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32 IMPLEMENTING COMPUTER-BASED CAPABILITY

A Simplified and Balanced Approach to PM Software Selection

The selection of project management software should be a team effort. Normally,
the team would consist of from three to six key players, relying on contributions
from all stakeholders. The team needn’t find consensus among all of the stake-
holders. However, their inputs should be sought and valued, and they should be
made to know that their inputs count.

Trap It is a basic tenet of human behavior to wish to be in-
cluded in decisions that affect you. It is usually very difficult to
include all such stakeholders in the entire decision process,
and it is virtually impossible to satisfy the desires of all the
stakeholders. But it is also a general behavioral response that,
if contacted and included in the discussions that lead to the
decisions, these individuals would be more likely to accept the
eventual determination.

Furthermore, this same human behaviorism tends to make
people oppose and reject decisions that were made without
their inputs or consideration. Therefore, to avoid unneces-
sary opposition to your PM software selection decisions, you
should openly seek wide discussion and communication of
the process.

Selection should be made based on the large picture. Consider connectivity to
other systems. Consider both current and future needs. Avoid political decisions,
such as choosing a product because you would have less risk of criticism if the so-
lution failed. Look for ways to bridge the normal chasm between the projects and
the operations functions.

Don’t concentrate too much on software cost. Most tool solutions represent
but a miniscule part of the costs of doing projects. However, do consider life-cycle
costs. How much will it cost to operate the system, say for five years, including
software, hardware upgrades, and training?

Don’t get caught up in little details. Look more at what you need to accomplish
with the software, rather than at the feature set.

There will need to be a balance between the expanse of features and ease-of-
use. But here are two things to note about this. First, due to differences in prod-
uct design, some products will be easier to use than others, even when having
similar functional attributes. Second, expect all PM software products to be com-