Lydon Solutions

Construction Project Management Software Solutions

PMIS

The Best Technology for Your Project Management Information System

How-To |

This is part two of four in a series of blogs called Tips on Deploying Construction Project Management Software for Your Organization.

How do you evaluate the best technology for a new project management information system for your construction organization? Here are some tips and lessons learned to help you select the right technology solution to fit your needs for at least the next five to ten years or more.

Technology seems to move faster all the time. It is easy to feel overwhelmed when evaluating one solution versus another, especially with something as important – and potentially costly – as a Project Management Information System (PMIS) for your construction organization. You must consider not only whether a given platform will meet your needs today but also if it will be flexible enough to meet them in a year or two. The truth is, not every option on the market today will be supported or updated a few years from now, and that is a significant risk.

The good news is you can make your next PMIS more future proof by asking the right questions during the selection process. My advice, based on helping clients design and deploy solutions to manage construction projects of all sizes, is below. If you have not already, I suggest that you check out my previous post Picking the Right Construction Project Management Software, where I offer tips and suggestions on how to plan your PMIS deployment. This article assumes the planning is complete, and you are now ready to begin the PMIS selection process by evaluating the available technologies.

Technology to Look for in a Project Management Information System

What technologies should you be looking for in a project management information system for your construction team? Here are eleven lessons learned to help navigate the IT landscape:

1. A web-based solution. Believe it or not, there are still PMIS products out there that are server/desktop applications. Any PMIS that is not a web application is not a suitable enterprise solution. With progressive web applications (PWAs) gaining traction (see below), you can expect to see this technology replace desktop apps.

2. An enterprise-grade cloud platform. Be sure to find out where a prospective vendor hosts their PMIS solution. Why does this matter? You do not want a product hosted in a server under someone’s desk or a one-off data center. You want a solution hosted on a leading cloud platform like Microsoft Azure to ensure that your PMIS vendor can provide you with the scalability, geographic localization, and enterprise security that you need. Azure also offers a wide range of additional services such as AI, workflow logic apps, SQL services, and Microsoft 365 to enhance any PMIS. Finally, an established cloud provider like Microsoft has extensive experience serving the enterprise with software and hardware solutions, and directs significant investment into Azure, ensuring that it will be around for years to come.

3. Built by construction professionals. The more construction experience the vendor’s development and implementation teams have, the more likely the product will meet your needs and will deploy successfully at your organization. And if you need any changes to the software, a vendor well versed in construction will be able to understand better or even anticipate your requirements, reducing time and cost to get a successful PMIS up and running.

4. Progressive web apps. An IT revolution underway now is progressive web applications (PWAs) replacing traditional web browser apps. The significant advantages of PWAs over traditional desktop and web browser apps include: 1) PWAs work across any modern browser; 2) there is no app to install on the device; 3) content can be available offline without an internet connection; 4) PWAs can leverage hardware features of the device such as notifications and peripherals; 5) PWAs behave just like a desktop app from the user’s perspective, and 6) PWAs perform faster than traditional web apps since they can take advantage of browser data caching.

5. Integration with Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office is not going away any time soon and is the preferred suite of tools for managing projects regardless of the PMIS used. Ensure that any PMIS you evaluate integrates deeply with the Microsoft Office applications (like Excel and Outlook) that your teams use every day.

6. Mobile and Offline Support. Let’s face it; construction work happens in the field. The PMIS you select must be available online while also having the ability to work offline on any device, even without an internet connection.

7. Email Integration. Most of us spend our days in our email application. Not only is email the audit trail on most projects, but it is also the best way to communicate with internal and external team members. A new PMIS should allow users to perform their day-to-day tasks, such as approving forms and documents, right in their email client.

8. Simple UI/UX. Construction organizations have team members with varying levels of technical expertise. If users cannot get past the user interface, the entire PMIS will be dead on arrival.

9. Technology Roadmap. Ask every prospective PMIS vendor for a technology roadmap of future features and enhancements to the product. You also want to know the frequency of updates made from user community requests. Some companies only make changes to their products every six months, so if you need to customize your solution with a vendor like this, know that you will have to wait.

10. Open APIs – Make sure the PMIS has open APIs that allow integrations with your other systems. A robust, documented API will ensure that the PMIS you deploy does not become a data island that puts your project information in a difficult-to-access silo.

11. Not monolithic. The days of buying a massive software program that costs millions of dollars where you only end up using only five percent of the features are over. Find modular solutions that provide apps and modules that you can assemble into a customized PMIS that supports your needs. That way, you only pay for what you actually use.

