Intro
Correct management of your company’s processes is essential. Staying abreast of every update of every project ensures that your client service exceeds all expectations and that your staff can work to the best of their abilities. Planning projects used to be done using spreadsheets, but today, Project & Service Management (PSM) software is readily available and critical to business success.
So how do you choose the best one for your organization? As always, investing in any software solution for your company needs to be done with care and forethought. In the case of PSM software, these four factors need to be considered:
- Data governance
- Data privacy controls
- Integration with your IT ecosystem
- Frictionless workflows
Data governance
Data governance can be defined as: “A collection of processes, roles, policies, standards, and metrics that ensure the effective and efficient use of information in enabling an organization to achieve its goals.”
In essence, it is the management of all the data that your business uses. This data can include projects, accounting, marketing, and more. Collating and managing your information enables you to get the most out of it with minimum effort. Your PSM software needs to be able to do all of this. It should organize the data in such a way that it is easily accessible to the appropriate personnel, as well as maintaining the correct flow of information. In years past, data governance could be done by filing reports in their proper folders. Still, in today’s world, a much larger variety of factors needs to be considered, thus requiring a comprehensive PSM solution.
Data privacy controls
Transparent data privacy controls are essential to monitoring the free flow of data within your company and outside of it. Customers need to know how their data is being handled and whether that data is safeguarded. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires organizations to factor in data governance depending on where and how data is processed. A good PSM solution will, of course, ensure that all sensitive information is kept securely within the confines of your company’s systems.
Integration with the IT ecosystem
Virtually all businesses have an IT infrastructure, even if it is a single desktop computer. If your company does not, now is the time to implement one. It may be astonishing to readers that we regularly are contacted by large firms who still operate almost entirely with paper. They already know that it was a better time to have implemented something ten years ago, while now their growth has made it more difficult to transition. Either way, whatever PSM solution you choose, it needs to integrate, or at least share data, with the other systems you are using or expect to use soon. In the digital transformation era, stand-alone applications that don’t allow instant data flow and security between other applications are a risk to your business. Integration with your existing and future systems is no longer optional.
Frictionless workflows
The flow of work seldom goes according to plan. The scope, budget, and timeframe of projects often change at a moment’s notice, and the capability to change needs to be managed within your pre-defined processes. PSM software must monitor and adjust workflows across various departments and work stages with total ease. Period.
Conclusion
Managing projects and service work need not be a nightmare. Whether you are looking at investing in a new PSM solution or simply taking a long, hard look at the one you are currently using, any software system your business employs needs to improve your workflows and your bottom line efficiently. If your PSM solution doesn’t measure up to the four factors above, perhaps it’s time to begin a re-evaluation.