Report Findings - Project Delivery Experience during COVID-19

We recently conducted a survey of about 100 project practitioners, primarily Program Directors, Program Managers and Project Managers. This survey looked at the impact of Covid 19, with most people working from home (WFH) in recent times. It examined how recent work environment changes have impacted project delivery through targeting the following areas - project success, effort required, major challenges, opportunities and technologies utilised.

Some key findings include:

62% of respondents are working harder ie. taken on more scope and/or projects, compared to 11% who have a reduced workload.

43% would like to WFH 3/days a week on an ongoing basis, by far the most popular choice.

Biggest challenge faced for running a project remotely, was missing out on informal discussions and losing touch with what’s happening in the business (fingers on the pulse) with 40% . This was closely followed by not being able to influence or build relationships with stakeholders with 32%.

50% felt that the best thing about WFH is the flexibility that it provides.

Given the above numbers we can conclude that whilst people may be working harder on average and there are some challenges of not being in the office, this is offset by the added flexibility and autonomy of WFH.

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Detailed Results Breakdown and Insights:

Question 1: Do you feel that running a project remotely has increased or decreased the projects chances of being successful?

As seen above almost 70% of participants do not believe that running a project remotely has any impact on the project’s success. ­

There are likely several reasons that 70% felt that it hadn’t impacted success. Referring back to the fundamentals of project success, numerous research pieces suggest that the main reasons for project failure include project sponsorship, stakeholder engagement and clear plan/vision. Given that many of these were already in place pre-covid or were forming, perhaps for the most part Covid has not had a huge impact on these areas.

Question 2: I have taken on greater workload, more projects or more scope?

Around 42% of project practitioners agree, and another 20% strongly agree, that they have taken on more workload whether it be by taking on more projects and/or increased scope. 27% of respondents were not affected and selected neutral. The higher workload seems to suggest that projects are being run much leaner than before and/or responsible PM’s are taking on more accountability through added scope or more streams. We are also hearing that it is taking longer to reach consensus or agreements. For example, can’t just have a quick chat in the office and instead need to coordinate a MS Teams meeting.

Question 3: Moving forward (if you have the choice) how many day’s WFH/week would you prefer?

WFH will definitely be popular going forward with majority of participants, with 43% of respondents preferring to WFH 3days/week. Other preferences included working 2 days equal with 4 days at 18%, followed with 5 days at a close 16%. This indicates that post pandemic, employers will need to continue to offer WFH as an ongoing option.

Question 4: What is the biggest challenge with running a project remotely?

People appear to be missing those informal discussions by the water cooler with 40% seeing it as the biggest challenge. This was closely followed by the inability to influence stakeholders with 32%. Both point to the fact that there are significant challenges accompanied by missing out on these face to face interactions.

Question 5: What is the best thing about running a project remotely?

Going hand in hand with WFH arrangements, it seems that the flexibility is the best thing about running a project remotely, leading with 46%. In second place with 26% is the benefit of being less distracted in the workplace, freeing up time to deliver on projects.

Question 6: Optional question - How has your experience been managing a project during COVID-19? Feel free to include any pros/cons, challenges and achievements.

We’ve highlighted some of the responses that which echoed the overall sentiment of the feedback:

• Virtual white board sessions feel very different, at times they cannot engage everyone as you would normally in a workshop/meeting room.

• Saving time on commuting which is great, more flexibility. At times some participants felt they were now working more hours.

• New routine, different and new structures to stay in touch with and be on top of workload, missing out on traditional social team interactions.

• I've had to form a project team completely remotely. It's hard to motivate and get the best from the team without having met them face to face. Remote project delivery is quite challenging, that hasn't stopped the team from achieving it's goals.

• While the initial weeks were challenging as we all came up to speed, a rhythm was obtain and the team managed to function as if we were in the office. The key challenge has been using informal conversations to keep track of progress or direction of the team, as well as mastering collaboration sessions, such as whiteboard and sticky note workshops.

• Different arrangements (WFH v in office) work better for different people. Giving the opportunity to do what works best for them is key.

• There is a temptation to stay planted in front of your desk for longer than normal and trying to be "visible" online to colleagues and superiors. I've also found e-mail traffic has increased, as you can't simply walk over to a colleague's desk and have a chat.

• More structure is required to make sure the team stays in touch. However the day is filled with meetings now with one finishing and another starting immediately with no down time between meetings.

• No major impact for in flight projects. The main challenge is commencing new projects given the higher level of collaboration required to establish project scope and ways of working, delivery culture etc.

• The COVID experience has been a bit like running a global project where team members are separated by geography and so effectively working remotely as you are to them.

• However you spend more time sitting on chair in front of a screen which isn't great for overall health. Then again you spend more time at home with family which is good for mental health.

• There have been positives (less distractions, flexible timing, more efficiency through no commute time) and negatives (significant effort required to stay in touch, maintain energy and drive and changing communication style).

• People are becoming more silo'ed within their teams as there are fewer opportunities for them to engage with people outside their own team. This creates a further challenge for collaborative working in projects.

Question 7: Optional question - What specific remote enablement tools have you found most useful for leading projects? (i.e. one of the video conferencing or whiteboarding apps)

Around 75% of participants found Microsoft Teams the best platform for video meetings. Zoom was the second most reported tool.