Get More Tips and Advice on Project Management Information System Solutions

I hope the tips I shared above help you on your PMIS journey. If you missed it, check out my previous blog post about how to start planning for a new PMIS deployment. In future posts, I will provide lessons learned for implementing and supporting a PMIS.

For more advice on finding the right PMIS and tips to manage your construction projects better, sign up for our newsletter in the footer below. And if you are looking for an enterprise PMIS or have any questions, contact us for a free consultation. Good luck!

Check out more blogs from Tips on Deploying Construction Project Management Software for Your Organization

Picking the Right Construction Project Management Software

How-To |

This is part one of four in a series of blogs called Tips on Deploying Construction Project Management Software for Your Organization.

If you are a construction organization, I would assume that IT is not your strong suit. Nor should it be. You need to focus on construction. You probably already know that trying to navigate the IT landscape can be both intimidating and frustrating. While there are many construction project management platforms on the market that all provide very similar functionality, by doing some up-front planning, you can improve your chances of selecting and successfully implementing the best solution for your organization.

Below are seven lessons that I have learned from years of deploying construction project management software for enterprises. Hopefully, these tips will help make your selection process a little easier.

Seven Tips for Selecting a Construction Project Management Solution


1. Define the problem statement. What specifically are you trying to improve by implementing new technology? Check with subject matter experts within your organization to determine what is working and what is not. Then formulate a problem statement that includes a cost-benefit analysis by filling in the blanks of this statement: "If we do X, it will save us Y and improve our offerings by Z." It is incredible how many companies looking for a new software platform do not perform this most basic and crucial step.

2. Develop "as-is" requirement documents. I have written about the importance of "as-is" requirements in the past. In brief, to understand what you might need tomorrow, you must thoroughly understand how your processes work today. Prepare business requirement processes, flow diagrams, risk areas, data dictionaries, and reports based on how you currently do business now, not how you would like to in the future. Hire a third-party consulting company to challenge the robustness of your processes and identify where technology will help improve them. The exercise of uncovering how you do things is critical. You might find that you do not know your processes as well as you would have liked. Also, you might have tools already at your company that can provide what you need with little to no modifications, or maybe your processes do not lend themselves to an upgrade in technology.

3. Do not be made to feel inadequate because you use Excel to manage projects. Be aware that using Excel to manage projects does not mean you are behind the times. In my experience of over twenty years in project controls, Excel is the de facto standard to manage projects regardless of what enterprise software companies claim to use. Believe it or not, teams use Excel to run multi-billion-dollar projects and programs and have done so for decades. Do not be too quick to throw out your Excel files unless you have evidence of problems. Also, if you are using SharePoint, know that you can turn your Excel files into a web-based project management system. Contact us to find out how.

4. Avoid looking at software products until you complete steps 1-3. One of the biggest mistakes companies make is starting to evaluate project management software systems on the market before knowing: 1) what they already have and 2) what they need. When we founded Lydon Solutions, we worked with multiple sizable companies that could have upwards of twenty construction project management systems deployed across the organization. These companies were paying for all these tools but under-utilizing them because these expensive software platforms never actually solved the core problems. Nowadays, we see even smaller companies with the same dilemma. Do not be fooled by the software salesperson and all those pretty charts. Focus on how and if their software can solve your specific problems.

5. Decide your level of involvement. Evaluating, planning for, and implementing the right construction project management software for your organization is a big undertaking. Even if a vendor tells you their product is an off-the-shelf solution and you can hit the ground running day one, they are glossing over the setup, configuration, and training that will be needed to get the system working for your team. If your organization intends to manage the entire selection and deployment process internally, then make sure you know your IT group's experience level and availability to deploy and support the selected solution. If you do not have that internal team, then you need to understand the level of external support required and the associated costs. Also, beyond just administering the system, you will need management oversight to support the deployment. We recommend designating at least one sponsor, a senior manager or executive who is ultimately responsible for the successful implementation of the system. You will likewise need at least one subject matter expert (SME), someone who knows your business processes and can be available from the beginning to help with the rollout of your new solution.

6. Change is inevitable, so plan accordingly. There is not any construction project management software system out there that will not need to be "tweaked" at some point after implementation, either through configuration or custom code, to address changes to your company or projects. Make sure you have the budget and resources to support such changes. Also, ensure that whatever software you are considering allows for your required company-specific modifications and does not force you to change your business processes to fit how the system works.

