The project manager is the project leader, the go-to person on the project, the one everyone is supposed to look to and listen to for direction and status. What about the project customer who can’t reach out and touch the project manager whenever they want to? Do they have concerns? Is their money being well spent? And what about the project manager? What obstacles does the remote PM face that would otherwise not be present if he was sitting at the customer site on a daily basis? 
Let’s examine four key obstacles that can easily become an issue on any remotely managed project. I’m certain there are many more possible obstacles, but these are some of the most common ones that I’ve encountered. 

To give our projects the best chance for success, we as project managers are expected to practice ‘best practices.’ Two questions – actually three questions – come from this. What are best practices? Do best practices result in project success? Do best practices result in satisfied customers?


Let’s look at the first two quickly and then the third one in detail….


What are project management best practices?


In short, best practices to me are performing those tasks that get the job done efficiently, in a timely manner, and - hopefully - successfully. In a PM sense it means producing timely status reports, holding weekly status meetings with your team and customer, communicating effectively and efficiently, revising and distributing the project schedule on a weekly basis, and staying on top of the project budget by reviewing and revising the budget actuals and forecast on a weekly basis. There are probably many more items that could be lumped into PM best practices, but at least following these gets you well on your path toward project success.


Do best practices = project success?


The answer, unfortunately, is no. They certainly can. And following best practices definitely give you your best chance at project success. But there are factors that will arise that are unexpected or outside your control that you can’t get around. Best practices will help you deal with this …. for example mitigating a risk because you’ve been practicing good risk management throughout the engagement and you’re ready to handle the issue due to best practices. But best practices can’t cover everything. You’ll come out ahead more often than not by using best practices, but there’s still no guarantee.


Do best practices = customer satisfaction?


This brings us to the main question. By practicing best practices, are we ensured of achieving customer satisfaction? Again, unfortunately, no. Just like project success, practicing PM best practices will give us a much higher likelihood of achieving customer satisfaction, but there is no guarantee. In fact, you could complete what you and your team – and even your senior management – deems to be a very successful project and still not have a satisfied customer. How? Easy. Let’s say you finish your project on time and on budget. It’s likely your senior management will be very satisfied with that outcome. However, due to poor requirements provided to you at the beginning and a shorter than ideal planning phase, you ended up providing the customer with exactly what they asked for – but not exactly what their end users needed. When the customer realizes that the solution that has been delivered is not a workable solution – doesn’t fully meet their needs – will they be satisfied? Not likely. They may or may not point the finger at you and your team. But they won’t be satisfied.


Customers are a quirky bunch and it’s best that you figure out just how quirky as early in the project as possible. Stay on top of their needs, tend to their concerns, and over communicate project information to them. Keeping them informed and confident in your ability to lead their project is a great way to achieve customer satisfaction. Remember, the customer is part of the team – treat them that way and always communicate both good and bad project information to them as quickly as possible. Bad news doesn’t always make for an unsatisfied customer. But a customer who feels they are in the dark will always be dissatisfied.


I’d appreciate any feedback our readers can provide. What are your best practices? And what’s your take on best practices leading to customer satisfaction? I look forward to your input.To give our projects the best chance for success, we as project managers are expected to practice ‘best practices.’ Two questions – actually three questions – come from this. What are best practices? Do best practices result in project success? Do best practices result in satisfied customers?


Let’s look at the first two quickly and then the third one in detail….


What are project management best practices?


In short, best practices to me are performing those tasks that get the job done efficiently, in a timely manner, and - hopefully - successfully. In a PM sense it means producing timely status reports, holding weekly status meetings with your team and customer, communicating effectively and efficiently, revising and distributing the project schedule on a weekly basis, and staying on top of the project budget by reviewing and revising the budget actuals and forecast on a weekly basis. There are probably many more items that could be lumped into PM best practices, but at least following these gets you well on your path toward project success.


Do best practices = project success?


The answer, unfortunately, is no. They certainly can. And following best practices definitely give you your best chance at project success. But there are factors that will arise that are unexpected or outside your control that you can’t get around. Best practices will help you deal with this …. for example mitigating a risk because you’ve been practicing good risk management throughout the engagement and you’re ready to handle the issue due to best practices. But best practices can’t cover everything. You’ll come out ahead more often than not by using best practices, but there’s still no guarantee.


Do best practices = customer satisfaction?


This brings us to the main question. By practicing best practices, are we ensured of achieving customer satisfaction? Again, unfortunately, no. Just like project success, practicing PM best practices will give us a much higher likelihood of achieving customer satisfaction, but there is no guarantee. In fact, you could complete what you and your team – and even your senior management – deems to be a very successful project and still not have a satisfied customer. How? Easy. Let’s say you finish your project on time and on budget. It’s likely your senior management will be very satisfied with that outcome. However, due to poor requirements provided to you at the beginning and a shorter than ideal planning phase, you ended up providing the customer with exactly what they asked for – but not exactly what their end users needed. When the customer realizes that the solution that has been delivered is not a workable solution – doesn’t fully meet their needs – will they be satisfied? Not likely. They may or may not point the finger at you and your team. But they won’t be satisfied.


