A Report on the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Project Management

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Added on 2021/03/23

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This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on project management. It explores the challenges faced by project managers, including changes in communication, supply chain disruptions, project delays, and decreased productivity due to remote work. The report highlights the negative impacts of the pandemic, such as increased pressure on team members and the need for digitalization. It then offers recommendations for adapting to the new environment, including a focus on risk management, revisiting project objectives, scheduling assessments, resource planning, risk assessments, and contract reviews. The conclusion emphasizes the need for project managers to rethink their methods and adapt to the dynamic and complex environment, including embracing new IT project management software to ensure project continuity and achieve objectives. This report emphasizes the pandemic's lasting impact on project management practices globally.

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THE IMPACT COVID-19 TO MANAGING A PROJECT
INTRODUCTION
As the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to expand, many businesses or
projects are significantly affected in many ways. It is challenges to government and
organizations to managing the existing on-going projects or any projects are going to
implement. It is also a test to all sectors about the ability of organizations to deliver the
projects effectively during this pandemic.
Before year 2020, the number of people working remotely was already steadily
increasing. Project managers were able to hold meetings and play their oversight role
to ensure the projects kept running no matter they are working remotely. The introduce
of online cloud-based solutions, many international organizations are investing this
solution to allow flexible workstyle and project managers were able to make the
decision or respond quickly if there are any changes on project matters. When it came
to managing projects, they were easy to organise and hold the meetings remotely for
discussions, solving problems and assigning the responsibilities. However, it is difficult
and critical for operation process work remotely at home. Complicated operation
process should still need to manage at the office. The activities to managing a project
such as planning, leading, documentation, communication can be conducted remotely
but the other activities such as implementation, time, budgeting may delay or shut
down during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Government regulatory such as movement control order, country lock down,
close of international border to prevent the virus continue spread to public. The
organizations which are not under essential services do not have the option and were
being forced to close their business activities including stop all the on-going projects.

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The government regulatory caused the delay of projects, loss of efficiency and
increase of project cost during this COVID-19 pandemic.
It is key challenging for project managers to re-plan properly and respond quickly
with the right rigour. They shall try their best level to formulate new policies and making
material decisions about the current situation of on-going projects and sharing their
ideas among the organization. Distance become a challenge to project management.
Project managers and team members are in different locations facing difficulty to work
remotely especially in operation activities. Decision can be made but the
implementation may delay. For example, a construction project, an engineering project,
installation services, tourism or any manufacturing project may delay because lock
down and social distance to be monitored. It does not relate to how strong IT
infrastructure or resources of the organizations have. It is about the nature and the
principal of the business activities are.
The other challenge is the SME industries with a limited capacity and resources,
their resources are mainly focus on the project and rapid changes is impossible in the
short time. Some may not be able to sustain their business as the investment of IT
infrastructure cost is expensive and lack of expertise to execute it. It may be another
internal project about innovation and technologies change to SME industries after this
pandemic. For the organization with little remote, it has almost become a revolution to
digitalization. The COVID-19 is forcing SME industries to speed up and transforming
some project activities to be digitalization.
NEGATIVE IMPACTS

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The COVID-19 pandemic brough enormous effect on the business world. The
impact of COVID-19 influences the project management in short term and long term.
The impact may be listed as follows:
1. Change of internal and external communication way to support project
management.
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the sector has come up with a new normal where
most organizations have digitalized their operations to enable their employees to
work effectively. To keep the projects running and continuity, the project
managers must adjust immediately on both internal and external communication
ways so that clear and transparent information has passed to project members.
To internal, most of the people start work from home and meeting held virtually
via ZOOM, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet within the organizations. To external,
the project managers should adopt collaborate software to support project
delivery successfully. The project manager should act quickly respond in these
circumstances, otherwise lack of communication and clarification can cause
duplicate work, inefficiency of project work and wrong decision was made.
2. Change of supply chain management and risk of loss of customers.
Most organizations have been lay off some of the employees to sustain their
businesses. It may possible supplier bankruptcies or mergers can threaten
existing contracts. Potential risk of loss of customers may happen due to unable
to deliver the project completely, efficiently, and effectively in the COVID-19
pandemic. For example, the organization face a shortage of supplies.
3. Project delay.

