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Construction Project Management Software Solutions

Project management software

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!

There is no Such Thing as a “SharePoint Developer”

Miscellaneous |

Yes, you heard it here: Don’t get fooled into hiring or contracting with an individual who claims to be a “SharePoint Developer” because there is no such thing.

Why? Working with SharePoint requires a broad range of skills beyond what any single person could realistically master.  If you want enterprise level solutions to manage your construction projects, what you really need is a team of experts that can help your organization unlock SharePoint’s full potential. Your best bet is to look for a company that has deep experience and broad expertise in SharePoint.

SharePoint's Capabilities

SharePoint is incredibly powerful. It is the number-one Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system in the world. On the surface, it looks simple and straightforward. That’s by design. Under the hood, however, it’s a different (and a complex) story depending on how and where you host SharePoint.

Just take a look at this partial list of SharePoint’s capabilities:

Content Management

  • List and library creation
  • Meta data
  • Retention

User Administration 

  • Account management
  • Permissions
  • Training

Architecture

  • Server administration
  • Security
  • Active Directory

Client-Side Development 

  • JavaScript, Angular, React, etc.
  • REST API
  • SDLC – build, test, deploy and support

Database 

  • SQL Server
  • Integration
  • Web services

Search 

  • Queries
  • Search properties and parameters
  • Search center

Reporting 

  • Third-party reports
  • SSRS/SSMS
  • Power BI

Forms 

  • List, infopath
  • Third party
  • Custom JS/VS

Workflow 

  • SharePoint designer/flow
  • Third party
  • Custom JS/VS

Each one of these areas requires years of experience to master and are rarely seen all together in any one individual.  This is why I say there is no such thing as a generic “SharePoint Developer.”

So what do you do if you want to use SharePoint to effectively manage your construction projects (and not just store your documents)?

Here are several approaches.

The first (and my recommendation) is to use a SharePoint-specific service provider like Lydon Solutions. We have people with experience and expertise in different areas of SharePoint so you can be assured your bases are covered.

Better yet, use our Construction Viz solution for SharePoint. This solution gives you full-featured construction management tools available right in SharePoint, on-premise or in the cloud, at a fraction of the cost of building your own environment.

If you prefer to do-it-yourself, here are suggestions on how to proceed:

  1. Separate business configuration from software development. Business configuration should be more focused on understanding your processes and document/content management than with software development. Business-configuration candidates should be client-facing, have a working knowledge of SharePoint, and understand construction and document control.
  2. Separate database development from client-side development. Typically, developers are stronger in one area or the other – so, if possible, separate database from the client-side development. Also, remember the software development lifecycle (SDLC). When it comes to developing custom solutions, you will need resources to not only build but also test and deploy any SharePoint solution (at a minimum).
  3. Decide whether the solution will be on-premise or online. If you go with Office 365, you will reduce your architecture needs since you won’t be managing servers. However, you will still have to manage your Office 365 tenant, integration, security, backups, and support, not to mention the continuing changes Microsoft makes to Office 365.
  4. Decide on your supporting software platforms. SharePoint is great in that you can build anything you want and its bad because you can build anything you want.  Commit to a standardized software platform for developing and deploying forms, workflow, and reporting.  This will allow specialization within your team and ensure a consistent experience for the users.

Choosing a SharePoint Development Partner

As stated before, you can eliminate all this work by using a provider like Lydon Solutions. We’ve been working with SharePoint for years and have experts in virtually every area of the platform. We can leverage its power to reduce your work and lower your costs for construction management.

If you want to learn more, contact us for a no-obligation consultation. And be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter in the footer below to get our latest blog updates, tips on using Microsoft SharePoint, and other useful info delivered directly to your inbox.

Connect A SharePoint Calendar with Outlook

Tips from the Field |

Here’s how you can create a project calendar in SharePoint, connect it with Outlook and share it with your team to keep everyone in sync.

The SharePoint Calendar App can be added to any SharePoint site. It behaves much the same as an Outlook Calendar and can be customized as needed.

A handy feature of a SharePoint calendar is the ability to connect it to Outlook. This functionality allows a user to add the SharePoint Calendar to their personal Outlook Calendar view. Events can then be updated bi-directionally from Outlook to SharePoint and vice versa. This is a great way to easily get your entire project team working off the same schedule.

Follow the steps below to get your SharePoint Calendar connected to Outlook.

Step One – Connect Your SharePoint Calendar App to Outlook

1.       Navigate to a SharePoint Calendar.

2.       Click the Calendar tab in the Ribbon.

3.       Click the Connect to Outlook button in the Ribbon.

4.       A browser dialogue box will appear. Allow the website to open a program on your computer.

5.      Select “Yes” when prompted to Connect this SharePoint Calendar to Outlook

6.     If your SharePoint is externally hosted, you may be asked to log in.

Step Two – Open Your SharePoint Calendar in Outlook

7.     Go to Outlook and navigate to your calendar view.

8.    Under My Calendars in Outlook you will see the new SharePoint Calendar.  Check the box next to it to add it to your calendar view.

That’s it. You can now view and update your SharePoint calendar in Outlook. Any changes made to the calendar on SharePoint or by other team members in Outlook will be shared with everyone.

There are a ton of other useful ways to extend the SharePoint Calendar, including adding interactive popup windows, linking it to forms or workflows, or creating responsive mobile calendars. Contact us for a free consultation to see what is possible.

Want more tips and tricks for construction project management professionals?

Our new Tips from the Field series features handy information for construction project managers. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our latest tips and tricks delivered directly your inbox each month.

And be sure to check out our previous tip to learn how to add a text box to a SharePoint page.