The way you approach the management of your business can change the way your company operates. From the building blocks of projects to final finishing touches (even down to the smallest details such as choosing or working with an excel to-do list template), management style is everything.

This article will cover two management styles that may appear similar at first, but upon closer inspection, are far more nuanced and complex than you thought. The process vs procedure (or project) debate has been raging for years, and while we’re not here to judge it one way or the other, we’re going to give you the lowdown on both and help you decide which one works for you.

Read on to find out the differences between process management and project management and which one you should consider implementing into your business model.

What is process management?

Let’s get right into it. Simply put, process management is the practice of following established steps, or procedures, to reach a business goal. These procedures are repeatable and probably not unique to your company, but they’re reputable and solid.

There are a series of steps to process management:

1. Process mapping

This is the practice of laying out every process that is essential to your business. This is nothing to do with your eventual goals or plans for the company; it’s simply a map of what, in the present moment, your business can’t function without.

2. Process documentation

Now you’ve identified your essential processes, it’s important to document them. This is a step that’s overlooked by a surprising number of companies, but having an itemised list to look back on when you feel your company drifting off course can be a lifesaver.

3. Management

This is the nitty-gritty. Now is when you can start to build your operations and projects around the skeleton of your process map, and use what you’ve already done to predict what you’ll need to do to keep it all running. 

4. Optimisation

At this stage, you can utilise an analytics tool to gather data on how well your process mapping has worked, and make small changes here and there to ensure it’s all going smoothly.

5. Integration

This is the final step - the part where you feel comfortable enough with your progress to begin integrating other platforms or services. Think of it as branching out.

These five steps demonstrate the process of processing, so to speak. Using this as a guideline, you can be sure you’re starting from the ground up and making everything watertight in the process.

But what are the pros and cons? The good thing about process management is the certainty that comes with starting from scratch. You’re taking everything back to essentials and analysing each step as you go. This means you’re less likely to run into costly mistakes, and you’ll have a written record of each process for reference.

However, what this management style has in detail, it lacks in efficiency. Stripping everything back and cataloguing each essential process is extremely time-consuming, so if you’re running a time-dependent business such as an AI meeting scheduler or an appointment booking app or , you might run into problems.

What is project management?

A project is a collection of tasks that must be completed to achieve a goal. Project management, therefore, is the practice of overseeing these tasks and ensuring they are completed promptly and to a high standard.

As with process management, there are a series of five steps to completing a successful project:

1. Initiation

This is the beginning phase, where all the best ideas are had and you can come up with the most creative solutions to the problem the project will fix. This is where you do your research and figure out what needs to be done. 

For example, the business is lacking in new customer leads, so to solve this problem you’re going to create a customer onboarding template. Ask yourself: what are the steps to achieving this?

2. Planning

This is where you consider the requirements, put a team together, and make a solid game plan. Who will be doing what? When will your deadlines be? What’s the budget? These are all crucial questions that need to be answered in this phase.

3. Execution

It’s game on! This is where your project gets underway. Tasks are assigned and your team begins working to achieve the goals laid out in your plan. Resources are allocated to each team member, so they can do what they need to do.

4. Monitoring and controlling

This phase requires more of a hands-off approach. Keep an eye on the analytics and progress reports, see what’s going well and where people might need some extra help. It’s your job as the project manager to make your team feel confident and supported in their roles.

5. Closure

You’ve done it! You’ve achieved your goal and finished the project. Closure is simply the process of finalising any paperwork, writing up reports and evaluations, and figuring out what you can do better next time. If your project failed or didn’t go to plan, why not? What can you change that will ensure it succeeds in the future?

As with process management, there are pros and cons. Project management is great when it comes to specific, individual goals that your business needs to achieve to progress. However, it can lack scope when it’s time to consider the position of your business as a collective. 

So what?

So what’s the difference between these two strategies? Which one is best for you? Projects are a one-time endeavour to achieve a specific goal. Rather than process management, which focuses more on optimizing the business continuity plan as a whole, project management relies on innovation to come up with creative solutions to a singular problem.

When it comes to deciding which one is right for you - well, we can’t answer that. But what we can advise is to take a long, hard look at your long-term goals. Are there specific one-off circumstances that need to be worked on? Or do you suspect you need to start from scratch and review the processes that make your company tick?

If you can answer those questions, you’ll have your answer. Good luck