Workflows: The Next Step in Your Project Management Evolution

No task stands alone in a project. Every single piece of work comes within a connected stream of decisions, whether large or small, that lead to a complete project. But many companies become so focused on getting individual pieces of work done that they neglect the larger connective tissue between them.

These are known as workflows and their successful management can lead to greater success and profitability for your company than individual task management alone could ever do.

What Are Workflows?

Project workflows are the steps that make up tasks and connect them within a project so that employees can complete their responsibilities. Every project consists of workflows that connect key project milestones. When seen as a whole, the workflow becomes a meaningful sequence within the project timeline. While project management dictates the direction of a project, project workflows are a task by task map of how a project is composed.

How Can Workflows Help?

Workflows already exist within every company that works on projects simply by the nature of interconnected tasks creating a larger project. But it’s up to managers to own and control these workflows. Developing and refining project workflows within a comprehensive project management solution provides greater control over the timing and cost of projects. By knowing the state of your workflows and how successful they are, improvements can be made for even greater project success in the future.

Successful project workflows help managers organize and record every stage a project needs to progress through, which will create an orderly, easy to follow series of steps for every team member. By creating and refining a workflow that can be applied to either a single project or every project taken on by a company, businesses can ensure better processes.

How Can You Implement Workflows?

Today, project workflow management solutions connect the many tools and systems used across the project workflow and help organizations create and manage their workflows through easy to use building blocks. These customizable actions can then be used to automate business processes that would otherwise take up time within workflows so that resources can focus on revenue-generating tasks. However, these workflows must be implemented correctly to help companies take full advantage of project processes.

Managers must map out their project workflows to understand the entire process, its methodology, and its delivery, and then define all tasks and deliverables for team members to understand. These workflow plans should be presented to the team, clients, and company stakeholders for feedback so any potential blindspots can be prevented.

Afterward, project forecasting should be used to predict changes in resource availability and project demands to keep workflows adaptable and prevent unexpected changes from negatively impacting the project. A strong workflow management system will provide managers with the ability to track every significant task, event, and milestone within the project workflow for greater insights and control over resource alignment over the course of the project. In the end, these insights will help a company continue to refine their workflows over time, helping to eliminate bottlenecks, revenue loss, delays, and more complications that could otherwise diminish project success.

The Revenue Benefits of Workflows

Successful businesses know where they are the most profitable and home in on what will help them to grow as a company. Detailed workflow management and data insights can help organizations create accurate revenue recognition within their projects. In doing so, a business will be able to know where they are or are not profitable, which team members are directly contributing to profits, what tasks are eating away at margins, and what types of workflow processes are supporting project profitability.

The result is that profitable workflows can be replicated across the business and profitable work can be achieved. In the end, workflows aren’t just about making the most of your every task, they’re about making your business a lean, focused, and profitable engine.

Managing your workflows in detail and making true, long-lasting improvements through workflow management solutions will result in greater profits, more satisfied clients, and better utilized resources.

Evolve Through Workflows and More

Project management is always evolving and you need to evolve along with it. Embrace evolution with workflow management and Kantata.