7. Pilot a project. Way too many times, I have seen the mistake of companies trying to roll out an enterprise project management system across the entire organization without doing a pilot first. In my experience, enterprise software implemented organization-wide in this top-down fashion will either likely fail, end up costing two to three times more, or both. I encourage companies to start small with a pilot program with minimal functionality, get the win, and then expand. This approach minimizes your investment, obtains crucial buy-in from your team, and if you have a subpar experience with a vendor, you can write them off before making too large of a commitment.

Get Help with a Construction Project Management Software Solution for your Team


I hope the above lessons that I've shared can help you find the right construction project management solution for your organization. As you can see, more up-front planning on your part is needed before you put a request for proposal (RFP) out on the street or start inviting companies to provide software demos. Stay tuned: we will be providing more tips on assessing the right technology framework and managing a successful implementation of construction project management solutions in future posts.

If you have any questions or are looking for a project management software solution for your construction organization, reach out for a no-obligation consultation with our team. Good luck!

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

Why Your Construction PMIS Solution Should be Unique

How-To |

Your organization’s needs are unique. Your Construction PMIS should be too.

A surprising number of construction Project Management Information System (PMIS) implementations fail. Why is this the case? We published a blog article listing the top 10 most common reasons why PMIS deployments don’t succeed a couple years ago.

But I can boil that top-10 list down to two primary reasons for you:

  1. Runaway costs
  2. Poor user adoption

Underlying both the above points of failure, however, is the myth of a one-size-fits-all PMIS solution. 

Debunking the myth of a one-size-fits-all PMIS solution

Many vendors promise that their PMIS is turnkey, that it includes everything you need and is ready-to-deploy for your organization. They show off all the pretty automated reports and tout their long feature list.

This may all sound good in a slide presentation. Problem is, there is simply no such thing as an out-of-the-box PMIS solution.  

Any PMIS you deploy will require costly customizations to fit your business processes:

  • Every PM and team in your company will do things a little differently. Those cookie cutter workflows, forms, and processes will need be modified.
  • You may need to interface your PMIS with various other internal company systems, some of which are probably legacy software. That means custom integration and programing.
  • Your stakeholders input data differently (e.g. offline forms, maps, interactive dashboards, etc.) and they consume data differently (e.g. interactive lists, reports, Excel, etc.). More customization will be required to meet those needs.
  • Finally, management will want custom reports pulling together data from multiple systems and sources. Since those reports are specific to your organization, they will need to be custom created by the vendor or a consultant.

You get the idea. There is simply no way that something off-the-shelf will seamlessly fit all your organization’s processes and workflows without modifications. This is where the runaway costs start.

Even after the customizations, that off-the-shelf PMIS still probably won’t be flexible enough to help your team do their job, so they won’t use it. They may enter data if you mandate it. But they’ll primarily rely on familiar tools (like Excel) that help them get their job done. Poor user adoption now means the data in your PMIS is incomplete or your teams are duplicating efforts by using multiple systems.

All the above add up to one sad fact: Your organization just wasted a ton of time and money based on the myth of a one-size-fits all PMIS deployment.

Why you need a construction PMIS tailored to you

Every company, project and PM is unique. The PMIS you deploy should be unique too. It should fit how you and your team work while also being powerful, extensible, mobile, and easy to use.

Meeting the unique needs of construction organizations was the inspiration behind Construction Viz, our recently introduced subscription-based construction project management solution.

We designed Construction Viz based on the belief that every aspect of a PMIS needs to be meticulously designed around your organization’s processes by professionals that have both construction and IT experience.

Our expert staff will collaborate with you to fully customize Construction Viz to meet your organization’s unique needs. That includes workflows, forms, reports, and integrations.  It’s this solution provider mentality that sets Construction Viz apart in the industry.

We also wanted Construction Viz to be cutting-edge, but still ensure complete backward- and forward-compatibility with essential construction industry systems.  Which is why we selected Microsoft SharePoint 2016, SQL 2016, and Azure to power Construction Viz. Not only are these established enterprise platforms that you already know and trust, they also support all the features your organization needs in a PMIS solution. Construction Viz tailors these tools for your construction project management needs.

Construction Viz’s industry leading technology and features

Construction Viz gives you the power and extensibility of the Microsoft ecosystem – including SharePoint, SQL, Office and more – optimized for construction and customized for your organization.

