Whether you’re an IT services company, a DSC, an agency or even a freelance consultant in the field of IT development, it’s essential to keep track of the time spent on your assignments, especially when you commit to a fixed-price contract. This is of vital importance, not only for monitoring profitability, but also for maintaining a healthy, transparent relationship with your customers.
Having a clear and precise idea of the scope of the work carried out in relation to what was initially agreed in the specifications enables you to highlight the “work still to be done” and avoid any surprises or misunderstandings with the client. This is all the more crucial in the IT sector, where projects can rapidly evolve and become complex, requiring technical assistance and rigorous follow-up.
Of course, the success of this approach is intrinsically linked to your ability to integrate these monitoring practices into the day-to-day running of your company, while ensuring that your teams’ skills are enhanced so that they can evolve in line with these new working methods.
You’re probably asking yourself a lot of questions: How can you optimize the tracking of intervention time without disrupting the established order? How can I provide my customers with an exhaustive, seamless view of project progress? How do you ensure the implementation of a solution that meets the specific needs of each job, while staying on time and on budget?
By taking these factors into account, and implementing the necessary resources, you’ll be able to meet the challenges of time tracking in fixed-price projects, while minimizing the risk of penalties and maximizing your chances of success.
What are the obstacles to tracking time spent?
In fact, although this is central to the smooth running of the business, there are often several problems that arise:
- It's boring!!! We're not going to lie, capturing time spent on a daily basis is often experienced by teams as a tedious and uninteresting task. This is understandable, given that profitability issues are often far removed from those who have to make the most of their time every day...
- The declarative is often judge and jury. The one who does is the one who says, so if he says anything, that's a problem. Or how to make customers pay for more coffee breaks than the actual progress of their project...
- Difficulty controlling. In fact, this type of declarative system requires someone to check regularly (ideally every week) that what is entered has actually been done.
Why is time recording often perceived as a chore by teams?
Keeping track of time spent on projects can quickly become a source of frustration for teams. Here are a few reasons why this task is often perceived as a chore:
- Lack of understanding: team members don't always see clearly how taking their time benefits the project or the company. They may have the impression that it's only for monitoring, not for process improvement.
- Repetitive and tedious task: entering your time every day or every week can seem repetitive and tedious, especially if the system used is not user-friendly.
- Lack of time: paradoxically, team members may feel too busy with their daily tasks to take the time to capture their time properly.
- Negative perception: there may be a fear that the information entered will be used against them, especially if the project is behind schedule or over budget.
How can we overcome the problem of declarative time tracking?
The declarative approach, while essential, poses its own set of challenges when it comes to tracking time. Here are some strategies for overcoming these problems:
- Training and awareness: make sure your teams understand the importance of capturing their time and how this can benefit everyone, improving transparency and enabling better project management.
- Use user-friendly tools: invest in time-tracking systems that are easy to use and enable fast, effortless data entry.
- Encourage regularity: encourage your teams to enter their time on a regular basis, for example at the end of each day or task, so that it becomes a habit.
- Involve teams in the process: give your teams the opportunity to participate in the choice of time tracking tools and methods, so that they feel more involved and responsible.
- Leading by example: leaders and managers need to set an example by capturing their own time rigorously and transparently.
- Positive feedback: stress the importance of keeping track of time, and congratulate team members who do so correctly and regularly.
By addressing these aspects, you’ll help to create a positive culture around time recording, transforming a task perceived as a chore into a key element for project success.
So how do you make the most of your time on a fixed-price project?
At Furious, we’ve come up with a whole host of possible scenarios, so that everyone can get involved in the fun!
Track your time and optimize your productivity:
- From your Outlook or Gmail calendar with automatic synchronization.
- With a great widget where you can enter everything you've done in the past week (see screenshot).
- With a time tracker of death: play / pause / play / pause... "on the phone with a customer" etc...
- Directly from the schedule with intelligent production vs. project management notifications
- With time entry directly at ticket close.
How to use your calendar and synchronization tools to keep track of time?
Using your diary can be an effective and intuitive way of keeping track of the time spent on your projects. Here’s how to get the most out of it:
- Automatic synchronization: make sure your calendar is synchronized with your time tracking tools. Whether you use Outlook, Gmail or any other calendar, automatic synchronization lets you record your time without any extra effort.
- Create dedicated events: create specific events for each task or project. Be sure to name them clearly and include all the necessary details.
- Using categories and colors: use categories and colors to differentiate between task and project types. This will make your tracking visually intuitive and easy to analyze.
- Looking back: at the end of each week, take the time to look back at your diary to make sure everything has been recorded, and to adjust it if necessary.
The use of widgets and time trackers for optimized time recording
Widgets and time trackers are invaluable tools for optimized time recording. Here’s how to make the most of them:
- Widgets on desktop or mobile: use widgets accessible directly from your desktop or cell phone to capture your time quickly and without interrupting your workflow.
- Play/pause function: choose a time tracker with a play/pause function. This allows you to start and stop the counter with a single click, which is ideal for tasks that require a high degree of precision in tracking time.
- Categorization: make sure your widget or time tracker lets you categorize your tasks. This will make it easier to analyze your time and help you identify areas where you can become more efficient.
- Reporting and analysis: choose a tool that offers reporting and analysis capabilities. This will enable you to visualize your time data in a comprehensible and usable way.
