Think about how you feel when you complete a successful project. As a small business owner, it’s fulfilling when your team members come together to create the deliverables your customers need.
However, success isn’t a one-time event—it’s a continual process. When you consider how to keep moving your business ahead, it’s critical to think like a project manager.
How can you improve your ongoing operations? What can you do to effectively meet customer requirements? How can you stay agile as customer demands change and the market evolves?
It’s important to first understand the difference between project management and process management. While the two disciplines exist together, they serve different functions within your business.
First, what is project management?
Project management is the application of skills, tools, knowledge and techniques to accomplish a specific goal. Project management helps you define what needs to get done in order to get where you need to be.
Through this organized process, you can launch, plan, execute, monitor and finish your team’s work to accomplish defined goals and meet specific criteria by a defined deadline. Click here to learn how to create a project management plan for your small business.
How is process management different?
Business process management (BPM) involves managing processes rather than tasks to enhance business performance outcomes and operational agility. Through BPM, you can take a strategic approach to sustainably organizing your company’s workflow to adapt to a changing environment.
To learn more, read this article for an overview on the different types of BPM and the key elements of effective BPM.
When thinking about business process management vs. project management, remember that a project is temporary with a defined beginning and end. A process, on the other hand, is repeated several times to help teams and companies be more productive and efficient. It’s a recurring series of repetitive tasks.
Project management often leads to process improvement by reducing errors, cutting costs and increasing efficiency.
In implementing a project management process, small business owners don’t have to figure it out on their own. Take the time to research project management software and project management tools, such as ActiveCollab or Trello, to help easily and efficiently handle your various business operations.
Now that we have clarified how process management differs from project management, let’s explore some upsides and potential downsides of each discipline.
The pros and cons of project management
Pros:
- Efficient goal setting. Through project management, you clearly define specific goals and ensure that your projects are delivered on time and on budget.
- Better communication. Project management leads to greater communication among your team members, vendors and those who are involved in the project.
- Increased customer satisfaction. The projects you undertake at your business can delight customers, whether they receive new products, enhanced services or lower prices. This customer happiness translates into increased profits and business growth.
Cons:
- Higher costs. If your current team members lack project management skills, you may need to outsource some work. Depending on your project and needs, you may need to hire specialists or subject matter experts.
- Increased complexity. Large-scope projects often have multiple layers, which can complicate every process. This may lead to confusion on your team, or delays in the project being completed.
- Restricted creativity. Sometimes, strictly adhering to a project plan can hamper innovation that would benefit the project. Depending on deadlines and management processes, your team members may not feel comfortable thinking outside the project parameters.
The pros and cons of process management
Pros:
- Thorough improvement. At its core, process management focuses on improving processes. When you take time to ask your employees for their ideas and suggestions on ways the business can improve, you can save time, money and resources right away.
- Clear performance standards. Process management defines desired outcomes and milestones along the way. This provides a standard for checking in on workflow and correcting course, when needed.
- Smarter resource allocation. Most small businesses have limited resources, making it even more crucial to appropriately use these resources. Through the discipline of process management, small business owners can allocate resources to where they will provide the most benefit.
Cons:
- Possible complacency. Process management is an ongoing discipline, not a one-time process. Some small business owners may think they know where their company is going and how it will get there, simply because they developed a solid plan.
- Duplicated work. One downside to process management is potential redundancy, due to inefficient processes that are either repeated or unnecessary.
- Slow progress. If your team members experience difficulties or make a mistake at a certain stage, the process might be slowed or stopped altogether.
Which one do you need?
When considering whether you need process management or project management, the answer is both. However, your personal involvement depends largely upon the nature of your business and your ultimate goal.
For example, as a small business owner, you likely want to remain part of the process of interviewing new employees, but you may not need to be directly involved in every onboarding project.
Regardless of the size of your business, process management and project management will always overlap. It’s important to understand the key differences between these disciplines to set your business up for continued growth.
This article was produced by the QuickBooks Resource Center and syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Featured Image Credit: iStock/nd3000.
