Enterprise project management, or so-called EPM, is the discipline of managing multiple projects happening at the same time within an organization.
Generally, EPM does not involve the detailed management of a particular project, but instead, it deals with managing all the projects of an organization together. Additionally, it means directing projects so that they align with top-level goals.
EPM manages the dependencies between different projects, and it means helping each project to make it over the finish line on time and within budget.
Long story short, EPM plays the role of managing the projects within an organization. It represents the bridge between what an organization is currently working on and what it aims to achieve in the grandest sense.
Why Is Enterprise Project Management So Successful?
There are plenty of benefits that enterprise project management brings to your projects. We will try to list some of them below:
- EPM ensures that each project serves the overarching aims of the organization.
- It helps individual projects follow best practices, perform the same objectives, and use the same knowledge to overcome issues.
- EPM can help you keep project management at a high standard by providing a uniform framework for reporting and centralizing PM leadership and support.
Enterprise vs. Traditional Project Management
There’s nothing wrong with traditional project management even today. However, traditional project management is primarily suitable for small projects only. But, nowadays, the dynamic shifts the larger and more complex the project becomes until the entire process is hopelessly mired in bureaucracy.
That becomes a disaster for the enterprise. How? Large corporations have large projects that need solutions to make their project management more effective and efficient. Hence, this is precisely where enterprise project management kicks in and enters the picture.
The most significant benefit of the enterprise model for project management is its transitional nature. When you implement a system within an organization, you can use it across departments. It can work just as well in marketing and sales as in the HR and IT departments. It should scale seamlessly based on project size.
Elements of Enterprise Project Management
Risk Analysis
Risk analysis identifies and assesses the qualitative and quantitative impact of the risks to a project so that you can take appropriate measures to mitigate them.
Risk analysis can get quite complex since it requires specific experience and thorough knowledge of the project portfolio and company.
Project Estimating
Project estimating is another critical component of project management, which estimates project costs, duration, or resources. EPM helps you set the standards for structured estimating for project managers.
Project Reviews
Periodic project reviews track the progress of the current projects and the potential risks.
There are four possible types of reviews:
- project commitment
- startup
- progress
- and close-out
These reviews regularly check the project standards, issues, status, and if you require updates for the risk mitigation plan.
Adequate Personnel Training
Project management can quickly become a stressful job without adequate training and resources. EPMOs tend to invest in PMOs by providing valuable training to help project managers develop and acquire the technical and management skills required.
Training can be done in-house or externally by sourced project management experts.
Project Escalations
Escalation in project management takes an issue to a higher level of priority. Thus, these issues might require intervention from the executive team.
To improve the issue management system, the EPMO has to develop standard rules and processes for escalation that will be used and applied across departments.
Time Tracking
Time is the essential metric in the project lifecycle.
A good time tracking system allows you to precise measure where time is spent on a project. The EPMO can use this data from each team’s timesheets to develop future project planning and estimating guidelines.
EMP Software
The information system is simply the backbone of enterprise project management.
Having robust EMP software in place can be a massive time-saver for planning, reporting, and tracking your projects.
For instance, Asana’s reporting tool is convenient for tracking projects’ progress in real-time and provides flexibility by allowing you to gather and share insights across multiple project teams and departments.
Benefits of Enterprise Project Management
Here’s a breakdown of how enterprise project management can help you and your team:
- It equips you with the resources you need
- Provides additional support for your team
- Improves project success rates
- Improves overall project management standards
Conclusion
Managing multiple projects simultaneously within a single organization can be scary and challenging. Thus, many companies adopted enterprise project management for their business plan.
Not only did EPM equip them with the resources they needed, but it also provided additional support and improved project success rates and overall project management standards.
