Why project management software? This is another post on common problems that cause organizations to look at and evaluate project management software.

And that is...reporting metrics to management. Is this something that you should be thinking about and why?



In spite of all our problems, I do believe that organizations as a whole are gradually getting better at this project management thing. And that means that management wants to know what is going on. How many projects are experiencing problems? How many are on time and on budget? How much time are spending towards which projects? Do those projects align with our goals? Who is doing what? What is our efficiency? What did we actually accomplish last year? And we could go on and on...

What happens when these questions are asked and there is no centralized, more formal project management software system? I've been there myself personally. It's called hours (if not days) of finding and putting together the information. Or it is called hours upon hours of constantly making sure I was on top of everything. Even then, I couldn't answer all the questions. How many hours did we spend on each project? That was called a SWAG.

What happens when you have to report up to a parent organization or to an organization in another geographic location? It is difficult without any type of formalized metrics tracking for your projects.

These are real issues that many organizations face. Do you need project management software to solve these? No, of course not. You could solve these with other tools and processes. But project management software is designed to handle these types of specific problems.

How can you go about solving this problem with project management software? Here are some suggestions.

1. Identify the metrics you need. Document them. Make sure they are real (don't track what isn't going to be used).

2. Focus on process not software. Build a process that supports your specific objectives and metrics. Train on that process not just on "how the software works."

3. Take it in phases. Don't try to do it all at once. Get people comfortable with the new system and process. Identify the metrics you are going to start to track. Gradually add to it.

4. Hold people accountable. You need to hold people accountable for putting the information in so that you can get the metrics. If they don't have to do it, often times they simply won't.

5. Revisit and revise. Continually revisit the process and software setup. Are you getting accurate metrics? What needs to be adjusted?

Follow these tips and you'll be surprised where you are at in even six months time.

This is part 5 of our "Why Project Management Software" series, examining the issues that organizations face that warrant a look at project management software.



In this post I want to examine the simple problem of either too much information, or project information that is scattered across the organization. In our age of information overload, it is no secret that we are bombarded by information day in and day out. However, I have also seen many instances where project leaders, managers, and executives do not have the information they need to effectively manage and make decisions on projects. This could be for a variety of reasons, but typically they include the following:

• Information is dispersed throughout the organization, typically in various spreadsheets and project files.


• Project schedule and task information is not located with other project information, such as key documents and issues.


• There is no standard process for storing information.


• There is no standard process for reporting on information.


• Information that is reported is not timely because of the amount of time it takes to collect the information.

These can be serious issues because they directly effect the efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness of an organization. They are also very, very common problems. This is the type of issue that a good project management system can help to solve. I say "help to solve" because a system will never solve anything in and of itself (as I have stated before). In fact, you could solve some of these issues by simply implementing some good processes and holding people accountable for those processes.

However, at some point, unless you are operating with only a couple of people in a garage (and maybe even then), a project management software system is worth the evaluation time because it can greatly help these issues.

One of the keys is to keep things simple and not to try and bite off too much right off the bat. Start off in phases. Identify what information really needs to be centralized. Don't centralize and manage information just because it has always been done or because you can. Make sure it will be used to make decisions and to manage.

Why do organizations consider and use project management software? There are many reasons - too many projects, too many people, etc. Hopefully the reason is not because everyone else is doing it.



One of the things I would like to throw out there is whether or not project management software delivers a competitive advantage? And is that a core reason to strategically consider project management software?

First of all, organizations struggle with getting an edge over the intense competition in the marketplace today. A competitive advantage is key for an organization to increase market share and success. Companies that simply stay put, rest on their laurels, are "just as good" as their competitors, or otherwise cannot distinguish themselves in some way are in trouble.

What is competitive advantage? I did a quick Google Search and found QuickMBA with a some definition for us. Basically, it says that you have a competitive advantage if either you deliver the same benefits as your competitors at lower cost, or deliver benefits that exceed those of competing products.

Examples? How about delivering to your customers with less people / overhead? Or delivering products to your customers faster. Or perhaps simply making your promised dates more often, or being able to sell at a lower price or higher margin? All of these would constitute a competitive advantage, and one that is not easily imitated.

Can project management software do this? No. But...project management software can play a big role in it. Project management software in and of itself can never deliver competitive advantage. It is just a tool. But if you use the tool in conjunction with the right processes and strategic initiatives, it can play a vital role.

Some of our best clients (I'll use them as an example since I know them best) use project management software along with implementing better processes. This type of strategic effort really pays off in the long-term. When they are used together effectively, things stop slipping through the cracks, things get done quicker, dates are more reliable, products get delivered to the market faster, etc.

Can you do this without project management software? If you are a project-focused organization (such as engineering products or implementing products for clients) and you have more than say 10 people, I would say no. The amount of time it takes to maintain the real-time information needed for insight for better decisions and process support is simply too great. Either the information is not there to support the process, or it takes a lot of effort and time to formulate. This negates the value and detracts from the process.

Can you do this with project management software but without the process? No. You have to have the process with organizational buy-in or else the software does not provide the value that it can.

What's the bottom line? Combining the right tools (project management software) with the right processes can indeed create a competitive advantage for a project oriented organization. But it takes a prolonged effort with continual evaluation to see what is working and what needs to be improved. And this effort should never end.

What do you think? Send your comments to blog@teaminteractions.com.

We are looking at core reasons that project management software is evaluated and used by organizations, such as our last post on too many projects. How about managing the people that are working on project (i.e. resource management)?



Resource management is a broad term, but what it boils down to is the difficulty in managing all of the people that are working on all of these different projects. How do we know who is getting their work done? Who is not? Who needs help? How much time are they spending to get things done? Are they working on the right things?

This becomes especially important in times of economic hardship. Companies have been downsizing and trimming their work force. That makes it all the more important that the resources they do have are managed effectively and utilized properly.

Project management software is not the "end all". What I mean is that implementing project management software will not automatically solve your resource management issues. However, it can be a very effective tool when combined with the proper processes. Look at it this way. You have to use some tool to manage your resources, even if it is a piece of paper or a whiteboard. At some point, it becomes unmanageable without an effective tool. This becomes a big reason that people look towards project management software. It simply is too hard to piece all of the information together for good decision making and to take proper action.

A good project management software system should enable you to answer at least the following questions:

• What are my resources working on?


• What is the status of the work that my resources are working on?


• Who is overloaded (has too much work assigned)?


• Who is underutilized (does not have enough work assigned)?


• Who is performing and who is under performing (who gets work done)?


• Do I have enough resources to handle the upcoming projected workload?

Until next time...