Did you know that 45% of products failed to be delivered on time and schedule?
It’s true. Nearly half of the product launches are delayed at least one month, according to a 2019 product manager survey conducted by Gartner. In addition, only 1 in 10 products meets all the internal targets set by the management.
Why is it so? Well, several factors impact product delivery, including:
- A lack of launch processes
- Unexpected errors and bugs
- Lack of quality inspection
- Supply problems
- Failure to meet customer expectations
Those are just a few factors. There are a lot more. For example, if you’re launching a product, how can you ensure it gets ready on schedule? We’re going to talk about the importance of delivery management, what development managers need to do, and the best strategy is to adopt.
What is Delivery Management?
A development manager role is very stressful. They are middlemen that need to wear several different hats daily. Every day, they have to communicate with the sales team, developers, and upper management and make sure everyone’s doing their job such as training teams on how to manage money with budgeting percentages.
More often than not, they get caught up in little things that, while needed, can distract them from the ultimate goal – sticking to the schedule and getting the product done.
For instance, developing a new piece of software requires a lot of focus. The team has to be ready to give it their all until the project is finished. It may require you to close yourself out from the world.
Now, as we mentioned, small things like these can help keep the customer satisfied. However, they can’t keep a development manager too busy. Delivery management is all about ensuring that things are done on time and that every member of the team is on the same page.
How to Improve Delivery Management
If a person is working on their first project, they probably don’t have much experience planning and employing different management methodologies. As a result, they’ll probably need some guidance. Here are a few basic things that can improve development and delivery management in hard-working environments.
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Staying Completely Honest
Being completely honest will help a lot. For example, if the manager doesn’t think that the project the team is working on is feasible, they need to talk to the customer. Maybe they can tweak some things. If not, they can drop out of the project completely. Better that than having to deal with failure.
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Delegation Management
A lot of times, the project manager will need to re-allocate resources to make the teamwork better. To do this, the manager needs to be familiar with every team member, so they can know who can take up someone’s load in a specific situation. Investing in project management software with good delegation features isn’t a bad idea.
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Being Ready for Everything
No matter how much planning is done, unexpected problems are going to come up. That’s why the manager needs to think on the fly and come up with quick solutions. All of the team members should be prepared for this.
Smart Management Leads to Success
Before your next project, it’s essential to sit down with your development/delivery manager and go over everything. They need to know what you expect from them, how demanding their job is, and see what you can do to help them.
If needed, you can create templates and checklists that will make the job easier. They should never start from scratch. Mapping everything out will help the entire team work smarter instead of harder and improve everyone’s performance.
