Ever been tasked to find the right Project Management Software? If so, you probably realize how ridiculously broad the category is. Project Management Software could mean anything from Basecamp to AtTask, or Microsoft Project to ProjecTools. This is Project Management Software Overload. To illustrate my point; on Wikipedia there are ~150 entries under “Comparison of project management software.” Which leads us to the subject of this post – how does one separate the wheat from the chaff? My answer – by correctly defining the words “project”, “management”, and “software” for your organization.
So let’s begin:

1. We need to define “project.” If the project is simple, a simple application getting everyone on the same page and tracking input/change will be enough (think Asana, Basecamp, Trello). What about IT Project Management though? Totally different. Complex capital construction or EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) project? Once again, there’s an entirely different set of criteria that should be considered. These complex construction project solutions require significantly more powerful software to manage all of the moving parts. Even after defining the project though (for this post: EPC projects), one is left with a staggering array of software options. Which leads us to the second criteria – defining “manage.”
2. We need to define “manage.” What part of the project is most important to you? Simple projects have fewer moving parts and stakeholders – they’re relatively simple to manage and you may be able to manage many aspects of the project with relative ease. But if we’re talking EPC projects you must be much more deliberate; there is Scheduling, Document Management and Collaboration, Cost Control, Procurement, Engineering and Commissioning, and often there are multiple projects going on simultaneously (PPM). Of course these aspects are all important and different organizations place emphasis on different parts of project management – complicating the issue even further. Luckily there are tools that manage multiple pieces of these complex projects, but even the most comprehensive tools can’t tackle everything coherently. For instance, ProjecTools is arguably the most comprehensive Project Management Software tool (for EPC and Oil and Gas projects) covering Document Management and Collaboration, Cost Control, Procurement, and Engineering and Commissioning. That said, we realize there are other aspects of project management (scheduling especially), and rather than try to re-invent the wheel – we believe integration is stronger that competition (we integrate with scheduling leaders like Primavera). So now, if you’ve defined what you want to manage – we only need to decide what “software” means to you.
3. We need to define “software.” To be clear, we’re not interested in the technical definition of “software”, instead I’m working to define the category of things that are typically described as software. Let’s start with the basics: deployment options, purchase options, how it’s supported, and standalone or integrated.
   1. Deployment options are a point of contention, but the writing is on the wall: cloud is here to stay (see my presentation on the subject at PMI here).
   2. On purchasing – is it a CapEx or OpEx and can you fit it in your department’s budget? If you’re buying traditional on-premise software or deploying a private cloud, you’re looking at a significant capital expenditure and a significantly prolonged installation/implementation. On-premise can mean as much as a 10X increase in budget, the addition of IT support personnel, a decrease in redundancy, and 3-4X increase in the implementation timeline (which means less project-oriented work gets done). Good luck (and I’m not the only one who feels this way).
   3. How’s it supported? Having someone standing by to take your calls and correctly handle and escalate issues is something that really, really matters. Like anything, you may not realize how much it matters until you really need the support, but don’t dismiss this when you define what software means to you. And please don’t confuse “maintenance plans” for support; a maintenance plan is a poorly-disguised profit-generating mechanism – while support is designed to help clients and customers when they need it.
   4. Standalone or integrated? Everyone is talking about Big Data, but what they’re finding is Big Data Silos. Collecting data is an exercise in futility if it sits within a single application and isn’t used across the organization to make better decisions. Whether your chose multiple “best-in-class” systems and integrate them, or choose a comprehensive solution – you should understand the importance of integrated systems. At ProjecTools we fall into the “comprehensive solution” bucket but we also integrate with other applications to offer our clients a better control and decision-making platform and that’s important. Why is integration important? Because integration saves double-entry, preserves data integrity, allows for better decision-making, increases adoption rates, and leads to dramatically increased success in deployment and operation. But just because a company claims their software products are “integrated” doesn’t mean it was built together – be wary of larger vendors that “integrate” multiple products through acquisition of (once) entirely separate companies.

If you’ve followed this post so far, your needs in Project Management Software should be fairly clear. By defining what you mean by “project”, “management” and “software” you will be better equipped to make a purchasing decision, specifically as it relates to complex capital construction and EPC project management. Of course we’d love to answer any additional questions you have – feel free to send them to me personally.