5 Ways To Adjust Your Mindset On Project Management Tools

The irony of project management is that many teams invest in software to save time and money, yet end up wasting both in the process. Why? Because the don’t have the right mindset about approaching and implementing a project management tool.

“So few people ask any questions about project management tools, software and usage. Unfortunately, that usually leads to an incredibly expensive experiment that is frustrating for all involved. I’ve witnessed it first hand. Repeatedly,” says Mary Beth Imbarrato, project management, change management and strategic planning expert with over 25 years of experience.

Picture this: Someone on the leadership team suggests that it’s time to be more efficient with projects, streamline efforts and track more metrics. That sounds like a great idea in theory, right? Then, someone from that same team takes on the responsibility of researching solutions. Again, sounds pretty common and sensible. But it’s the least effective approach and it’s rarely successful, according to Imbarrato.

1. Talk to your team first

Why? First of all, project management tools are useless if you don’t talk to different people involved in different levels of the organization first. Leaders fail to select the right tools when they don’t ask those who will be required to use them for their opinion, says Imbarrato. “These are the people who will be required to use this system daily.”

2. Ask the right questions to understand needs

You also need to ask yourself and others the right questions. Imbarrato recommends reflecting on the following things before even thinking of investing in a project management solution:

What do you need in a project management solution?
What would be beneficial for the project team?
How do you want to use the system?
What are your requirements for a productive, meaningful and valuable project management solution?
How will you use the software?
Will Software X align well with our organizational project framework?
Will it work well with our project culture?
How will we transition our processes today into this Software X?

3. Build a solid framework first

It’s also important to know how to build a solid project framework. Whether you use a Google doc or a fancy app won’t make a difference if your strategy and workflows don’t make sense. As in, if they don’t support your ideal outcomes or don’t align with the way different stakeholders and teams work together in your organization.

“The software tool is only one element to a successful project management strategy. Successful project management strategies begin with a project framework that aligns with the organizational culture and provide the foundation for a successful project management approach,” says Imbarrato.

“That framework needs to be established, rolled out, tested in all parts of the organization, tweaked as necessary and locked down. Then, and only then, should an organization be looking for a project management tool that can help facilitate the integration activities throughout the project portfolio by tracking metrics, resource management, dependencies and risks?”

Sounds like a headache that you’re tempted to skip? Think again. “The impact of not having a solid and approved project framework when rolling out a software solution will be chaos,” adds Imbarrato.

Consider any project management tool as the cherry on top of the cake of your project framework — it’s not meant to replace the conceptualization of your framework.

4. Plan the selection of your tool carefully

When you invest in a solution, the expectation is that everyone will adopt it and use it successfully. Yet it’s rarely the case. “Most organizations have several project management processes in place, which means that team members will be using the solution differently. The result? Inconclusive metrics, worthless data points that do not represent the organization and meaningless reporting,” shares Imbarrato.

So it’s super important to approach the selection of any project management tool as a project in itself. “Include the users of the solution (team members, supervisors, managers, etc. ) on the requirements gathering and other planning facets. Arrange for demos/trial versions of software for review before selecting the appropriate solution for your organization.”

The more effort you invest in this, the better your choice will be and the more the tool you pick will be adopted and leveraged in practice.

5. Know that software doesn’t solve problems

Finally, having the mindset that software solves problems will pretty much make any project management tool useless from the get-go. “Projects solve problems and selecting the appropriate software solution for your organization is a project,” says Imbarrato.