Key Features of Construction Viz:

  • Complete flexibility – Extensive customization and integration options powered by SharePoint 2016 and the Microsoft enterprise ecosystem.
  • Robust reporting – Powerful SQL 2016 database technology and reporting capabilities, including SSRS (mobile and paginated reports), geospatial mapping, dashboards, KPI widgets and more.
  • End-to-end security – Second to none security and compliance with the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.
  • Mobile support – Productivity in the office and the field with complete mobile and offline support.
  • Integration galore – Ready integration with the industry standard software you use every day (Office, Oracle Primavera P6, SAP, ArcGIS and more).

There is another advantage to consider. Because Construction Viz is built upon industry-leading enterprise platforms like SharePoint, SQL and Azure, you can rest assured that your organization won’t be stranded in a proprietary walled garden where customizations or integrations are prohibitively costly. Or, worse yet, surprised by a vendor going out of business.  Construction Viz offers you the peace of mind and reliability of using Microsoft’s widely deployed and extensively support platforms – optimized and enhanced for construction project management.

There are many PMIS platforms to choose from out there. Only Construction Viz is designed around you and your project.

A version of this post also appears in the special CMAA section of the June 19th issue of ENR. 

See what Construction Viz can do for you

Find out more about Construction Viz by visiting our microsite, or contact us to schedule a free consultation and demo.

Requirements Gathering for a Project Management Information System

How-To |

The requirements gathering process is critical to successfully deploying a Project Management Information System (PMIS). Here are tips on how to gather requirements for a construction project management solution.

The success of any software development project hinges on the requirements gathering process. Would you build your house with no drawings, no material list, or no schedule?  No, of course not.

The same planning is required for a software solution.

Good requirements help enable a successful final product. Poor requirements can result in cost overruns, schedule delays and poor client/contractor relations due to excessive changes and rework.

The right way to gather requirements

Here are a few definitions and best practices to help you better collect and communicate effective requirements from the start:

1.       What is a software requirement?

A software requirement is a detailed definition of a function or feature that must be met to ensure the product achieves what it was designed to accomplish for its users.

2.       Why do I need to do requirements?

Requirements are needed in order to define the scope of the development, provide a cost estimate, and manage the project.

3.       Who does requirements?

It’s not any different than a construction project.  The client has a need. So they develop a design, issues bid packages, manage changes, and ultimately own the overall scope and budget.

The developer doesn’t define the client’s scope.  The developer may help quantify or qualify the scope, but the requirements are owned by the client.

4.       When do I start requirements?

Start with requirements before you look at any software product.

Documenting your requirements, and taking stock of your existing tools, will help you better understand what you truly need. It is also important to talk with other departments in your organization. Chances are you could combine efforts in order to save costs and avoid duplicating software.

When companies start looking at software products before understanding their requirements, they often end up buying into features that are unnecessary or redundant.  By defining requirements first, software options can be better evaluated.

5.       Where do I document my requirements?

Microsoft Excel, Word, Visio and Adobe Acrobat are the most user-friendly and commonly available tools for collecting and documenting requirements.  If you have better tools than those, then by all means, use them.

The key is ensuring that your requirements document can be easily updated, shared, and stored in a central location such as SharePoint or a File Share with version control and change management.  Version control is essential since these documents should be shared between client and developer.

Remember that these are living documents that change over time and the “story” should be captured to support changes.  If done correctly, these documents will evolve into testing documents and training documents.

6.       How do I start?

There are many proven approaches to requirements gathering.  We recommend that different types of requirements should be gathered for different phases of the project.

Budgetary/ROM requirements phase: Your first step will typically be getting budget approval for your project. To do this, you will need to define high-level requirements.  Examples would include X number of reports and dashboards, X number of forms with workflow, etc.  The details of these inputs and outputs are minimal at this point.

Summary requirements phase: Next you will need to create an RFP. Here you must list out the key requirements based on your business needs. This phase often includes a long wish list of items of different priorities. Estimates from developers for both cost and schedule based on your RFP are usually +/- 50% with a lot of assumptions and risks called out by the vendor.

Detailed requirements phase:  Finally, a formal requirements process should be conducted once you select a vendor and before any work starts.  While a good software development organization with both construction and IT experience, like Lydon Solutions, can turn lemons into lemonade, it is advisable to follow best practices when collecting and communicating detailed requirements.  These requirements can be used to estimate the cost to within +/- 10-25%.

Want to know how to get started with requirements? Read our next article where we go over how to put together your Detailed Requirements document utilizing use cases.

Need expert help gathering requirements for a construction project management solution?

