Building an App Without a Project Manager – A False Economy?

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In the 21 century where everything develops with great speed, we must rely on resources that can ease our work.

In the 21 century where everything develops with great speed, we must rely on resources that can ease our work. This is why in Software Development Industry we use instruments like project management. Project management is the process of leading the planning, organization, and execution of a software development project from start to finish. This includes managing the product design, development timeline, budget, resources, and risks associated with the project. Project management in App Development also involves tracking progress and ensuring that the project meets its goals, is delivered on time, and meets the customer’s expectations.

Project management falls under the attributions of a qualified project manager, capable of coordinating and implementing viable solutions for his projects. In addition to the technical knowledge at his disposal, a project manager must have great intrapersonal qualities to be able to organize work teams. It also needs a 360-degree vision of the team, on communication with the client, but also on the projects is imperatively necessary. Taking this into consideration, here are some of the benefits that project management can bring to an IT project:

  1. Improved Business Performance: Project management provides a structured approach to managing projects, which can help organizations improve their performance and increase efficiency. This helps them meet their business objectives and reach their goals;
  2. Enhanced Teamwork: Project management provides a framework for teams to work together effectively, which can help to foster collaboration, communication and trust;
  3. More Efficient Resource Allocation: Project management allows organizations to plan and allocate resources more effectively, ensuring they are used in the most efficient way;
  4. Improved Risk Management: Project management helps to identify and manage risks, which can help organizations to avoid potential problems and reduce their overall risks;
  5. Increased Visibility: Project management provides visibility into projects and progress, which can help organizations to better understand how their projects are progressing and make decisions accordingly;
  6. Increased Quality: Project management helps to ensure that projects are delivered on time, within budget and to the highest possible standards of quality.

Enumerating all these qualities, we could then ask why some entrepreneurs choose not to turn to a project manager when they decide to develop an application. The most used reason would be false knowledge of how to save money. The other reason is that you can save time by skipping some stages of a project. Is that true though? With the right planning, you can ensure that your work is delivered on time and within budget. Using project management methods, you can map your project’s journey from the outset and know in advance where the deadlines — and projected spending — are going to fall, so you can more efficiently allocate your resources, helping you to avoid delays and project overspending.

Across complex IT projects, we noticed that if a project manager represents circa 10% of the project`s one-off costs, then the project manager is most likely to be a “saving factor” rather than a cost, hence a good return on investment. And what do we mean by that? Well, if a project costs £500K to implement, with a “good” Project Manager costing £50K of the £500K, then you are most likely to have your “complex” project or program delivered on time, within scope and budget. However, if you decide to save yourself £50K, and only budget £450K, the odds are very high that your planning, scoping and budgeting are flawed. Ending up paying anywhere between £600K and £900K, OR MORE, for a  £500K project or program which is also likely to be late and of poor quality.

Also, take into account that the extra costs will be generated by last-minute tasks and issues, with an urgency to fix them, leading to paying a premium for your resources, change requests, etc. The next time someone says that project or program managers are “nice to have” for complex efforts, challenge them to do the basic math above and whether “failure and a false economy are the only options?”  Do they believe that their “casual project managers” will have the time and skills to do everything necessary to ensure success? But unfortunately, people still learn this the hard way, underestimate the complexity, and end up approaching project/program management as a proper “value-added” profession only when it’s too late.

At 7code we promote a proactive not reactive attitude. Therefore, we encourage our customers and partners to hire a Project Manager for their projects to help them reduce the final cost, improve collaboration and communication, but also to deliver a final product of quality and to the standards set initially. In all our previous collaborations, flexibility has been the fundamental value that helped maintain solid partnerships, achieving the agreed goals and deadlines.

In other words, we want to inspire trust and reliability, as every project is the mirror of each of us and our services. We build on-demand development teams to help you, by carefully understanding your requirements and your vision. We adjust our work to each business and we commit to delivering quality code and stable applications. We know how important it is to kick-start your idea and move fast. Remember – being successful it’s not always about technology. It’s about the people you work with as well.

For more information, you can visit our website or book a call with our CEO, Nicu Mardari here