How can I integrate time recording into the ticket closing workflow?
Integrating time recording directly into the ticket closing workflow can greatly optimize your process. Here’s how it works:
- Automation: set up an automation that reminds the user to enter his or her time when the ticket is closed.
- Mandatory fields: make time entry mandatory to close a ticket. This ensures that time is accounted for every task completed.
- Guides and tooltips: provide guides and tooltips in the time entry field to help users understand how and why to enter their time.
- Feedback and continuous improvement: collect user feedback and continuously improve the process to make it as smooth and intuitive as possible.
By following these tips, you’ll optimize time recording within your team, contributing to better project management and increased productivity.
And from an HR point of view?
Internally, we can’t advise you enough to orchestrate the whole process. To find out, ask yourself these questions:
-> Do you value those who input their time? For example, priority access to production schedules, etc.
-> Do you systematically check that timesheets are complete?
-> What do you do if it isn’t done? In a large consulting firm that we won’t name, if the charges aren’t done on Friday evening, it’s up to the manager to do them for the employee on the following Monday… In general, this doesn’t happen twice!
-> Have you gamified the process to make it fun?
-> Have you given “project” meaning to the action of imputing? For example, premium on project profitability etc…
How can you motivate your teams to make the most of their time?
Valuing and motivating your teams to enter their time correctly is crucial to the success and accuracy of your project management. Here’s how to do it:
- Recognition: set up a recognition system for team members who enter their time correctly and regularly. This can take the form of public congratulations, rewards or priority access to certain benefits.
- Training and coaching: make sure every team member knows how and why it's important to capture their time. Organize training sessions and provide resources to guide them.
- Simplify the process: make the time recording process as quick and easy as possible. The easier it is, the more likely your teams are to do it.
- Positive feedback: show your teams how the correct recording of their time contributes to the success of projects and the financial health of the company.
What measures can be taken to ensure the completeness and accuracy of timesheets?
Ensuring the completeness and accuracy of timesheets is essential for efficient time and resource management. Here are the steps to take:
- Regular checks: set up regular checks of timesheets to ensure that they are complete and accurate. This can be done by managers or a dedicated team.
- Automatic reminders: use automatic reminders to encourage regular time entry.
- Transparency and communication: be transparent about the importance of timesheet completeness and accuracy, and communicate this regularly.
- Ongoing training: offer ongoing training to remind you of best practices and common mistakes to avoid.
Gamifying time tracking: an effective strategy?
Gamifying time tracking can be an innovative and motivating strategy to encourage accurate time recording. Here’s how to implement it:
- Points and rewards system: set up a points and rewards system to reward team members who enter their time regularly and accurately.
- Friendly competitions: organize friendly competitions within the team to encourage time recording.
- Dashboards and rankings: use dashboards and rankings to make everyone's performance visible and create a spirit of healthy competition.
- Immediate feedback: make sure the system offers immediate feedback so that employees can see the positive consequences of their actions in real time.
By implementing these strategies, you’ll create an environment where capturing time is not only valued, but also encouraged and rewarded, contributing to a positive and productive corporate culture.
Strategies and tools for effective time management
Effective time tracking is essential to ensure the profitability and success of your projects. Here are some strategies and tools that can help:
- Use time tracking tools: adopt specialized tools that enable your teams to track their working time accurately and in real time.
- Integration with other tools: make sure your time tracking tool can be integrated with other tools you use, such as project management systems and invoicing software.
- Training and awareness: train your teams in the correct use of the tools and make them aware of the importance of accurate time tracking.
- Data analysis: use the data collected by your time tracking tool to analyze trends, identify areas for improvement and optimize your processes.
Comparing and choosing between fixed-price projects and other models
The choice between a fixed-price project and other contractual models depends on many factors, including the nature of the project, the customer’s needs and your in-house capabilities.
Fixed-price project or project management: how to make the right choice?
- Evaluate the scope of the project: a fixed-price project is often more suitable when the scope and deliverables are clearly defined. In the "régie" approach, the customer pays for the time spent, which can be more flexible if needs change.
- Consider the risks: with a package deal, you take on more risk, as you commit to a fixed price. In the case of project management, the risks are shared with the customer.
- Weigh up the financial advantages: a fixed price can offer a better margin if you manage the project well, but it can also lead to losses in the event of a poor estimate.
What are the specific advantages of fixed-price projects?
- Financial predictability: both customer and supplier know in advance how much the project will cost.
- Administrative simplicity: once the price has been set, financial management of the project is simplified.
- Efficiency incentive: the service provider has an incentive to work efficiently in order to maximize margins
What are the major differences between fixed-price and time-and-material contracts?
- Invoicing model: in a fixed-price contract, the price is set in advance, whereas in a time and materials contract, the customer pays according to the time spent.
- Distribution of risks: risks are more on the provider's side in a fixed-price contract, and more shared in a project-based contract.
- Flexibility: the Time & Material contract offers greater flexibility to adjust scope and resources during the course of the project.
By taking these factors into account, you’ll be better equipped to choose the contractual model best suited to your project and your needs.
In short, since time tracking is an essential prerequisite for the profitable management of your projects, it’s essential to equip yourself with tools that enable your teams to track their time simply and efficiently, and also to think about internal communication that’s both rewarding and motivating!
