Approvals and budget management

Proper budget monitoring and customer approvals are critical for any project. Without adequate monitoring, a project may go beyond its financial boundaries, resulting in delays and unsatisfactory outcomes. Similarly, without the customer's approval, even a successful project may not fulfill their expectations or requirements, leading to dissatisfaction and harm to the business relationship.

THE PAPER TRAIL — Want to avoid miscommunications and misunderstandings in your project? Keep a paper trail of customer approvals and decisions. By documenting these items, you make informed decisions about project scope and direction. Use the RIDAC feature in Monday.com to capture all relevant information and save documents and communications to the proper Google Workspace Client folders.

By adhering to the following best practices, the Delivery Team can focus on delivering high-quality outcomes on schedule and within budget while fostering healthy customer relationships that benefit both parties.

MANAGING FIXED-BID IMPLEMENTATION PROJECTS

Fixed-bid projects involve a predetermined cost agreed upon by the Delivery Team and the customer, with approvals obtained at specific milestones. To ensure success, the Delivery Team should work closely with customers during Planning to define requirements, objectives, and expectations.

The Delivery Team should frequently compare requirements to the original project estimate, assumptions, and documented scope. We should note the resulting agreed-upon requirements in the System Requirements Specification (SRS) document, which the customer should have time to review and provide feedback on before approval. Any deviations from the predetermined cost must be identified and addressed before Execution.

During Execution, the Delivery Team should regularly review project progress, tracking team hours and expenses against the budgeted amount. Keeping track of hours helps identify areas where the project is trending over budget, allowing corrective action. Regular budget tracking can also identify areas where the project is trending under budget, allowing for resource allocation or investment in areas that can improve outcomes and profitability.

MANAGING T&M RETAINER PROJECTS

In a Time-and-Materials (T&M) project, the cost is determined by the time and materials utilized to complete the project. The project Delivery Team and the customer agree on an hourly rate for labor and the cost of materials multiplied by the actual number of hours worked by the project team. The cost of materials is added to determine the total project cost.

In this engagement model, estimates and approvals are obtained continuously as the project progresses. The Project Manager must communicate any deviations from the original estimate to the customer and receive approval before proceeding. Similarly, the customer must also approve any additional expenses before purchasing them. The Delivery Team must regularly review progress and compare it to the original estimate to identify areas where the project is trending over or under budget.