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TEAMFLY30 IMPLEMENTING COMPUTER-BASED CAPABILITY

The specification, evaluation, and selection of project management software is
a key component of the process of implementing a computer-based project man-
agement capability. Much can be and has been written about this subject, and of-
ten, the reader is left with as much confusion as existed before the research
started. The marketplace is loaded with products to assist in project manage-
ment—products that change so quickly that the vendors have abandoned hard-
copy documentation in favor of electronic media.

Moreover, this process of specifying, evaluating, and selecting project manage-
ment software is only one part of the larger process of implementing a computer-
based project management capability. For this implementation to be successful,
we must apply four additional steps. The five components of this process are:

1. Methods.
2. Tools (Software Selection).
3. Training.
4. Implementation Plan.
5. Audit Process.

In this chapter, we provide overall guidance through the entire five-step
process, based on actual, successful implementations. In the tools overview, we
introduce a new, simplified, balanced approach toward software selection, rec-
ognizing the latest application of such tools and the popular configurations that
are available in today’s market. A detailed discussion of this modified approach
appears in Chapter 12.1, A Simplified and Balanced Approach to PM Software
Selection.

Methods

The Methods phase must precede the tools selection phase. The tools are re-
quired to automate and facilitate the application of your project management
methodology. Therefore, you have to define this methodology first. By methodol-
ogy we mean, “how do you manage projects?” This includes how you are orga-
nized to handle projects, as well as what practices are in place to manage projects.

If you do not yet have such practices in place, this is the time to address these
issues, rather than after you have selected the tools. Specifically, I prescribe that
you outline the entire PM process, creating manual forms for all of the practices,
data, and reports that you will need for the process. Later, in the Tools phase, you
will replace the manual forms and reports with your software-generated forms.
These may be hard copies, screen forms, or both.