Customers are a quirky bunch and it’s best that you figure out just how quirky as early in the project as possible. Stay on top of their needs, tend to their concerns, and over communicate project information to them. Keeping them informed and confident in your ability to lead their project is a great way to achieve customer satisfaction. Remember, the customer is part of the team – treat them that way and always communicate both good and bad project information to them as quickly as possible. Bad news doesn’t always make for an unsatisfied customer. But a customer who feels they are in the dark will always be dissatisfied.


I’d appreciate any feedback our readers can provide. What are your best practices? And what’s your take on best practices leading to customer satisfaction? I look forward to your input.
To give our projects the best chance for success, we as project managers are expected to practice ‘best practices.’ Two questions – actually three questions – come from this. What are best practices? Do best practices result in project success? Do best practices result in satisfied customers?


Let’s look at the first two quickly and then the third one in detail….


What are project management best practices?


In short, best practices to me are performing those tasks that get the job done efficiently, in a timely manner, and - hopefully - successfully. In a PM sense it means producing timely status reports, holding weekly status meetings with your team and customer, communicating effectively and efficiently, revising and distributing the project schedule on a weekly basis, and staying on top of the project budget by reviewing and revising the budget actuals and forecast on a weekly basis. There are probably many more items that could be lumped into PM best practices, but at least following these gets you well on your path toward project success.


Do best practices = project success?


The answer, unfortunately, is no. They certainly can. And following best practices definitely give you your best chance at project success. But there are factors that will arise that are unexpected or outside your control that you can’t get around. Best practices will help you deal with this …. for example mitigating a risk because you’ve been practicing good risk management throughout the engagement and you’re ready to handle the issue due to best practices. But best practices can’t cover everything. You’ll come out ahead more often than not by using best practices, but there’s still no guarantee.


Do best practices = customer satisfaction?


This brings us to the main question. By practicing best practices, are we ensured of achieving customer satisfaction? Again, unfortunately, no. Just like project success, practicing PM best practices will give us a much higher likelihood of achieving customer satisfaction, but there is no guarantee. In fact, you could complete what you and your team – and even your senior management – deems to be a very successful project and still not have a satisfied customer. How? Easy. Let’s say you finish your project on time and on budget. It’s likely your senior management will be very satisfied with that outcome. However, due to poor requirements provided to you at the beginning and a shorter than ideal planning phase, you ended up providing the customer with exactly what they asked for – but not exactly what their end users needed. When the customer realizes that the solution that has been delivered is not a workable solution – doesn’t fully meet their needs – will they be satisfied? Not likely. They may or may not point the finger at you and your team. But they won’t be satisfied.


Customers are a quirky bunch and it’s best that you figure out just how quirky as early in the project as possible. Stay on top of their needs, tend to their concerns, and over communicate project information to them. Keeping them informed and confident in your ability to lead their project is a great way to achieve customer satisfaction. Remember, the customer is part of the team – treat them that way and always communicate both good and bad project information to them as quickly as possible. Bad news doesn’t always make for an unsatisfied customer. But a customer who feels they are in the dark will always be dissatisfied.


I’d appreciate any feedback our readers can provide. What are your best practices? And what’s your take on best practices leading to customer satisfaction? I look forward to your input.

In a business you need to communicate business plans internally with your team, to the board, to investors and to clients.

Everyone understands a plan in GamePlan because it is presented visually on the GamePlan Whiteboard.
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Understanding the plan promotes buy-in from the team, encourages relevant questions from the board, and gives clients and investors confidence in you.             

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Certain qualities across the board make the best leaders in many professions. In order to deliver consistent success in the project management world, our project leaders need to bring specific skills and characteristics to the table. Success on any given project can be luck, but success on a consistent basis on project engagements is far more than just luck – it’s what the project manager consistently brings to each project they are managing.
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What I want to consider here are what characteristics make up the top performing project leaders based on my experience and the opinions of a few other trusted leaders. What sets them apart from less successful PMs?...

Thank you for voting! My article for top PM software LiquidPlanner was a 2021 MVP Award winner. The article is "7 Key Considerations for Building the Perfect PMO." Please check it out and also check out LiquidPlanner's award winning software by requesting a demo or signing up for free. Thanks!

With more than two decades of project management experience and an entire wall of industry awards, Brad Egeland shares his insights on the field as well as actionable tips on how best to solve project-related problems. Reflecting Egeland’s domain authority, the site provides whitepapers, video series, templates, software reviews, webinars, and other resources. ​