Why Project Consulting?
Projects are Key to Business Success
Businesses are increasingly project focussed, and are implementing more and more business change via projects. However, it is estimated that only a third of organisations consistently deliver their projects to cost, schedule or stated deliverables. Such inefficiency is a material loss, not only in terms of opportunity and cash wastage, but also in terms of reputation. Conversely, successful projects can transform an organisation. It doesn’t have to be this way: doing projects well is a known skill. Engaging an experienced consultant can give you access to the competence needed and can provide insight and ideas that help you to see opportunties or identify the pinch points. The tools, processes and methodologies for delivering better projects exist and deploying them well can improve success, sometimes dramatically. Cephas Project Management has many years’ experience in delivering projects and helping people to do projects better. Here are some of the benefits of improving the performance of your projects, programmes and portfolios.
Enhance Business Benefit
All projects seek to deliver benefit, whether an increase in profit, an improved facility, a movement into a new market or delivery of a product to a client. But how many projects fall short of the benefits that were promised? Indeed, how many project actually articulate the benefits that they seek to realise? Project management consultancy can help you to define what you would like to realise from your project and then introduce methods, tools and techniques to maximise your chances of achieving them.
Increase RoI
Allied to the goal of realising business benefit is the desire to see the planned return on investment, or indeed improve upon it. Projects that are managed according to best practice and a defined methodology have the best chance of achieving this.
Reduce Risk
Any initiative involves risk and projects are no exception. We only have to think of the UK Government’s e-borders project or the opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 to realise that projects can turn into difficult undertakings. In most cases, risk can be managed so that the impact on the project (and therefore the business) is minimised. Projects that are executed without heed to the risk that they import are likely to turn into train wrecks. Project management consultancy can help you to identify and then manage your risks, and indeed to identify and realise opportunities (which are the flipside of risk).
Reduce Cost
Projects that are poorly controlled almost inevitably underperform in terms of cost. Projects often involve some cost control measures, but these can be poorly implemented or wrongly applied. Additionally, inefficiencies and risk are the enemies of good cost performance. All of this can be mitigated by introducing good cost controls and ensuring that they are implemented. Project management consultancy can review your controls structure and determine where improvements can be made, can introduce robust controls and can also support your project as it proceeds to ensure that these are being effective.