Advantages of project management

Good project management increases the chances of delivering results on time, within budget and with the quality expected. Schwalbe notes that organisations adopting formal project management see better control, lower costs and higher satisfaction.

Advantages

1. Better control of financial, physical and human resources: resources are planned and tracked.
2. Improved customer relations: regular communication and clear scope increase customer satisfaction.
3. Shorter development times: planning and scheduling avoid delays and rework.
4. Lower costs: cost estimating, budgeting and earned value help avoid overruns.
5. Higher quality and increased reliability: quality planning and control are built in.
6. Higher profit margins: efficient delivery improves return on investment.
7. Improved productivity: clear roles, responsibilities and goals.
8. Better internal coordination: communication among departments and the team.
9. Higher worker morale: team members understand their tasks and progress.
10. Risk reduction: threats are identified and managed in advance.
11. Early problem detection: monitoring identifies deviations quickly.
12. Alignment with strategy: projects are chosen and managed to meet business objectives.
13. Knowledge reuse: lessons learned and standard templates support later projects.
14. Better decision making: facts and metrics replace guesswork.

Example: An IT company that applies PMBOK processes to its software projects reduces delays by using a baseline schedule and weekly status reports, and wins repeat orders from clients.