What is external project management?
External project management means bringing in external experts or consultants from outside your own organisation to lead and manage your project. This is different from the traditional way, where your own staff manage the project from start to finish.
External project management works particularly well when your project is complex, tightly scheduled or requires specialist skills that are not available within your organisation. It is also suitable for situations where you need a neutral perspective or want to free up your own staff to focus on your core business.
**Independence brings objectivity to decision-making.** When you choose external project management, you get an actor who is not tied to your company’s internal interests or politics. This allows them to make objective decisions that focus purely on the success of the project.
External project managers don’t have to navigate the power games or personal relationships within your organisation. They can focus on what really serves the project best. This translates into faster decision-making and more efficient use of resources.
**Specialist skills bring depth to the project.** External project managers bring specialist skills that your organisation may not have. They have worked in different industries and seen a wide range of challenges, giving them a broad experience base. This experience helps them to identify potential problems early and develop effective solutions.
Their expertise often ranges from technical implementation to risk management and stakeholder communication. This holistic view will help you avoid situations where a project succeeds technically but fails business-wise.
**New perspectives open up new opportunities.** When you’ve worked in the same company for a long time, you can become blind to certain ways of doing things. An outside expert will see your situation with clear eyes and can suggest innovative solutions you hadn’t considered before. This is particularly useful when you face complex problems or need to make rapid changes to the way you work.
They bring best practices from other industries and can apply them to your situation. This cross-pollination often leads to innovative solutions that give you a competitive edge.
**Neutral leadership promotes collaboration.** The role of the external project manager is to act as a neutral leader of the project. They are able to assess situations without bias or personal interest from within your company. This independence is valuable because it allows you to make decisions based solely on the best possible outcome of the project.
Neutral leadership also helps to resolve potential conflicts between different departments or stakeholders. An external project manager can act as a mediator and find solutions that serve the project as a whole.
How does external project management affect quality?
External project management improves the quality of your production processes in several concrete ways. When you bring in an external expert, you gain experience that helps you avoid typical pitfalls and optimise your processes.
**Risk management will be significantly improved.** External project managers have worked on numerous projects and have seen where things can go wrong. They know how to identify risks that can affect project quality or schedule before they materialise. This proactive approach helps you develop solutions upfront, avoiding major problems later.
Experienced project managers use systematic risk management tools to help identify, assess and prioritise risks. They also know how to develop contingency plans that minimise the impact of risks on quality.
An objective view also helps to assess risks. When you are too close to your own project, you may underestimate certain risks or be too optimistic about timelines. An external expert will give you a realistic assessment of the situation and help you prepare for potential challenges.
**Resource optimisation is greatly enhanced.** External experts bring knowledge and experience on how to use resources more efficiently. They can assess which equipment works optimally, how to allocate staff to different tasks and how to organise the procurement of materials in a cost-effective way.
Resource optimisation also extends to time management. An experienced project manager can identify bottlenecks and critical paths that can slow down a project. They can plan the work so that resources are used evenly throughout the project.
This optimisation is directly reflected in the quality of the processes. When resources are in the right place at the right time, work flows more smoothly and there are fewer errors. At the same time, wastage is reduced as materials and working time are used efficiently.
**Timing becomes more accurate and reliable.** External project management professionals are used to planning and implementing projects within tight deadlines. They know how to create realistic schedules that take into account potential delays and unexpected challenges.
Scheduling is based on actual experience from similar projects. This makes the estimates more accurate than those based on theoretical calculations alone. They are also able to identify critical steps that require special attention in order to meet the schedule.
When your project stays on schedule, it has a positive impact on quality. Rush and pressure can lead to mistakes and carelessness, but a well-planned schedule gives room for quality work. An external project manager will also be able to prioritise tasks so that the most important quality-affecting steps receive sufficient time and attention.
**Quality assurance is systematically improved.** Experienced external project managers bring proven quality assurance methods to the table. They can set clear quality standards and ensure that they are met at every stage of the project. This systematic approach to quality reduces errors and improves the consistency of the final result.
Quality assurance is not just about checking the final product, it is part of the whole process. The external project manager sets milestones and checkpoints where quality is regularly assessed. This allows for quick corrections before problems become major.
**Professional project management includes systematic documentation and monitoring. This helps you understand what works well and where there is room for improvement. Good documentation also serves future projects by allowing you to build on lessons learned.
Cost-effectiveness
External project management can bring significant savings, even though it may seem like an extra cost at first glance. When you look at the big picture, you’ll find that a well-managed project pays for itself many times over.
**External project managers specialise in resource management and optimisation.** The direct cost savings come from efficiency. They know how to identify where money is being wasted and how to make processes more efficient. This may mean reducing material costs through better procurement contracts, optimising labour costs through more efficient work sharing or eliminating unnecessary costs.
Their experience in different industries gives them insight into which solutions are truly cost-effective in the long term. They can guide you to avoid cheap but poor quality solutions that will lead to additional costs later on.
Experienced project managers also know the market and suppliers, which helps to negotiate better prices and conditions. Their network can open up new opportunities for cost savings.
**Delay costs are significantly reduced.** When your project stays on schedule and is completed as planned, you avoid costly delays. Production stoppages can cost a lot, especially if your customers have to wait for their deliveries. Outsourced project management helps you meet market demand quickly and reliably.
Delays can lead to penalties, missed opportunities or damage to customer relationships. These costs are often many times higher than the initial project costs. With professional project management, you can avoid these risks.
Staying on schedule also means that your staff can move on to the next tasks as planned. This improves the efficiency of the whole organisation and reduces the cost of waiting.
**Reduces the cost of errors.** For complex projects, external expertise significantly reduces the risk of errors. Errors can lead to costly repairs, re-implementation or even redesign of the whole project. An experienced project manager can anticipate potential problems and steer the project to avoid mistakes.
The cost of errors increases exponentially as the project progresses. An error made in the design phase is cheap to correct, but in the production phase the same error can cost dozens of times more. Outside expertise helps to identify and correct problems early.
Quality assurance is also important for cost-effectiveness. By getting quality right first time, you avoid the need for after-the-fact repairs and customer complaints.
**Optimise staff costs.** With external project management, you can focus your staff on your core competencies. This improves their productivity and job satisfaction. At the same time, you avoid having to hire temporary staff for a project.
An experienced project manager can also make the most of your team’s expertise. They recognise each person’s strengths and can allocate tasks accordingly. This leads to better results and less stress.
**Long-term benefits increase.** External project management brings new approaches and best practices to your organisation. Your staff will learn to work with experienced professionals, improving their skills for the future. This skills transfer is a valuable investment that will benefit your business in the long term.
Successful projects build your organisation’s capacity to manage future challenges. Your staff will learn new methods and tools that they can use later. This increases the project management capacity of the whole organisation.
Successful projects also improve the company’s reputation and reliability in the market. This can lead to new business opportunities and customer relationships that add value to your company.
**Scalability brings flexibility.** With external project management, you can scale your resources as needed. During large projects, you can tap into additional expertise, but you don’t need to hire permanent staff. This flexibility helps you manage costs and react quickly to market changes.
Scalability also means you can tap into specialist expertise when you need it. This is much more cost-effective than keeping all the expertise in-house.
**More efficient use of technology.** External project managers bring the latest project management tools and methods. These can significantly improve project efficiency and transparency. You don’t have to invest in these tools yourself, you can use them for the duration of the project.
Hefmec offers a wide range of project and professional services covering investment projects, equipment acquisition projects and production transfer projects. We are involved in your projects from start to finish, ensuring that your project is a success. Find out more about our services here.
