Project delay is a reality, and despite the best efforts, many teams fail to complete the projects within the deadline. If you don't want any delay in your current and future projects, you need to be aware of the factors that play a big role in project delays.
Knowing the reasons for a delayed project will help you figure out the best way to avoid them. Here are the reasons and solutions to one of the biggest project management problems—project delay.
1. Scope Creep
The project scope refers to the complete outline of the project, and scope creep means any sudden change in that scope without proper change requests. Imagine your team is in the middle of a project, and suddenly scope creep happens. All the efforts you put till now will go in vain, and a delay in the project completion will become inevitable.
To avoid this issue, design a project plan and make the clients sign an agreement that says they will adhere to the outline. Also, keep all the follow-up communications in one place to avoid following up multiple communication sources for reference.
2. Team Is Unaware of the Project Objective
Being part of the busy corporate world means you may not know the reason behind every task you’re doing. However, it can be a cause for demotivation for teammates, resulting in project delays.
Knowing the connection between their task and the project goals, the team can derive inspiration. Therefore, involving all the team members from the planning phase of a project is a good idea. Ask for their feedback so that you can plan the project at their convenience.
Make sure they see how their contributions impact the project and the organization. It will motivate them to finish the project within the deadline successfully.
3. Unrealistic Deliverables and Deadlines
Believe it or not, having unrealistic deadlines is possibly the prime reason behind a project delay. The whole team may put in additional effort, but it’s impossible to complete a project in time if the deadline is not workable.
No matter how tempting it is to set ambitious deliverables, underpromising and overdelivering is the best way to impress the clients. For this reason, set goals that are realistic, attainable, and measurable.
Many projects include multiple task dependencies. In that case, design the project timeline considering resource availability, estimated time, and task sequence.
4. Unavailability of Resources
If the necessary financial, human, and material resources are not available, the project is bound to get delayed. In the case of financial resources, evaluate if the initial budget can cover the project cost. If not, get additional funding as soon as possible to avoid the project getting delayed due to lack of funds.
For human resources, see if the team members have the necessary skill and experience. Else, train them or outsource the tasks. Be careful about material resources like infrastructure. Availability of these resources is not guaranteed, and it’s good to have a backup for these.
5. Improper Progress Tracking and Follow Up
Constantly collecting data on the task progress is vital to project success. Not doing it may result in project delay. Besides setting up goals, you need to track if there is any delay in any task. Thus, you can see if the team is on track to achieve the target.
You can use task management tools to measure the progress of each task. After noticing a delay in any task, you can also delegate the task to someone else. If necessary, these apps also help you reassign all the tasks of a project with ease.
6. Miscommunication Among the Stakeholders
All parties involved in a project should be on the same page; else, they can’t complete a project within the due date. Miscommunication leads to misunderstanding, which ultimately hampers the project’s progress.
That’s why every team member should immediately know of scope alteration, client expectations, and any delay from any involved party. There should be regular team meetings to convey updates on the project.
Teams should also use project management tools to know about due dates and major deadlines. These apps also keep all team communication in one place to ensure clarity.
7. Unwillingness to Work as a Team
A successful project is a team effort. Every member, including the manager, needs to play their role effectively to reach the target. Sometimes, team members don’t collaborate, and that results in project delays. Even managers nowadays tend not to micromanage.
But everyone needs to remember that the ultimate goal is to complete the project in time. You should not put the project in jeopardy only to avoid conflict.
While team members require their own space and decision-making power to perform at their best, managers should intervene whenever necessary to stop the project from going off-track. Managers should also take immediate steps to resolve any team conflict.
8. Third-Party Factors
Often, organizations need third-party involvement at certain stages of the project. External vendors can also be responsible for project delays if they don’t deliver resources or tasks on time. It usually happens because these third-party individuals don’t know about the milestones or goals of your project.
Also, teams don’t follow up with the vendors about the assigned tasks and get into trouble when there is a delay from the third party. To avoid such issues, give them a strict deadline and stay in touch with them till their delivery. You can also include a provision of penalty in the contract for the delay. Thus, they will take timely delivery seriously.
9. Unexpected Circumstances
Last but not least, you get to face some unforeseen situations that might result in project delays. Natural disasters, weather disruptions, political instability, global recession, trouble getting investments—all these can delay your project.
Although these causes are not preventable, you can certainly reduce their impact by proper planning. Every member of the team should always stay prepared for the worst. Not leaving the tasks for the last moment is a strong step to fight this issue.
Team members should also cooperate when there is additional workload after the disasters to complete the projects in time.
Save Projects From Getting Delayed
A project can go off-track at any phase. By knowing the common reasons responsible for project delays and the solutions to avoid them, you can fulfill the goal of successful project delivery in time. Thus, achieving productivity goals also becomes easier than ever.