Project management isn’t cheap. In fact, it is estimated that it takes up around 20% of the overall budget of your project. However, if you run a project that has bad management or lacks a solid management basis then you are probably doing more harm than good and costing yourself in the long-run.

This is why we’ve asked the experts at Parallel Project Training to put together an overview of why you really can’t afford to be without a project manager.

Project management statistics

To give you a clearer picture of just how important having a project manager is to your project, here are a few staggering statistics. They show not only the PM performance rate but also just why projects can fail and what is essential to success.

• A staggering 70% of all projects fail
• 42% of companies don’t see the need for project management or understand its importance
• 55% of project managers feel budget overrun is a reason for project failure
• The most valuable project management process is stakeholder engagement
• 62% of those projects that are completed successfully had supportive sponsors
• Those projects that implement project management practises are in fact 2.5 times more likely to achieve success

There are plenty more statistics out there that show just how much can be lost when project management is not incorporated into a project. There are even more on how much more likely to achieve success a project will be when there is a project manager and proper project management processes in place. However, even these figures on their own offer a compelling reason why you really can’t afford not to have a project manager.

How many projects can a project manager manage?

This is something that some organisations can be concerned about. After all, a project manager can be a large expense for a smaller company. The number of projects can vary. Project management comes in ebbs and flows with regards to time requirements to it may be that a project manager can work on a number of projects at the same time. As you will learn during any good project manager courses the right project management software can make a huge difference to the project manager when it comes to keeping on top of project workloads. This is particularly true if they are handling a number of projects at the same time.

With this in mind, for some companies it may mean that they do not need a project manager for every individual project. For these companies, with the right investment into project management tools such as good software and training the outlay may be less than you first think. This is particularly when you take into account the savings that can be made as a result of successful projects over those that fail.

Final Thoughts

During any project completion process, the expectations of both customers and stakeholders can and do change as they look to achieve the goals of their project. Project managers have a vital role to play in decreasing the failure rate of projects and helping companies towards greater success. So maybe the answer to the question “Can you afford to be without a project manager?” is self-evident. What do you think?