How can I set up a tool platform for my project teams?
Work safely in dispersed project teams without digital barriers
The current crisis shows clearly how precious it is for a company to have a good digital strategy in order to optimize increasingly complex planning, decision, and information processes. Business success can be gained if changing situations can be responded to flexibly and all employees, whether in office, at the customer’s site, or in home office, can work without digital barriers.
More than ever project oriented companies face the challenge of finding a suitable PM system for different project types and requirements. What is furthermore important is that such software be met with acceptance on part of all persons involved in the project: the management requires conclusive KPIs as a basis for decision making in order to prioritize projects expediently and to have an eye on dates, budget, and resources. Project teams want to process their tasks flexibly and intuitively and want to communicate with one another without generating a flood of e‑mails.
How do I find a suitable tool platform for my company?
Finding the right tool set for your own company processes is not an easy undertaking and it can cause costs if, e.g., the system is not met with acceptance on part of the users and managers or if the chosen system turns out not to be flexible enough to allow further integration. In such a case, the system might have to be be replaced before it has amortized.
Native integration options in a comprehensive software solution have the advantage that third party interfaces can be done without and that all data can be maintained in a system without redundance and system failure. The software should allow you to choose between data maintenance in your own system (on premises) or as an SaaS system. Furthermore, there should be an option for webbased (mobile) access to project data.
Examples prove that, not only in times of a pandemic but also in the long run, a carefully chosen tool platform constitutes an important component for successful company projects. In “normal” times, team members or decision makers which should be included in the flow of information are often working at different sites or in home office as well.
Do not forget about the right mind set
Besides a proper tool set, the right mind set among all persons involved in the project is also a crucial success factor for work in dispersed teams. All managers must be dedicated to the new tool environment in order to generate general acceptance for the new system throughout the company. Project managers must reorient themselves in their coordination of ever more agile project teams. This calls for a transition from management by control to management by confidence.
Collaboration tools and hybrid project management software can make a valuable contribution to the improvement of both the quality of dispersed project work and the motivation within teams. These systems enable all team members to get an overview of their own work packages and dates and thus help to keep the management up-to-date with respect to the general project progress.
Analyze your requirements
In order to set up the proper tool platform for your own company, you have to analyze your requirements first:
- what type of projects do I want to plan
- in what way do my project teams want to work
- what systems are there on the market
Further information on the first steps of your tool selection
The following articles discuss this information in depth and highlight relevant considerations that may help you to decide for a particular tool.
Learn more about options and requirements for successful software implementation, especially in medium-sized companies, and for digitalization and adjustment of company processes.
Read the interview with Jochen Geißer (Key Account Management & Sales Germany/Austria at PLANTA) in DIGITAL FUTUREmag (the interactive magazine of DIGITAL FUTUREcongress).
Click here to read the English translation of the interview
The article by Ines Bahr, senior content analyst at Capterra (a Gartner company) provides important considerations to be made in order to decide for the most adequate tool, which often comprises the integration of several systems into one platform (also project management stack or toolkit). Capterra is an independent search and comparison platform for company software.
To learn what requirements are laid down for employees and company management for a successful implementation of a new planning method and of an agile tool set, please refer to the interview with Dr. Torsten Eckardt, Hermes Arzneimittel.
