Key game-changing trends such as collaboration, mobility, unified communications, cloud computing and the "Internet of everything" are compelling companies to work smarter.
So says Tony McManus, MD of project management specialist company, McManus Consulting, who believes the modernisation of the tech landscape is generating a strong demand in the project management information system environment.
"The age of tedious, static, paper-based project reports is over and organisations are steadily demanding more flexibility and accessibility to project information across the technology landscape, with the need to provide feedback and report on progress across a diverse number of platforms," he says.
According to McManus, this led to the development of McMethod.net, an end-to-end project process management tool designed to help organisations apply clear, repeatable project processes to their projects while providing meaningful, timely and dynamic project information across a wide range of mobile and conventional platforms.
"This tool helps users control projects according to a selected project type or methodology. It has been built on Microsoft technologies and, through the integration of SharePoint, Project Server, Office and Nintex, collates all elements of project management and completely automates the workflow of the selected methodology," he remarks.
He further states that this tool automatically creates a project workspace for each project, with a single repository for all project-related documentation, including the appropriate documentation templates.
"This makes sourcing information a great deal easier. It also assists greatly in ensuring that project participants adhere to best practices and that all necessary documentation is produced and securely stored. This is a key benefit when it comes to ISO or other audits," adds McManus,
His expectation is that 2014 will see projects initiated and managed more strategically and proactively as opposed to the current reactive approach.
"Looking ahead, there will be a real sense of planning and preparation to projects; we have always stressed the importance of ensuring each project has a strong business case behind it, otherwise projects can destroy value instead of creating it."
McManus also expects a greater sense of urgency and focus around project management as a business enabler, with a willingness to apply best practices to increase the chances of project success.
"When key considerations for effective project management are looked at, we realise that the local market has their work cut out for them, but it is possible to improve project success and there is certainly willingness."
McManus concludes that companies should align projects to the strategy of the business and employ the right techniques and solutions, to automate project management processes. "This way, we can expect businesses to be more effective and successful in 2014 and beyond," he concludes.
Share