For a lot of companies, there have been money management issues of Olympic proportions. One of the best things that a project manager can do in terms of cost cutting is to review his or her project and take stock of any things that can be trimmed from the project in terms of cost.
Generally two things happen if there is a downcycle in a company with a project:
1. The scope of the project gets reduced.
2. The project gets cancelled completely.
If this is your only project and it looks like you won’t be reassigned to any new projects what can you do?
If the company wants to keep the project going, you will need to be able start finding major places to cut costs. Plan on working at a lower level of spending than you were before. It may not save the project but it may keep it going for awhile longer in the hopes that the economy will change, that there may be a cash infusion or something will happen to change circumstances.
If the project is going to get cancelled, there isn’t much you can do about it except let your staff know as soon as management lets you know (and they give you permission to tell them). Most employees keep their ear to the ground at a company and in these trying times can tell if there are money problems.
Try to make sure that your resume is current and the best of luck to you. If you have been through these business cycles before, you can see that they follow the expansion and contractions of business spending in a country. Ultimately, if people are living somewhere, things will get developed again. Whether the project is for building a factory or writing the new web portal, eventually the work that will not get done now may end up getting done somewhere and sometime else.
It is up to you to make sure you are around it be able to do it though if you want to. If the work doesn’t come back, like the Olympics, if you have trained and have discipline, there is a chance for medal somewhere else later on.
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Kim Greenblatt talks about Project Management and the two types of cost cutting in his blog, profitable.
Tags: Business, money, Project Management
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I wish you article was a bit more detailed, with examples on how and where the Project Manager can cut costs, and maybe avoid cancellation.
On the same note I would like to propose an article about fixing a failing project:
How to fix a failing project
and a category (with lots of articles) about cost management:
Cost Management.
Thanks for the feedback, PM. I cover a lot of ground in the blog. If I get e-mail or comments that want more depth, I will try to oblige them. Nice site you have and all the best with it. When it comes to details in project management, a lot of people in management only want to hear them when a project is failing.
Kim Greenblatt