We know that the requirement gathering process can be daunting. We are here to help! Lydon Solutions has a set of standard business requirements documents that we use as a starting point. Get a free consultation to learn more.

PMIS the Right Way

How-To |

Considering a new Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) for your construction company?

We covered the reasons PMIS implementations typically fail in our previous blog post. Below we share the best practices we’ve learned implementing successful PMIS solutions for our clients over the years. Follow these tips and you will save yourself and your company headaches.

In a future blog post, we’ll explain why we believe Microsoft SharePoint, a tool already in place at most organizations, is the best PMIS option for many companies.

10 Tips for a Successful Project Management Information System Implementation

Do not go into an Enterprise PMIS rollout with your eyes shut.  A PMIS needs a scope, schedule and a budget just like any other construction project.  Buying software is the last step in the process not the first.  Do your homework and follow these best practices:

  1. Take stock of what you already have.  Analyze what you have before going out and buying an expensive new PMIS. You may find you already have tools that will meet your needs. For example, most companies already have Microsoft SharePoint. We have been able to provide 95% of our clients’ requirements by supplementing SharePoint with P6 and Arc GIS integration. Be sure to read our next blog article to learn why SharePoint may be the best PMIS solution for your company.
  2. Take time to do requirements.  We cannot say this emphatically enough. Taking time to do a proper requirements gathering phase is the difference between project success and failure. Requirements are independent of a PMIS, so spend the time defining your process before you even look at platforms. Understanding what your organization needs will make it easier to pick the right tool, prioritize features, avoid bloatware and ultimately save you time and money.
  3. Shoot High, Aim Low.  Plan the deployments so that functionality is released in phases.  The shotgun approach does not work.  Everybody on the project team is busy and their ability to change is very limited.  Small wins build support and foster empowerment of project teams.
  4. Assign Subject Matter Experts. A PMIS doesn’t build itself and magically know how you do things. You have to commit internal resources to collecting requirements, testing, training, encouraging adoption and managing feature requests. Establish a team of internal subject matter experts (SMEs) to support the PMIS throughout the entire Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). These should be experienced SMEs from each discipline that will use the PMIS, not “newbies.”
  5. Get the right team.  Ensure your PMIS deployment is successful by entrusting the project to a team that is expert on the platform. Many construction companies hire one-off contractors or consultants from staffing agencies to develop functionality and deploy solutions. Companies do this because they believe they will save money. But hiring IT generalists often leads to wasted time, incomplete solutions and ballooning project costs. A PMIS solution should be deployed by a team that knows the product – both hardware and software – inside and out. Hire a team that specializes in PMIS deployments that can efficiently deliver a complete solution.
  6. Build grassroots support for your project.  PMIS systems are successful when users embrace them, not when they are forced to use them by upper management. You can increase adoption by ensuring the PMIS makes things easier and more efficient for all stakeholders. Otherwise you are just creating more work for other teams. Find internal champions in each department who know the business and can influence the rest of the organization. Work closely with them to gather their group’s requirements.
  7. Focus on core competencies.  A successful PMIS implementation requires the help of technology experts with experience deploying project management systems. You are probably thinking that this is convenient advice coming from a consulting company. That doesn’t make it any less true. You know your business backwards and forwards, but you are probably not an IT expert. Your internal IT department specializes in software and hardware refreshes. But they are not experienced with the intricacies of PMIS deployments. Bottom line: you will end up spending double the cost and tenfold the time trying to develop and roll out a PMIS without expert help.
  8. Embrace the cloud.  Companies spend millions maintaining data centers that will never keep up with the latest technology and security requirements.  We realize moving to the cloud seems daunting, But if you want to save cost, improve efficiency and foster innovation, your best bet is to get out from behind your firewall.
  9. Make your IT partner part of the construction team.  Your ideal IT partner should become part of your construction team to understand your business and your requirements. This will allow them to respond quickly to project needs and build solutions as they are needed.
  10. Expect to spend money.  Software is only part of the cost you need to consider. A bigger cost is the labor to develop and support your implementation.  A PMIS should be treated just like rolling out an enterprise financial system or CRM.  You don’t buy a system and then walk away. A successful long-term implementation requires careful initial planning followed by expert installation, maintenance, and support. Make sure your budget takes into account the full lifecycle of the PMIS.

Why Microsoft SharePoint is an ideal PMIS platform

In a future post, we’ll pull everything together to discuss why we recommend Microsoft SharePoint to our clients as the ideal foundation for a robust PMIS solution.