In a tough business environment, the only thing that is almost guaranteed is competition; competition from companies that are larger or which have far more resources; whether that's financial or staff numbers to dedicate to the various business functions.

Your vision for long-term survival depends not just on knowing your competitors, but knowing your own company inside out. From senior management to junior personnel, all are part of the same team and need information to service your clients efficiently, but project managers are on the front line. So why is project management still left to chance?

Whether you are an architect, engineer, interior designer or surveyor, you need to make the most of the information you have and use it effectively.

Your project managers need to be armed with knowledge to get the best out of them and everyone else involved in your projects. For effective project management here are some of the key elements your project managers need to know:

Which employees spent time on the project?
What expenses have been charged to the project and is the client expected to reimburse them? If not, has it been budgeted for in assessing the fee and therefore the profit?
What consultant or subcontractors costs have been charged to the project and is the client expected to reimburse them? If not, has it been budgeted for in assessing the fee and therefore the profit?
How much of the budget is left and can we continue as planned?
How much of the budget has been used and does that match our progress?
What resources are budgeted for the project?
From the invoices sent to the client, how much has not yet been paid?
Have services been provided (resources used or expenses incurred) that have not yet been invoiced to the client?
How much has the client already been invoiced in relation to work completed?
How is the client paying for the services - staged payments, time and material etc?

Sceenshot heading: Project Review shows at a glance the comparison between the budget and actuals, showing the project profit and overall % complete. The figures which are underlined have a further drill down function.

As well as meeting their clients to review progress on projects, many company's fail to make adequate time for a review of projects by senior management on a regular basis as standard practice, let alone the project manager communicating with the project staff. Failure to review, by senior management, to strategically guide the project, promotes lack of communication and information down the line.

Make your reporting system an integral part of the decision process. Many companies never review the reports they "rely on," which were designed many years ago, in fact if you are honest, do you know how many of your staff ever read them? Information can either overload your staff or help them to manage:

Use a reporting system to provide information on key measurements for your company.
Provide your staff with reports that are both useful and meaningful as simply as possible.
Analyse your company's performance indicators that are useful to you e.g. by market sector, manager, profit centre, region, etc.
Use resource plans to optimise utilisation and develop revenue and expense forecasts for individual projects or stages through to the total company view.
Use exception reporting or automated alerts and workflow to advise your staff of significant changes, milestones or targets that have been reached.

In order for any company to prosper, senior management must be committed to the long-term vision. This involves giving everyone adequate information to perform the tasks they have been set, whether they are senior management, project managers, accounting or marketing personnel, they must all work as a team.

Project Central are developers of Deltek Vision, a system specially designed for professional services companies whose success depends upon healthy client relationships and management of projects and contracts.