One of the most common and yet critical challenges is the inability to get reliable commitment of material, equipment or talent.
This might be caused by supply chain issues or by talent shortages but is frequently a result of too much work being accepted into the "system".
While the long term solution for the latter issue is to reduce the amount of work being pulled in to match the capacity of the system to deliver, a short term solution is to make effective use of buffers (for schedule performance) and contingency reserves (for cost performance).
This issue can affect ALL phases of a project - you might lack the capacity to get a project going, to do detailed discovery, or to delivery agreed upon scope. It might even be a challenge during closeout if talent is yanked prematurely to serve a different project.
The second challenge I'd propose (actually a meta-challenge!) is the inability of senior leaders, PMs or project teams to apply the lessons learned the hard way from past projects.
Kiron Saving Changes...
Omar JabbarProject Management and Digital Transformation Consultant| OGreen IT Service Inc.Ontario, Canada
I would say one of the most common challenges is meeting the deadline set by the executives for an idea before it even becomes a project. Overcoming this challenge typically involves following a specific process, engaging in extensive multi-level communication, obtaining buy-in from various groups and stakeholders, ensuring all parties are on the same page, and implementing strong project governance. Once this is clear, we begin the estimation process. When everything is ready, we bring the executives back to reality. The initial eight weeks idea will be delivered in 12 months :-). Saving Changes...
The most difficult challenge in PM is a sudden change of management.
As a PM, our power comes from relationships and providing sound judgement to the stakeholders who support our success. When there is a rapid turnover in management such as a reorganization, there is no guarantee that what we were working on before will continue to receive the necessary support.
At that point, a PM must re-justify the rationale for why their projects should have priority. I personally focus on a very logical business case. It's more like a final project in graduate school level of effort than a quick update.
The response to selling my projects' value is extremely important. It tells me if I should build new relationships in my current job, or my next job. Saving Changes...
Community Champion
