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One of the most common questions I get is “How do I choose the right collaboration tool?”
Genius Project is delighted to partner with me today to bring you the 5 Step Expert Guide to Choosing Project Management Collaboration Tool.
This article covers everything you need to know about choosing the right project management tool for your team. I hope you find this useful.
Step 1: Get to the root of the problem
Step 2: Involve users in defining requirements
Step 3: Evaluate Collaboration Tools
Step 4: Consider Software Integration
Step 5: Measure the Change Impact
Next steps: Making the Decision
Step 1: Get to the root of the problem
Maxime Villeger is a Regional Director at Genius Project and Solutions Specialist. “The most important factor in solving a business problem with the tool is the business pain,” Maxime Villeger says. There are likely to be multiple pain points in your company. It is important to prioritize these in order to match your needs and the vendor’s strengths.
Andrea Fryrear, Agile marketing trainer at AgileSherpas, agrees. She says, “It is crucial to take a step back and think about your team as one unit before you even begin investigating tools.”
“Do they work together or should you be looking for ways to improve your processes? If everything is running smoothly, then you will want to find a tool that matches the current dynamic and workflow. If you feel that there is room for improvement, you should look for a tool to help you get closer to the type of work you want to see your team do together.
Step 2: Involve users in defining requirements
While you don’t have to involve all users in the selection process, it is important to consider their needs. You would expect user involvement if you were managing this project for a client. You shouldn’t choose a tool that isn’t suitable for your PM community.
First, you must determine who will be using the tool. Maxime says, “Define users based upon what data you want to store in your tool.” Maxime says, “Let’s take for instance that time tracking isn’t important to your company. It’s possible that you don’t need to have time tracking capabilities for your team members, so it isn’t a requirement for the tool.
Consider the business problem that you identified in Step 1. Then think about the data that you will need to manage it. Next, think about who will provide this data.
Once you have identified your users, you can begin to communicate with them.
Maxime, who has six years of experience in project management and ten years in the service- and software industry, says that it is important to get buy in from people who will use the tool. This helps to avoid any complaints later and also sets the process in place for the deployment. Maxime says that you already know the requirements. Now it’s time to configure the tool to meet your needs.
Andrea says that a survey is the best and fastest way to get feedback. Grab a free online tool to ask your team members a few key questions. You’ll be able to see the patterns and commonalities between the answers of your team members.
Maxime says that organizations often hire outside companies to conduct interviews or surveys with end-users. “The organization can also give out questionnaires that will allow users to share their greatest pains or needs.
Another thing to consider is how the product will help track and measure stakeholder engagement. Rick Maurer, author of Beyond the Wall of Resistance, says that too often project planning models take support for granted, or give lip service. It’s a great book about working with stakeholders and leading changes when it’s difficult.