How to Change the Priority Scale of a Project Effectively

A project manager must have a thorough understanding of his work. Even so, there was still something they couldn't control. There are changes that may have an impact on changing deadlines and priorities.

The conditions that drive this demand to appear at the last minute will affect the shift in priorities and the reallocation of resources. That's when a project manager is required to be able to manage his team according to the potential and abilities of each according to the challenges faced.

The most common problems that occur in planning and have the potential to change priorities are competition for resources, increasing the scope of work, and changing risks. Even so, the project manager must still have the ability to anticipate so that organizational goals are achieved properly.

Why are Priorities Important?

Setting priorities is necessary to get everything done that needs to be done. Priorities are important so that a person can pay more attention to important and urgent tasks before moving to focus on other tasks with lower priority.

If you don't take the time to prioritize, it's hard to get work done on time. A team will be stressed about how to complete everything on the task list so it has a tendency to be unproductive.

How to Change the Scale of Effective Priorities

Changes that occur in an organization or company are unavoidable. This must be faced with an appropriate response to changes in priority scale while still making the final results according to plan. Here's how to change the priority scale that is effective in a team.

1. Not taking changes in priorities personally

Completion of a job at work is often influenced by the ego. It's best not to feel offended if changes occur that result in delaying or canceling a decision. In the context of project management, a team is required to be agile while still giving their best effort in dealing with it.

2. Maintain focus and risk management

Don't sacrifice order by changing priorities. The scope or delivery date of a project may change, but you still need to deliver a successful outcome within the budget and within the agreed upon timescale.

You should review the scope of the project so you can move on and proceed with confidence. To stay on track, you must rely on the governance, change control, and risk management processes on ongoing projects.

3. Have clear communication with management

Changes in priorities often occur usually due to changes in the scope of the project which have a direct impact on costs and schedules. This has the potential to occur in large and small scale projects. At this stage, a project manager must be able to understand the impact on a project.

Communicating the severity of impact to the team and senior management is critical to maintaining profitability and end results. Shifts in priorities that often occur can indeed be caused by business conditions, but can also be caused by bad management. Therefore, it is important for management to understand its influence.

4. Take advantage of the right software or tools

When priorities change frequently and cannot be predicted in line with the direction of the company or changing client needs, the use of software can be very helpful. Many software are capable of supporting multiple projects simultaneously despite having a flexible priority system. You can even get an estimated timescale to adapt to the ever-changing project landscape.

5. Closely observe the progress of the project

Apart from utilizing cloud-based software project features that can make business easier, a project manager must be able to monitor every development carefully. This relates not only to deadlines, but also milestones, suppliers, contractors, team members and other resources required as the project progresses.

Changes in priorities also greatly affect changes in the allocation of resources and the concentration of a project manager. Your skills may be more needed to handle other things before finally returning to the projects you are good at.

In the end, an agile project manager also needs to be supported by good project management, including the use of tools. This helps them to consider as many risks as possible. That way, the project manager can predict the right response to a project or product so that it can be better accepted in the market.