Since the Covid-19 pandemic, digital technology has occupied a central place in organizations. If, before the health crisis, digital transformation was already well underway in some companies, others were forced to adopt digital solutions overnight to continue to operate.
Today, companies have had to completely change their environment and transform their working methods to adapt to this new context, and to employees in demand of digital solutions. Now projects are mostly digital, meaning they use the Internet and digital technologies to deliver a project or service directly to the customer, whether it’s software, an application, content, games, advertising, etc.
Digital project management is similar to traditional project management in terms of planning, organization, resource and task management, and delivery to the client. However, it differs in the way of working and the tools used.
Here are four strategies to help you succeed in your digital endeavours.
Define the precise objectives
This is the first essential step to the success of all projects, whether digital or not. You must start by clearly identifying the objective(s) of the project, meaning the reason for which this project must see the light of day.
For this, the SMART method is an essential tool. This acronym stands for:
- Specific: define a simple and precise objective.
- Measurable: you must be able to easily measure the progress made in reaching the objective due to the implementation of various indicators (KPI).
- Achievable: your objective needs to be both ambitious and achievable. To keep your team motivated, the goal should be an attainable challenge.
- Realistic: the objective must take into account all of your constraints (budget, deadlines, resources, etc.).
- Time: the objective is defined in time, meaning you need to define a deadline by which it must be accomplished.
Remember that the objectives of your digital projects must also be understood by everyone to avoid errors and misunderstandings within the project team.
Implement a global digital strategy
Faced with a global digitalization of services, companies no longer have the choice – they must review their strategy to adapt to new digital challenges as well as the new needs and requirements of their clients.
Thus, for your digital projects to succeed, your company must implement a digital strategy that is both innovative and customer centric. That requires digital transformation, i.e., integrating new technologies into all of its activities with the aim of simplifying the work of employees and improving its performance.
Your company must therefore reinvent itself to enter the digital age, create new work processes or modify existing ones, but also to change its culture, improve customer experience and identify new opportunities.
Acquire adapted tools
To succeed in the field of project management, using adapted tools is essential. To effectively manage your digital projects and ensure their success, you need to encourage communication and collaboration within your project team. However, today, more and more employees work elsewhere than on their company premises, whether they are mobile, working from home, or freelancing. You must consider this decentralisation of resources in your work processes, especially in the choice of your tools.
To facilitate data sharing and exchanges between your employees, and to manage your digital projects successfully, there are now many softwares and applications on the market. Here are a few:
- Digital Asset Management (DAM): a collaborative platform for storing, managing, and distributing all the company’s digital files (Word documents or PDF, images, videos, audio files, presentations, etc.) in a single space.
- Digital Workspace: a digital workplace where your employees can carry out their tasks, access their documents and contact all the members of their team, no matter where they are, the time of day, and the device they use (smartphone, computer, or tablet).
- Corporate social network: like a traditional social network, it is a means of internal communication, only accessible to employees of the company, which helps them to connect with each other and follow the news of the team, project, department and/or company.
- Collaborative platform (like Wimi): the essential tool for managing all your digital or classic projects as it has all the features you need to be productive, i.e., instant messaging, videoconference system, shared agenda, task management, document storage space, etc.
Protect yourself from cyber risks
If digital transformation brings its share of benefits to companies, we must not forget its few disadvantages. Indeed, storing data online via cloud solutions can make it vulnerable to cyberattacks. According to the CESIN 2021 barometer (Club des Experts de la Sécurité de l’Information et du Numérique), 58% of cyberattacks have an impact on business, and 57% of companies declare having experience at least one cyberattacks in 2020.
So, when managing digital projects, you must ensure the protection of your data by using secured tools. For example, they must offer end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication or even data sovereignty.
Another important point is that you must warn your teams of cyber risks and train them in best practices to protect the data of your digital project and minimise the risks of computer attacks.
To conclude, the success of your digital projects depends on many factors including organization, planning and resource management. However, it is also necessary to consider the parameters specific to the digital aspect such as data protection and the use of adapted tools.
