Project Management is a practice that is mandatory for businesses and individuals looking to complete tasks on time. It is an exercise that helps business serve their customer better and in turn grow their businesses in the most appropriate manner. Business owners or those who have been tasked with the project must keep in touch with all stakeholders including the clients to ensure everything flows smoothly.
But then, that is just about project management. The real issue lies in how the profit of the project is gauged. You cannot calculate the profits well unless you include the aspect of the actual time spent in completing the project. For this reason, a time tracking tool like weeklytimelog becomes a priority.
Importance of time tracking for in project management
Time is the greatest investment in Project Management. Unless you learn to master the art of scheduling, managing and tracking time, you can’t go far. This is where TrackTime24.com offer expert solutions.
In most cases, projects get finished on a date just as it might have been planned. Immediately after that, the issue of the budget comes is. It is one thing to complete the project in time and a different thing to complete it timely and in the budget. Many do not stop to ask whether or not the project was finished with the planned budget or it extended. Sometimes the funds allocated might not have been exhausted, but then was what you use the optimal resources?
These concerns may seem complicated to some and hard to others. But, it is essential that you understand how you spend your time and resources in any project.
Time tracking and budget are related because they determine the full success of the project. You might have finished the project on time but overspent, that might cost you. Or you finished in time but did not exhaust the optimal resources, which might result in shoddy work.
Time tracking is important to the following groups of people in the ways indicated:
Time tracking helps CEOs and Finances to have more control over the efficiency of their teams. The team measured by how much they have achieved in how much time. As a result, they can be able to estimate the burn rate and make decisions strategically as the demands of the project reveal.
Developers require time tracking too. Many only focus on the productivity aspect when it comes to time tracking, but then time tracking plays the major role in fostering development. When you keep track of the pace of the project, you will determine if ever any of their efforts requires an extra boost. In essence, it makes it possible to address shortcomings in skills before they create bigger issues. Developers will also be able to look at their estimates and the actual work and to see whether or not everything is going according to the plan.
There is a need for quality assurance in any project. This is only made possible and easy with time tracking. They use time tracking to establish the rate of inspection which can be used to make projections for the future more accurately.
Clients find time tracking a useful tool as well. It is the proof they need that their money is giving back true worth of their investment. Through time tracking, clients can see the amount of time and effort being placed into achieving specific milestones. Because of that, they will know exactly how and what they are being charged for. It gives confidence to the clients.
Finally, there are the Project Managers to whom time tracking is of uttermost importance. It allows them to keep track on the performance of their teams and make necessary adjustments. That way, it is easier to make estimates for the future. You can use the historical data from time tracking to estimate how much will be used to achieve specific goals.
Working hours may seem like they are made equal, but they are not. It is much harder, for example, to account for the unbillable hours. Billable hours, on the other hand, are easy to understand for they cover the actual task.
If there are any issues with billing for hours you spend carrying out any task; it is important to discuss them with your client at length. This will help when it comes to the actual timeline and costs.
Now that you understand the why you need time tracking let us consider a few tips that can help you make it possible.
- Emphasize on the importance of time tracking
It is important that your team understands why they need to track time. You can never overemphasize the importance of time tracking. In essence time tracking should be for accountability and resource analysis.
- Define your people and tasks
Since you are going to request for accountability at the end of the day, ensure that you have allocated tasks to specific people. This should be done before you even begin the project. You need to look at the capability of a person while allotting them with tasks. Every stakeholder must understand what they are supposed to do and in what manner.
- Let individual tasks’ time be mapped
It is important that every individual track their own time on the project. However, there will come a time for reporting and analysis in which such information might not be helpful. Everyone understands their task, which others might not. To create a neutral ground, use a business analyst to define the tasks for everyone collectively.
- Use facts and not myths
Time tracking is not a tool to specifically evaluate the performance of employees. Using it for this purpose might affect their performance review. Explain to the team that it is only for reporting and analysis. If you break this myth, you have higher chances of gaining the confidence of your team.
Conclusion
The data from time tracking can be used for compiling a lot of management reports. For example, the project manager can compare the data against the estimated time and ensure everything in on track. In other words, time tracking in an asset in project management.
Author Bio:
Harry Johnson has been a Growth Hacking and Technical content manager at weekly time log since 2017. His passion and strategies for cracking the tough in online marketing flow through the industry. He has documented hundreds of technical processes and taught growth hacking and technical writing through various blogs, articles, and Community Gathering.
