This can include what priority it takes in their day-to-day work or how flexible project deadlines can be. It\u2019s one small part of getting your project team on the same page.<\/p>\n

5. Customer dissatisfaction<\/h3>\n

If your project includes an external customer, there\u2019s a level of importance in delivering exactly what the customer wants. Project onboarding includes a client brief phase where your team communicates expectations with the client.<\/p>\n

Including this as a formal part of the process will help your team deliver a project that makes your client happy. It also saves your team from multiple rounds of back and forth edits. This helps lead to a better project delivered on time and on budget.<\/p>\n

How to create a project onboarding process<\/h2>\n

Building workflows and processes from scratch is tough. Striking the balance between pre-planning and over-preparing is tough. You want to feel ready to tackle things head-on, but leave yourself room to evolve with the project.<\/p>\n

Project onboarding allows the perfect space to do all of that and more. This four-step process will answer all the questions regarding a project, allow you to build your project dream team, and set yourself and your team up for success.<\/p>\n

\"Project<\/div>\n

Meet with the client<\/h3>\n

Whether the client is an external partner or someone within your company, this is an important first step to take. Communicating the expectations of a project before it begins increases the chances that the project will succeed.<\/p>\n

Sit down with the client and discuss their vision for the project. What are they asking of you and your team? Give them space to discuss their thoughts and then narrow focus.<\/p>\n

You should be asking your client specific questions such as:<\/p>\n