The automation revolution: elevate your project management game

Are relentless deadlines pushing you to the edge? Take a deep breath. Below we'll be exploring why you should automate project management and how this can level up your game while also minimising any stress.

Why should you automate project management?

Let's face it, manually managing complex projects can be a real nightmare. There’s so much involved; juggling countless tasks, deadlines and resources and when things get busy, you're trapped in an endless whirlwind of spreadsheets and emails. Fear not, automated project management tools can alleviate the pressure and help you stay in control of your workflows.

By using a suite of tools to streamline repetitive workloads, you can help your team collaborate better, bring benefits such as automated task assignments, progress tracking and clear-cut document management.

But that’s scratching the surface of what project management tools can do. Let’s explore the reasons why you should hop on the automation train:

1. Streamlines project workflows for efficient time management

Creating a workflow system is integral to completing your projects on time. Businesses traditionally used a 'waterfall' management method to achieve this, where you assigned tasks to individuals and tackled them chronologically.

While you can use simple spreadsheet software like Excel or Google Sheets to track workflows, their barebones interfaces and lack of advanced tools will limit you.

You may want to switch to dedicated 'Workflow Management' or 'Business Process Management' (BPM) solutions.

These tools provide a birds-eye view of your in-progress tasks, and contain useful contextual information like dependencies or assigned individuals/teams. With these software programs, you can ensure increased efficiency with features such as:  

• Automatically assigning tasks based on team members' expertise and availability.
• Setting up recurring tasks and reminders to ensure you don’t miss deadlines.
• Implementing task dependencies for a smooth flow of work.
• Auto-generating task progress reports for easy tracking.
• Efficiently managing project timelines and milestones.

An example of a scale-up business that offers project management software is Sage Intacct customer Forecast, which offers an AI-native platform that handles financial, resource and project management.

Forecast's use of artificial intelligence sets it apart, which means its software can make intelligent recommendations regarding risk warnings, team focus, predictable execution and financial control.

2. Improves resource allocation and utilisation

Any project manager will know that efficient resource management is crucial to getting things done. 

You’ll likely be familiar with techniques like the Critical Path Method (CPM) and the Critical Chain Method (CCM) within project management. Methods like these help you to create project schedules with the resources you have available. 

Automation tools will enhance your ability to employ these methods by using data to create more accurate projections and automating the allocation of resources. 

You can integrate project management software with ERP solutions (Enterprise Resource Planning), combining data from multiple points across a business to suggest resource allocation based on employee availability, skills and workload.

Tools like this provide all the information you need to plan and allocate resources effectively, meaning you can create and continuously update project schedules as needed. They're a powerful tool that can connect every aspect of your business and provide benefits such as:

• Optimise resource allocation by identifying and resolving over or under-allocated departments.
• Streamline time tracking and expense management to monitor project costs.
• Automate procurement processes for the timely acquisition of external resources.
• Generate resource reports for shareholders and project partners.

3. Assists in project planning and forecasting

Project planning is a notoriously difficult task, and it requires you to make long-term predictions about the capabilities of your teams and the availability of resources. Luckily, managers now have tools to highlight issues before they become serious concerns.

For instance, Sage X3 can track your warehouse's inventory and flag when products are likely out of stock — such as when new shipments are running late. 

You should look to: 

• Create detailed project plans with automated task scheduling and dependencies.
• Utilise data-driven insights for accurate time and cost estimates.
• Automatically update project plans when changes occur to maintain accuracy.
• Use advanced analytics to forecast project progress and potential roadblocks.
• Generate visual Gantt charts and timelines for better project planning.

4. Facilitates real-time updates and enhances project visibility

No more being in the dark and feeling left out of your project workflows — automation software helps you stay in the loop with real-time updates, improving visibility across the entire team.

Here’s how project management tools can give you a bird’s-eye view of everything happening in your project:

• Receive instant notifications on task status changes and project milestones.
• Monitor project progress through automated progress tracking and reports.
• Improve transparency with real-time access to project data analytics and metrics.
• Share project dashboards with stakeholders for increased visibility.
• Foster accountability by providing team members with real-time performance insights.

5. Aids in efficient issue tracking and addressing project risks

Report ticketing systems offer your teams a structured overview for monitoring project issues. You can easily view known issues, identify trends (such as faulty products or service errors), and redress them before they spiral out of control. So, no more last-minute surprises — just a proactive approach to handling challenges and keeping your project on the path to success!

Here’s how automation gets to work on risk management:

• Automation helps identify and address project issues and risks proactively.
• Set up automated alerts for potential project risks and deviations.
• Implement issue-tracking systems to record and manage project problems.
• Automate risk assessment and mitigation processes for better project control.
• Generate risk analysis reports to identify patterns and trends.
• Utilise automation to streamline issue resolution and prevent bottlenecks.

6. Enables assisted analytics for informed decision-making

ERP cloud software lets your data do the talking, with advanced analytics algorithms helping you to decipher trends, patterns, and insights. ERP cloud capabilities allow you to store all your information in the cloud, so anyone in your organisation can access these insights anytime.

From predicting project outcomes to optimising internal processes, you'll have all the evidence to make informed decisions and ensure your projects are on the right track. Here's how you can ensure data-driven success with project management tools:

• Automatically collect and analyse project data for actionable insights.
• Utilise AI-powered analytics to identify patterns and correlations.
• Get real-time reports on project performance and key performance indicators.
• Use predictive data analytics to anticipate project outcomes and trends.
• Leverage automated analytics to optimise processes and enhance project outcomes.

Make life easier with project management automation

Learning how to automate project management will make your life as a project manager easier. Adopting automated systems — whether it’s for workflow management, resource optimization, or simply providing a collaborative virtual workspace — will drive productivity in your teams and unlock their full potential.

Say goodbye to tedious tasks and hello to enhanced productivity and seamless collaboration!

 

You may also be interested in:

• Systems for working faster
• What is project planning?
• The Impact of AI on Project Professionals – Introducing a future with AI at your side