Lydon Solutions

Construction Project Management Software Solutions

Construction Management Software

Does Your Organization Need a Custom Project Management Information System?

Case Study |

How you manage your construction projects is unique to your organization, so shouldn't your construction project management software be as well?

Lydon Solutions has been developing custom Project Management Information Systems (PMISs) for the construction industry using Microsoft SharePoint and SQL Server since 2009. Over the years, we have found that every company, every project, and every project manager manages their projects differently. While there are standard practices across the construction industry, there is no one-size-fits-all process used across the scope and breadth of major construction projects.

Given the above, why do so many companies try to make do with an out-of-the-box PMIS when they really need and want a custom solution? The answer is: many management teams incorrectly assume that a custom solution is too expensive and time-consuming to implement. Here is why they are wrong.

The hidden costs of an out-of-the-box PMIS

Custom solutions strike fear in some companies because of their reputation for being expensive and taking too much time to implement. Instead of getting a custom solution that fits their needs and processes, these companies end up doing a combination of the following:

  • Working around the limitations of an out-of-the-box PMIS
  • Looking the other way as project teams do most of their work in Excel because the company PMIS is too cumbersome to use
  • Hiring more people to do the manual administrative tasks required by their inflexible off-the-shelf PMIS

In other words, rather than investing in a solution that works for them, many organizations struggle with tools that ultimately cost them more in the long run.

If companies performed a cost-benefit analysis, they would see that implementing a custom PMIS has the following long-term benefits over their status quo system:

  • A custom PMIS mirrors your work processes, allowing you to optimize your business processes for efficiency.
  • A custom PMIS offers greater scalability as your organization changes. You can flexibly adapt to changes in process, scope, resources, and so on.
  • Since a custom solution includes just what you need, you do not have to pay for unnecessary hardware or functionality. You can also reduce your reliance on offline tools.
  • Your organization likely uses other enterprise platforms. Your custom solution can integrate with all the other software products in use by your company, adding more efficiency in to your workflows.
  • Having a solution that lets your teams be more efficient and do their job better can give you a strategic advantage over your competitors using rigid off-the-shelf solutions.
  • When your PMIS more closely aligns with how you actually do business, the more likely it is that your organization will use the system.

Okay, you might wonder if an off-the-shelf system costs more over time; why don't all organizations go with a custom solution that better fits their needs? Most likely because they are intimidated by the planning required to launch a custom solution successfully.

The cost of a custom PMIS solution lies in the planning

Surprisingly, the cost and challenges of building a custom PMIS have shifted from IT development to upfront planning, requirements, and overall design.  Platforms like Microsoft 365 have made it easier than ever to deliver custom solutions.  Ultimately, the cost of the custom PMIS and its success is contingent on how well companies can articulate their vision of how the system should function to support their business needs. And how well an IT consulting company, which knows construction, can translate those requirements into a real solution. As with any construction project, you can't build without a solid design. The same goes for IT.

I want a custom PMIS, but where do I start?

In prior posts, we outlined the best practice to follow when rolling out a new PMIS at your organization. We have articles on planning, evaluating technology, implementing, and supporting a PMIS. You can start there to understand the big picture of delivering a PMIS. If you are considering using Microsoft 365 as the foundation of your PMIS, our previous blog post has some tips as well.

If you need additional help with the upfront planning or development for a custom PMIS solution, I invite you to submit a free consultation request with Lydon Solutions. We have an experienced team of construction and IT professionals with a track record of delivering award-winning PMIS solutions. We also have an expanding catalog of integrated Construction Viz apps that you can combine to fast-track your own fully customizable PMIS solution in Microsoft365 and SharePoint.

How to Successfully Manage a Construction Software Deployment

How-To |

This is part three of three in a series of blogs called How to Plan for a Construction Software Deployment.

We gave you five foundational steps to plan for a successful construction software deployment – along with several tips and best practices in our two earlier blog posts. Now we offer advice on managing the rollout of your construction software deployment.

The saying in construction is “plan the work and then work the plan.” Software product and project managers need to do more than just put together a plan and expect IT to follow it.  You need to manage scope, schedule, and budget just like you would for a construction project. Below is our advice on managing the process.

1) Keep the rollout small and focused

This was tip #2 on our list of best practices during the planning phase, but it bears repeating here. Resist the temptation or outside pressure to go for a big, top-down rollout.  We have seen too many software deployments fail when VP-level stakeholders get involved and push a mandatory new tool down to users.

Change is a big scary beast for most companies.  The more opportunity you give users to get their feet wet before jumping in will help build support. Stick to your plan for a small and focused rollout. Take a phased approach. Use early wins to build grassroots adoptions. Doing so will make your entire project smoother and more successful.

2) Leave room for customizations & enhancements

If you followed the advice from our earlier posts, you analyzed the needs of your stakeholders and documented your business processes as part of your planning process. But don’t assume your plan is final. It is important that you keep an open mind and listen to input. Let project teams shape the tool

Some of you may object and say that a project needs to be standard across your organization. Standard, yes. Rigid, no.

You want your users invested in the software you are deploying. The best way to do that is to give them the chance to make it their own. If a project manager cannot tailor a tool to their specific management needs, you will have a harder time getting your software deployment accepted across the organization.

And, assuming you did your homework during the planning phase, hopefully the system you are deploying is configurable and customizable down to the individual project manager level (like Construction Viz, our flexible construction project management solution powered by Microsoft SharePoint 2016).

