Engineering is a complex field. The success of any project relies on more than just technical expertise. A project manager must oversee the entire process, handling every component properly and on schedule. This role is crucial. The Project Management Institute reports poor project leadership costs companies $1 million every 20 seconds. Their findings also show that:

• One in three projects fails to meet its goals.
• 48% of projects miss their deadlines.
• 43% exceed their budgets.

Engineering projects often have critical deadlines and are integral to larger initiatives. Without active management, the resulting costs and reputational damage can be significant. Thankfully, project management skills can be learned. Even if your background is in engineering, you can adopt best practices to keep your team organized. Here are tips for better managing engineering projects.

Set Milestones and Deadlines for Completion

A clear indicator of a poorly managed project is an approaching deadline that suddenly seems unattainable. While setbacks can occur and processes may fall behind, a skilled project manager should be able to anticipate potential delays before they become critical issues. Mastering the Project Evaluation Review Technique is crucial for new project managers. PERT helps identify necessary tasks, sequence them properly, and estimate their durations. PERT requires considering four time estimates for project or task completion:

• Optimistic time: The shortest possible completion time.
• Pessimistic time: The longest possible completion time.
• Most likely time: The best estimate assuming no major issues.
• Expected time: The best estimate considering potential setbacks.

Using PERT to create a project diagram, you can identify the smaller tasks that need to be completed and their deadlines to meet the overall project timeline. This allows for adjustments based on task progress.

Utilize Software to Maintain Organization

If engineers share a common strength, they can utilize every available tool. While project management might seem like one of the least technical skills for an engineer, workflows can become complex without proper technology. Engineering project management software can help organize and track essential information, such as:

• Client details and requirements
• Purchase orders and invoices
• Specification documents
• Time tracking data

The right engineering project management software allows quicker response to project teams by replacing inefficient spreadsheets and document folders. Information can be sourced in minutes, and reports and invoices can be sent to clients with a single click, ensuring everyone stays informed and the project progresses smoothly. Utilize an engineering recruiter website to find project management talent with experience in these software solutions.

Define All Project Parameters Before Starting Work

In engineering, details are crucial, yet many projects start with essential information missing. Teams and departments often believe they have everything necessary to begin, but something gets overlooked and discovered too late. Effective project management involves setting all expectations from the outset. The project manager must communicate with the client, senior engineering management, and other key stakeholders to ensure everyone's alignment. This discussion should cover:

• Project objectives
• Teams and departments
• Materials
• Deliverables
• Reporting
• Deadlines
• Scope
• Budgets

The project manager must resolve any uncertainties or disagreements before any engineering work commences.

Create Backup Strategies

In engineering project management, you don't wait until you reach a bridge to decide how to cross it. Instead, you identify all the bridges between your starting point and destination to estimate the time required to cross them or determine alternative routes if a bridge is unavailable.

Even with meticulous planning of task pathways and milestones, unexpected events can still occur. This is particularly true in high-tech processes and procedures. As a project manager, it's crucial to anticipate potential problems and understand how teams can adapt their strategies if issues arise.

Choose the Appropriate Suppliers

The suppliers you choose can significantly impact the progress of your project. Using the wrong ones may lead to delivery delays and other issues, creating a domino effect on the entire project, which can be unpleasant.

Whether it’s an architectural door hardware supplier or any other type, ensure they fit you. You likely have many criteria for selection, so invest the time and effort. By doing so, you'll encounter fewer problems down the road.

Trust Your Team and Avoid Micromanagement

Understanding the details is important, but trusting your team to handle them is crucial. Transitioning to leadership is challenging because it involves shifting from doing everything yourself to managing processes and workflows.

Delegating tasks empowers your team members with a sense of ownership. Micromanaging sets you up for failure, as engineering projects thrive on collaboration and coordination, and over-involvement undermines this.

Assign tasks that play to your team members' strengths and avoid constant check-ins. A good leader establishes reporting mechanisms and checks in periodically, allowing team members to work independently. This approach enhances their effectiveness and lets you focus on overarching goals rather than minutiae. To lead effectively, position your engineers for success and then step back.

Comprehend Project Specifications

Your engineering knowledge should remain your foundation. Before leading, your team must recognize your understanding of their roles. Good engineers are detail-oriented; mastering these details is essential to earn their respect. As a leader, you must grasp each team member's expertise and understand how it fits into the bigger picture.

Be prepared to ask insightful questions and address detailed project inquiries. If team discussions start to diverge from the desired path, be ready to steer them back on course. While some engineers may prefer working in isolation, which isn't always negative, you must guide them if their focus strays from the project's overall goals. Your ability to comprehend individual tasks will be key to directing the team toward a unified objective.

Determine the Critical Path

Engineering projects have many interconnected elements, each influencing or depending on others. Project managers must grasp these connections to manage workflow, handle unexpected issues, and make adjustments to keep the project on schedule.

The Critical Path Method is a vital tool for engineering project managers. It outlines all dependencies within a project, helping managers determine which tasks must remain on schedule and which have some flexibility. Using the Critical Path Method involves creating a flowchart that details:

• The sequence of tasks within a project
• The dependencies and relationships between tasks
• The longest chain of dependencies in the project

This longest chain is known as the critical path. Focusing on tasks along this path can improve the likelihood of completing the project on time.

Endnote

With a foundational understanding of managing engineering projects, you can now implement these best practices with your team. Begin before hands-on work starts and verify your plans with stakeholders. Ensure you have an overall deadline and sub-deadlines. Understand how the pieces fit together. Have a backup plan and keep your records accessible.