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Some projects have been postponed or even suspended during this pandemic.
The number of delaying the projects is increased as the organizations are not
able to complete the projects within the deadline. They may possible not able to
assign the job to employees remotely without having digitization. Project
managers may wrongly share these ideas and approaches to those who are able
working remotely caused the projects delay. This is because it is impossible to
monitor the projects virtually among the team members. For example: projects
in the construction industry may temporarily slow down.
4. Team members are under double pressure.
The survey and report show that the team members who are working remotely
facing double burden associated with their work and family responsibilities. They
need longer working hours as customers expected they are available at anytime.
On the other hand, they also need take care their children because their children
also learn from home.
5. Decrease in productivity of the project's output.
The organizations are not able to maintain the productivity of the employees that
are working from different locations or without digitalization. Activity limited
because of lockdown. Thus, it is uncertainty and unpredicted as it is very hard to
monitor the productivity of the project’s output in this pandemic. The time and
cost may also vary.

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RECOMMENDATION AND POSITIVE IMPACTS
1. More attention to risk management and business continuity planning.
Because of the unexpected event of COVID-19, the project managers had to
review and pay more attention on risk management and business continuity
planning. It is fresh to every organization, so project managers should review the
new procedures and solutions that work best to the organizations, and implement
the policies and strategies that are agile enough to respond any types of crises
in the future.
2. Project planning and management
Project managers should revisit the objectives and goals of the projects. COVID-
19 has forced the projects stop and suspend. The objectives and goals may vary
and different compare to early setting. Thus, project managers should revisit it to
ensure the objectives and goals is fixed with current environment. Project
managers should review the current active projects to determine what stages
projects are and measure the effect of changes if work remotely.
3. Scheduling assessment
Government regulations and country lock down force the project to shut down or
postpone. It is critical to reschedule because uncertainty. Project manager
should perform a schedule assessment, including examining the status of current
projects are. Determine what is actual delaying before project shut down versus
what is delaying in this pandemic. Project with clear delivery structure and
scheduling will provide more analysis and improve efficiency.
4. Resource planning

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Project manager should determine the costs and benefits of project shut down
versus slow down. Replan the resource and identify current key resource that
required to complete the projects. Retain records of the resource and updates
regularly so that the projects can recover after pandemic with sufficient resource
provided.
5. Risk assessment
Project manager should complete a risk exercise on the project during the
COVID-19 pandemic by creating different scenarios for how the project may play
out. They should divide the risk assessment into external and internal. For the
external factor, they should assess the risk of what government policies about
COVID-19 will impact the organization or projects continuity. For internal factor,
they should mitigate the potential internal risk within organization such as the
inflection of employees. They should revisit risk registers regularly and manage
the potential risks if any.
6. Contract review and dispute
Project manager should review the contract to understand the contract term or
clauses on delaying the project. Assess whether the current conditions meet
those definitions and negotiate between suppliers and customers if there are any
disputes.

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CONCLUSION
The COVID-19 pandemic creates the instability and uncertainty caused many projects
to become more and more complex. There are varying guidelines, orders and self-
imposed restrictions on some projects become a challenge to project managers. In the
past, project managers could manage based on the assumptions and experience, with
the information about the cost and time from the past similar project, and with the pre-
planning resource and control, and with the risk assessment. However, the dynamic
and complex of environment especially the COVID-19 pandemic affect not only one
country but is the whole the world. The project manager should rethink new methods
for communicating, planning, scheduling, executing, and controlling projects in this
pandemic. Some projects need major changes on the working methods to remain
effective. Addition, the project manager should have the ability to make the decision
quickly even it is hard to predict in future, with the unstable environment to support the
project continuity. To achieve the objectives. It is also a revolution for organizations to
adapt new IT project management software that continue support the project.