How to Overcome Remote Project Challenges?
How to Overcome Remote
Project Challenges
An overview with Peter & Sandra from XER Management AB
Managing large and mega projects in a remote setting is a common challenge for project management professionals worldwide. Coordinating these projects needs a special consideration of multiple elements and the way they are handled has a major influence on the outcome. Some tools come to the rescue, a topic we covered with Peter and Sandra from XER Management AB, a Swedish consulting company that covers Project Controls from start to finish with over 450+ executed projects worldwide.
What are the most common challenges you’ve encountered when managing remote projects, and how do you address them effectively?
Sandra
There are always many people involved in the projects, which makes it difficult to get the right information and get in contact with the right people you are looking for.
There are always many people involved in the projects, which makes it difficult to get the right information and get in contact with the right people you are looking for.
Peter
A challenge with working remotely is that you don’t create spontaneous meetings and that colleagues avoid from asking for information, this can create information gaps within the projects. Constantly giving participants in the projects access to find the latest information themselves is incredibly important.
A challenge with working remotely is that you don’t create spontaneous meetings and that colleagues avoid from asking for information, this can create information gaps within the projects. Constantly giving participants in the projects access to find the latest information themselves is incredibly important.
Could you share insights into the tools and technologies you rely on for remote project management? How have these tools improved your project outcomes?
Sandra
By having the necessary information in one tool like PPM Core that only people involved in the project have access to, it gives us space to spend our time moving forward and not going around in circles. PPM Core makes it easy to find the information you need.
By having the necessary information in one tool like PPM Core that only people involved in the project have access to, it gives us space to spend our time moving forward and not going around in circles. PPM Core makes it easy to find the information you need.
Peter
PPM Core is a great tool for disseminating information about time and finances so that participants in the project can constantly get the latest information without having to turn to, for example, a planner to get a new printout of a schedule for a certain area or discipline, instead they can retrieve this information themselves by sorting and filtering the plan in PPM Core.
PPM Core is a great tool for disseminating information about time and finances so that participants in the project can constantly get the latest information without having to turn to, for example, a planner to get a new printout of a schedule for a certain area or discipline, instead they can retrieve this information themselves by sorting and filtering the plan in PPM Core.
In your experience, what emerging trends or innovations in project management tools have you noticed that hold promise for addressing remote project challenges more efficiently?
Sandra
From experience, I have noticed that in the daily work, the employees strive to have products and tools that make it easy to visually see what is earliest in the pipe. Which also makes it easy for them to see what they need to prioritize first and what they can deprioritize for the moment. In one of the projects, I work on, we have implemented PPM Core. It is appreciated by the project members as they think it is a good and easy tool to handle. I have only worked in large projects and being efficient can be a problem because there is so much that needs to be done… usually at the same time 😉
From experience, I have noticed that in the daily work, the employees strive to have products and tools that make it easy to visually see what is earliest in the pipe. Which also makes it easy for them to see what they need to prioritize first and what they can deprioritize for the moment. In one of the projects, I work on, we have implemented PPM Core. It is appreciated by the project members as they think it is a good and easy tool to handle. I have only worked in large projects and being efficient can be a problem because there is so much that needs to be done… usually at the same time 😉
Peter
Most projects grow and the information in the projects becomes more and more. Having tools where participants can easily find information and see changes over time is a must in today’s projects.
Most projects grow and the information in the projects becomes more and more. Having tools where participants can easily find information and see changes over time is a must in today’s projects.
Finally, could you share a personal experience where your expertise made a significant impact on a project’s success or provided valuable lessons for overcoming challenges?
Sandra
When you work with planning like we do, we can see where the critical paths begin. We can see the biggest issues close by and the most critical incoming. This helps us to prevent the obstacles early on. And I’ve done that a few times in my work!
When you work with planning like we do, we can see where the critical paths begin. We can see the biggest issues close by and the most critical incoming. This helps us to prevent the obstacles early on. And I’ve done that a few times in my work!
Peter
For several years I have worked with a large project in another location, during this time we have also undergone a pandemic. This creates major challenges in how we communicate and drive the project forward. Constantly working on visualizing and giving participants in the project the opportunity to get access to the latest information is of great importance as the spontaneous meetings do not happen. The fact that we managed to deliver the project on time despite not being able to meet, proves that we managed to create a functioning process to spread information in a successful way.
For several years I have worked with a large project in another location, during this time we have also undergone a pandemic. This creates major challenges in how we communicate and drive the project forward. Constantly working on visualizing and giving participants in the project the opportunity to get access to the latest information is of great importance as the spontaneous meetings do not happen. The fact that we managed to deliver the project on time despite not being able to meet, proves that we managed to create a functioning process to spread information in a successful way.
Peter Axeborn
A Senior Project Planner at XER Management AB with 12+ years of experience in Project Controls across various sectors, including Oil & Gas, Construction, and Civil Infrastructure.
A Senior Project Planner at XER Management AB with 12+ years of experience in Project Controls across various sectors, including Oil & Gas, Construction, and Civil Infrastructure.
Sandra Ljung
A junior Project Planner at XER Management AB, specializing in railway projects.