3) Update your plan & requirements documents

Requirements are essential to building anything from an office building to an enterprise construction software solution.  But requirements are not a one-and-done deliverable at the beginning of the project.  They are living documents and are relevant throughout the entire life cycle of the system all the way through scoping, change management, testing, training, and implementation.

You should keep your planning documents up-to-date as scope changes occur. Use version control to ensure the developers and stakeholders are all working off the latest specification.

4) Plan for change

You will have changes.  There is no way around it.  Maintain a contingency allowance for changes. You can use an approach similar to the estimate contingency levels defined by AACE.  The more defined the scope, the better the cost and schedule.  Keep a change log and budget accordingly.

5) Schedule regular design reviews

IT developers often gather requirements and then go off to build in isolation.  The problem with this scenario is that most IT developers do not know construction. And they definitely do not know everything about your organization and your needs. They could therefore misunderstand requirements and spend countless hours on meaningless items. Do not let this happen with your project.

Maintain regular design reviews with your developers.  This gives you the opportunity to see what they have built to date, clarify requirements and questions, manage scope, and remove roadblocks as needed.

6) Don’t forget User Acceptance Testing

Software testing involves both Functional Acceptance Testing (FAT) as well as User Acceptance Testing (UAT).  Your IT provider should perform FAT. UAT should done by your users and include the project SMEs and Champions (functions described in Step 2 of the first blog post in this series).

A thorough UAT will uncover issues that might not have been clear during requirements gathering or design reviews, so make it an integral step to both fixes and enhancements.

7) Avoid communication layers

There is a good chance you are working with different teams to build, host and deploy your construction software. For larger organizations, these can all unfortunately be different companies, a fact that can complicate communications and accountability. If you are not careful, it can even derail or delay your entire project and cause support nightmares down the road.

Mitigate this risk by ensuring that roles and responsibilities for the project are clear – especially if there is another company between you and the developer. Make sure you have a direct channel to those doing the work. Avoid unnecessary communications layers that can slow down information getting to those who need it.

8) Get a pulse from your users & stakeholders

Do not wait until the end of the project to survey users about their likes and dislikes of the system.  Getting their constant feedback – and letting them know you are listening to their concerns – is essential throughout the process. You want to make sure that your project is meeting the success criteria you defined in your business case.

Send frequent updates to the users about new features. Build a community of users that have influence over the direction of the system.  You will find that these engaged users may even help you uncover opportunities to solve challenges you did not initially foresee.

9) But they are still using Excel?!?

Here’s a common scenario: You roll out your new construction software system, but project teams are still using Excel. Don’t panic – your project did not fail. Let’s face it, Excel is not going away just because you roll out a shiny new enterprise construction management system.  There simply is no tool that gives users the flexibility they have with Excel. And it is hard to beat Excel for one-off analysis and reporting.

Ideally your construction management software will integrate with Excel (Construction Viz leverages SharePoint for deep integration with Excel, for example).   If you planned your construction software deployment following the steps and tips we’ve shared, your users should have everything they need to automate standard templates and track critical information.

Our advice: Embrace Excel instead of ostracizing it and your users will rejoice. Excel is a great proof of concept and prototyping tool.  Let users develop Excel solutions to supplement your offering so you can further understand how they work and what information they use to manage.  If your user base sees the value in their effort, plan for a future enhancement to your PMIS.

If you are just starting your planning for a new construction software deployment, be sure to check out part one and part two in this blog series. We invite you to let us know your organization’s experiences and share any advice in the comments below.

Thinking of deploying a construction project management solution for your organization?

We have helped our clients deploy Project Management Information System (PMIS) solutions to manage multi-billion-dollar construction projects. Our Construction Viz platform includes everything you need to manage your construction projects— document management, dashboards, reports, forms, workflows and more—in one place.

Contact us to get a free consultation to learn more about what Construction Viz can do for your organization.

Check out more blogs from How to Plan for a Construction Software Deployment

Come See Lydon Solutions at the CMAA National Conference & Tradeshow

Events |

Be sure to meet up with Lydon Solutions at the CMAA 2017 National Conference this month in Washington DC. We’ll be demoing the latest features of our Construction Viz project management solution (Booth 206).

It is that time of year again! The Lydon Solutions team is once more headed to the CMAA National Conference and Tradeshow held this year on October 8-10, 2017 in Washington DC. We’re proud to again be a Silver Sponsor for the event.

Read on for a preview of what we have planned for this year’s event.

Construction Project Management Perfected

Every company, project and PM is unique – and your construction project management software should be too!

We designed Construction Viz, our recently introduced subscription-based solution, to be the most flexible and easy-to-use project management information system (PMIS) available. Construction Viz is powered by technologies you trust (Microsoft SharePoint 2016, SQL 2016 and Azure) and built from the ground up to meet the specific needs of construction professionals. The platform includes everything you need to manage your construction projects—document management, dashboards, reports, forms, workflows and more—in one place.

We’ll be showing off several new and enhanced features for Construction Viz at the CMAA conference this year:

  • New project and program dashboards and tracking tools
  • Enhanced mapping capabilities and integrations
  • New mobile web form technology
  • Adobe Sign integration

We’re looking forward to the conference and hope to see you there.

Let’s Talk About Your Construction Project Management Needs

We welcome the opportunity to learn about your unique needs and to show you how Construction Viz can help your team save time, reduce cost and stay on schedule. Contact us to schedule a meeting at the CMAA Conference – or a free online consultation and demo if you cannot make it to the event.