The more projects, the better your business runs – right? But how do you keep an overview when all those projects start running in parallel? In this article we will discuss 3 tips that will help you keep an overview of your projects and ensure that you can make adjustments in time when necessary.
Tip 1: Determine the budgeted, planned and actual hours
Creating an overview starts with good administration. So, first list for yourself which projects are running and how many budgeted, planned and actual hours each project has.
For example, a project can be budgeted for 100 hours, of which 80 hours have already been planned and 60 hours have actually been spent. Those 60 hours are therefore the actual amount of project hours that have been worked so far and for which costs have been incurred.
Tip 2: Determine the project progress
Of course, with only the hours, you don’t know anything about the status of the project. Because if the project is already finished, then 60/100 actual hours naturally gives a skewed picture of the project progress. After you have mapped out the hours, you must do the same with the progress of the project.
You do this by dividing each project into the various parts/milestones and assigning a progress percentage to them. Usually the project manager can do this, but in some cases you will have to check the progress with the various project employees.
In this way you can give meaning to the actual hours. If the progress in the example above is now 50%, then only 50/100 hours of value has been created while 60/100 has already been spent.
Tip 3: Make a financial analysis
Now that you have insight into the project hours and project progress, it is important to know what the actual hours have cost. To do this, you must make a financial analysis in which you calculate the project result in euros or any other currency. With that analysis you can determine whether your projects are still within their budget.
Because, for example, if a project is 100% completed with 75/100 actual hours, then this looks good in terms of hours. But if this is achieved through the use of a senior who costs 150% more than the budgeted junior, you will still end up negative in terms of euros. The other way around is of course also possible. For example, that you have an overrun in terms of hours, but that you still remain within the budget in euros by using a cheaper employee. By making a financial analysis this will give you valuable insight into the status of the projects.
Conclusion
With insight into the hours, progress and result in euros of each project, you create an overview for yourself. It is important that you do not make these calculations at the end of the project, but that you do this weekly during the entire duration of the project. That way you can see problems coming, see possibilities for solutions and make adjustments before it is too late.
