The Most Common Project Management Problems and How to Avoid Them

I often meet self-builders and renovators who expect to be given a ready-made template showing how to project manage their scheme. They look disappointed when I tell them it doesn’t exist. If only it were that simple!

If it were, I’d have put one together and be living quite comfortably off of the proceeds because everyone would want one. The truth is every project is different. Some will progress like clockwork, others might be fraught with problem after problem.

The difference between the two is how the work is managed and whether simple steps to avoid serious issues developing have been taken. I’m looking at the most common project management mistakes, so you can at least be aware of the issues and find out how to prevent them.

Should you manage your build?

Professional project managers will cost around 10% of your build fund. The trouble is, most of us are on tight budgets and 10% is, on average, around £30,000 of your proposed budget – money that can pay for the kitchen and bathrooms. So it’s easy to see why many self-builders take on the role themselves.

While you might save money, it will be at the expense of your time – running this kind of project will take up most of your waking hours and, once you have solved one issue, the next is not far behind. Some thrive in this environment. Others disintegrate so fast you need to dodge the shrapnel.

If you suspect you might be in the latter group and you can afford to hire a professional project manager, then I would advise you do so. It will eventually save you time, money and potentially high stress levels.

Breaking the budget

The first rule of self-building is that it will end up costing a bit more than you’ve set aside in your estimate. It will inevitably take a little longer to complete than you thought it would, too.

Being over-optimistic with the budget is probably the biggest cause of grief on a project, particularly when money is scarce. The key is building to the size and quality that your finances allow, rather than thinking you can have whatever you want and that the money in the kitty will somehow stretch a bit further to suit.

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