project management blog: project managers in startups

---

4 REASONS WHY YOU NEED A PROJECT MANAGER IN YOUR STARTUP

---

1) You need a project manager at every stage in the project.
2) You need a structured system in your startup organization.
3) You need a project manager to lead and guide the project team to produce effective project outcomes.
4) Project managers know how to use appropriate project management tools and techniques to efficiently manage your startup projects.

Some startups (those that do fail) think project management should not be part of their agenda. These failed ventures think that project management tools and processes are just too formal and strict. There are too many checks and balances and formal documentations that need to be done during the project. They think that project management is too much work. Eventually, this will hinder project progress. Well, that is why they fail. ​

A Project Needs Some Sort of Foundation

To succeed in your startup venture, you need a stable foundation. A project manager is necessary in a startup, as well as in large enterprises. Startups have deadlines to meet, just like large enterprises. Startups have budgets to cater for, just like big businesses. Startups have technical requirements that need to be incorporated into products or services, just like large corporations. Just like other large businesses, the projects in a startup go through the same project cycle (project initiation, planning, executing, controlling and closing). 

Also, if you build up the foundation of using a great project manager, project management plans, systems, and processes, you do not have to deal with the work from disorganized paperwork, stressed out team members, and hectic schedules. To get a great project manager, get one of us from PROJACE Project Managers to get started! 

---

Four Reasons Why You Need a Project Manager in Your Startup

---

1) You need a project manager at every stage in the project
​

• In the early stages of the project, you need a project manager to implement scope management so that the scope, or the work to produce the necessary key deliverables and business goals, is clearly defined. Any high-level risks, constraints, and assumptions will also need to be defined. All these elements will be incorporated into a project charter.
  
  Moreover, project managers will create a project management plan, which includes the schedule, the budget, and, most importantly, feedback from your project team. The project management plan is a formal, comprehensive, and approved plan that details what needs to be done in the project and is a compilation of plans that specify how to manage schedule, cost, quality, communication, risks, resources, etc. For example, a cost management plan is a part of the project management plan. Project managers use budgeting and estimating techniques to analyze, allocate, and control project cost and resources for project activities. For change management plans, they will detail how changes in schedule, budget, scope, or resources will be identified, tracked, and managed, how changes will be measured against the project baselines, and how the change control process will be used to evaluate change requests proposed by your team members.
  
  ​As you can see, it is good to have project management work done early on in the initiating and planning stages so that expectations are clearly identified to prevent misunderstanding and future unnecessary project changes. If no project management work is done right now, it is easy to get lost.

• When project activities are to be executed, project managers are needed to manage the limited resources startups have. Project managers manage the project team by coordinating with team members, making sure that team members are focused on their assigned tasks, and ensuring deliverables are completed on time and within budget. ​

• Project managers also need to monitor and control the project cost, scope, quality, resources, and schedule. The actual project progress is to be compared against baselines and against the project management plan. Project managers know how to use the right tools and techniques to identify any deviations from the project management plan and to implement appropriate corrective actions. Here are some techniques that project managers will use.​

​Project Management Process	Techniques
Control schedule	Determine the lags in the schedule Monitor the critical path in the schedule Use schedule performance index to analyze project progress and deviation
Control cost	​Use earned value management to forecast final project cost Use cost performance index to analyze project progress and deviation
Control Risks	Review the risk management plan and risk register for risks that will arise Identify any risks (or new risks) and planned risk responses associated with the risks Analyze the effectiveness of risk processes and response strategies Optimize risk response plans and strategies by using tools such as determining the probability and impact of certain risks or coming up with workarounds for events that occurred  Execute alternative approaches, contingency plans, corrective actions  Monitoring and identifying residual risks and seeing whether more or stronger response strategies are needed
Control Quality	​​Use quality checklists to ensure that project deliverables are up to standard  Use quality metrics or key performance indicators to track project quality  Use tools and techniques such as pareto charts and control charts to improve quality control
Control Changes	Use change process correctly as outlined in change management plan  Track changes appropriately  Make sure new changes align with business goals

• Lastly, project managers are crucial in the closing stages, since it is their responsibility to ensure project success and completion. ​
  

---

2) You need a structured system in your startup organization.
​
It is common for startups to have limited resources (funds are tight!). Thus, funds are limited for hiring suitable people for your teams. Not only are the funds limited for hiring personnel, funds for tools, equipment, land, space, or other resources are limited too. Thus, it is good to have a project manager who can use resource management tools and techniques to manage and control the limited resources and team members in your startup.

For team resource management, project managers can use specific tools, such as RACI Chart that clearly defines roles and responsibilities (TeamGantt provides this great RACI Chart Excel template. It's free!). Resource leveling can be used to track and optimize the use of resources in order to enhance project productivity. Other techniques like cost-benefit analysis and trend analysis are used to determine resource utilization and its effectiveness.
​
Not only do project managers use resource management to make projects more structured, project managers also use project management systems. With tons of information coming in your startup, such as invoicing, payments, investor funding proposals, business analysis data, you really need a project management structure to sort and organize everything out. By setting up effective project management systems earlier on in your project, such as project management plans, baselines, logs, documents, organizational systems, your projects will run more smoothly with this organized foundation. You can be sure that your startup team will have a much easier time doing their tasks.

Visit TeamGantt for their Free Excel RACI Chart Template!

---

3) You need a project manager to lead and guide the project team to produce effective project outcomes.
​
A project manager should not only be a manager, he or she should also be a team leader. A team leader should guide the followers, who are the project team members, into project success. Motivation is the key in creating momentum and long term success in the team, instead of micromanaging team members to complete their tasks. Thus, you need a good project manager to motivate your startup team members to collaborate with each other and share ideas for your product launches, promotional activities, marketing channels, pricing models, etc. 

A good leader also values providing support to the team. A project manager can be helpful in constantly ensuring that team members have the appropriate resources to complete their tasks and produce project deliverables. If team members are stuck, the project manager can help with identifying and addressing these obstacles that hinder progress and brainstorm ways in overcoming those challenges. 

Project managers can also lead the team through effective organization and communication tools. They keep track of project progress and guide team members in using communication tools appropriately, such as Trello.  

4) Project managers know how to use appropriate project management tools and techniques to efficiently manage your startup projects.

There are many project management tools that are built specifically to streamline project progress and lessen the workload in projects. Traditional project management tools, like Gantt Charts and work breakdown structures, are used to keep track of project progress and key project deliverables. New and more exciting technologies like online project management and organization software from Slack and Wrike can allow team members to collaborate with real-time updates. 

Startups and small businesses operate under high uncertainties and are fast paced. Things change. Markets evolve. Investors are always stressing about speeding up the launch of products or services. Quick decisions are needed. Project managers can apply lean startup and agile methods to manage projects. Lean startup is all about experimentation not planning. It is a learning process to quickly test and see whether a suggested business model or idea is doable by using techniques like validated learning. Other methods include SCRUM and Kanban. 

There are other creative and flexible project management methods that do not deal with traditional project management steps but still provide the necessary structured project management approach that effectively accomplishes business outcomes, like the Informal Project Management Approach. 

Contact us today to find a project manager who has what it takes for your project success!