Tuesday, July 5, 2011

How The Right Project Software Can Change The Way You Work

By Tory Jackson


The nature of business in the twenty first century is collaboration -discrete teams of qualified individuals with specialized skill sets working together on common projects- and it is a trend which shows no signs of abating. The old paradigm of 9-5 workplaces populated by men in ties sitting in a boardroom or talking about 'the account' around a water cooler are, for the most part, a thing of the past.

Nowadays it is not uncommon to find diverse teams of people collaborating remotely on multiple concurrent projects in ever changing permutations of teams, partners, and clients. We live in the internet age; and while, online collaboration has been made possible by the internet it hasn't been made easy by default. There are many collaboration tools out there, many online collaboration software packages from which to choose.

The ideal project software can essentially affect the way you and your team operate and manage your ongoing projects and, consequently, change what you are ultimately capable of achieving. One need only consider what the chainsaw meant for the forestry industry to comprehend that the right tool can change everything. But how do you choose the perfect project software?

## Easy to use

Not each and every member of your team is likely to come to the table with similar skill sets and backgrounds. It's important that any project software you make use of to manage your project is simple enough for each and every member of your team. On top of which, any time spent mastering online collaboration software is time not spent on the project itself.

## Intuitive features

You want the members of your team focussing on the project rather than on the specifics of the project software -the quirks, bugs and limitations of the latest version. A truly intuitive collaboration platform should seem like nothing more than the medium in which the project is being developed or, to put it another way, the rich, fertile soil in which ideas are planted.

## Powerful

There's a delicate balance to be preserved between intuitive simplicity and powerful versatility. Innovative project software must be easy and quick to learn yet offer powerful, versatile tools which can shift the very foundation of your project management strategy. This kind of design calls for a clarity of vision on the part of the platform developers and is what sets some systems apart from others.

## Flexible

All projects are going to be different. The depth and breadth of a project, can occasionally change considerably and unexpectedly. It is important that any platform you adopt be versatile enough to accommodate collaborative projects of any dimension. Scalability is crucial. You do not want an entire team falling victim to its own success by unintentionally outgrowing the project software that lead to that success.

If you think that your team is not performing up to its full potential, or that its creative focus is being eroded or diminished by the limitations of your current collaborative model, perhaps it is time to reevaluate that model and put money into innovative project software. There are many to choose from but if you take the time to research what's available and be sure to make an educated decision it just might be a tipping point in your project development.




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