1. 6 Challenges Project Management Teams
Face
As a project manager, whether you have a little or a lot of experience, you will be constantly
challenged to test your ability to combine science, art, and even a bit of magic. Let’s look at 6
challenges project management teams face.
1. Deadlines That Are Unrealistic
Project managers are often unhappy that they are given a project and assigned a deadline. While
some deadlines such as regulatory compliance are necessary, many dates are tied to factors such
as boss’s vacation, or the end of quarter, and they are often unrealistic.
If there are no absolute time requirements, there are better ways to manage the schedule. Start
by managing the stress of a project deadline and project issues such as planning, communication,
and analysis. Then you need to determine the deadlines that are associated with higher-level
objectives, and then you can setup a realistic deadline.
2. Scope Changes
The number one rule every project manager needs to keep in mind is that change is inevitable.
However, uncontrolled change doesn’t have to be inevitable. This is also known as scope creep.
As a project manager, you need to analyze every request and then communicate how it will
impact the project and if there are alternatives that may be acceptable. You can’t eliminate
changes but you can make it known how those changes will affect the project.
© 2011 SaaS Project management Inc. All rights reserved.

2. 3. Unable to Manage Risk
Some projects have a list of risks but they aren’t analyzed any further and no planning happens
unless something adverse occurs to trigger a plan. Once your project team has defined a risk or
risks the team should determine what the likelihood of the risk is and what the impact would be
should that risk occur. At that time, the team can determine whether to act on the risk or to avoid
the risk.
4. Lack of Team Skills
Being available doesn’t mean you are skilled. The most highly skilled people are also the busiest
people. Discovering one of your team is incompetent can be difficult. Most people who are
incompetent don’t know that they are. You shouldn’t blame the team member, who isn’t likely
messing up on purpose. To avoid being in this position before the project starts you need to
create a core set of skills that will be necessary to accomplish the project and then compare
potential team members skills. Use this to choose team members or have team members take the
necessary training.
5. Poorly Defined Goals
When the goals of a project are poorly defined, it can make it very difficult to complete a project.
As the project manager, it is important to overcome this vagueness and clearly communicate
what the goals are. You need to determine what parts of the project are not clearly understood
and then ask for feedback so that you can clearly define the goals.
6. Poor Communication
Technology has allowed for the endless flow of information. However, we don’t always offer the
right information to the right individuals. This is partly because companies don’t work on
© 2011 SaaS Project management Inc. All rights reserved.

3. building good communication skills and partly because we aren’t sure who are what is right. You
can simplify this simply by answering “whom,” “what,” “when,” and “how,” for every project.
Face these 6 challenges that project management teams and you’ll have overcome some major
stumbling blocks.
© 2011 SaaS Project management Inc. All rights reserved.