Blog Highlights
- 70% of projects miss their original goals — and poor execution process, not poor talent, is the primary cause
- Organizations using a repeatable execution model are 2.5× more likely to deliver projects successfully than those relying on ad hoc approaches
- Effective project execution requires four disciplines: task activation, real-time tracking, stakeholder communication, and scope control
- Waterfall, agile, hybrid, and stage-gate are four distinct execution frameworks — delivery consistency comes from applying whichever you choose with the same discipline every time
- Kytes embeds your execution framework automatically into every new engagement — structured plans, live milestone tracking, and resource governance from day one
What is Standardized project execution?
Standardized project execution means every project in your portfolio follows the exact same process: same structure of the project plan, same rhythm for milestones, same governance process for scope change, same view into delivery to stakeholders. What was aspirational, becomes systemic-one driven by the execution plan, for every engagement.
Project teams generally know how to run one project successfully. The difficulty lies in running fifty successfully, at different project managers, different clients, and different delivery models. When no standardized approach is followed each team reinvent its own process. Unpredictable results then ensue.
Standardized execution remedies this. Each project manager, and the associated project team members all operate from the same “operating model”. Thus delivery quality does not vary from one project to another.
What Happens During the Project Execution Phase?
The delivery phase involves the plan turning into a reality. This is where the project team works on the tasks allocated to them and the delivery of project milestones and resources are provided to relevant stakeholders. The performance against the project plan is monitored by the project manager at each point of the plan and deviation to be corrected at each stage prior to impact on deliverable or time exceeding stakeholder expectation.
Four activities define effective execution:
- Assign and activate – The project manager assigns tasks to team members based on skills, capacity, and project goals. Every team member understands their role, their milestones, and how their work connects to the overall project plan
- Track and monitor – The project team tracks progress against the project plan in real time. Schedule variances, resource conflicts, and scope changes are surfaced early — not discovered in end-of-sprint reviews.
- Manage stakeholders – A formal report on project progress is provided to the stakeholder at a pre-agreed interval. The communications should be tied to the scope and project deliverables not based on “on-demand” requests.
- Manage stakeholders – Structured project progress updates are delivered to stakeholders at regular intervals. Communication is framed around project objectives and phases and not triggered by ad hoc requests.
- Control scope and risk – Project Manager will take responsibility for enforcing Change control. All changes to project scope will be assessed for impact to the project plan, budget and team capacity and either approved or rejected before work commences.
Choosing the Right Execution Frameworks
An execution framework dictates how a project is executed from initiation to closure. The correct execution framework is dictated by how a project is being delivered, the amount of scope uncertainty, and the way stakeholders need to interact throughout the project.
Delivery consistency isn’t having every team follow the same execution framework. It’s having every team follow its respective execution framework in the same disciplined way; consistent governance, consistent tracking cadence and defined rules for the management of milestones, resources and deliverables on every project.
How Kytes Powers Standardized Project Execution
Kytes is a PSA & PPM solution for organizations who need to execute projects reliably and at scale. The system supports customers in many industries from IT Services to Pharma and EPC to GCC and embeds execution frameworks directly within project workflows. From project definition (structured project plan from day one, using a framework) and planning (real-time, milestone-driven status reports), to resource management (linked to the project plan) and control (inbuilt governance throughout all stages of the project lifecycle).
Every new engagement in Kytes will be implemented using the relevant execution framework defined for the organization from the scope of work and resourcing to milestone tracking and delivery. Every team member works within the one common system and every project stakeholder is provided with real-time views on project delivery at all stages. Consistency is not a goal at Kytes; it is the default operation model.
One of the only common traits among organizations which deliver consistently is how they view the infrastructure required for delivery, it is not invented on the fly. Each project manager works within a common structure for the plan, milestones and processes used to manage resources.
Standardize the way your teams deliver projects.
Bring planning, execution, resource management, milestones, and visibility into one connected system with Kytes.
