Traditional Work Management or PPM (Project, Programme and Portfolio Management) solutions have been used by organisations with PMOs or professional Project Management functions for many years. They form a vital part of the toolset needed to ensure that Project and Programmes deliver the benefits set out by the wider organisation. It's not just about tools; it is also crucial to have robust processes and governance in place and ensure people have the right level of training and knowledge to use the tools in the context of their organisation.
However, why keep these hugely valuable tools reserved for PMOs or Project Managers - these tools have a place for every person managing work in their day to day roles right now!
Work Management solutions deliver enormous benefits to anyone who uses them, and they can be simple to use, easy to deploy, and made for everyone.
Are you a Marketing Manager with many events, webinars, and brand refreshes to complete in the coming year? Are you a Finance team looking to update some old tools and reports with newer ones? Are you a HR Officer looking to run the annual review process and set plans for end-of-year awards evenings - which can be as troublesome to plan as a wedding.
If you are, how are you tracking these activities at the moment?
- Excel spreadsheets?
- PowerPoint slides with makeshift plans?
- Trusty whiteboards or notebooks?
- OneNote files or disconnected Planner boards?
- Post-it notes?
- Or is it all just in your head?
All of the above work for specific purposes, but there are simple tools within the Microsoft365 ecosystem that truly add massive value to what you are doing. They can provide you with:
- A central repository for all your task management
- A simple place to collaborate on documents with other people in the team
- Automated reporting so your senior stakeholders can see progress without asking you!
- Opportunity to collaborate more closely with others working on your initiatives
- A simple place to track activities, progress, and dependencies between them.
The tools on offer to you include Planner, To Do, Project for the Web, Azure Dev Ops and Power BI. Whilst all these can be configured to support a large scale PPM solution, they can offer huge benefits to anyone tasked with managing work, no matter how small it might be.
These tools can be split into two main categories: Personal Task Management and Team / Project Task Management. For Personal Task Management, tools like Planner and To-Do To Do are perfect for supporting you to keep track of what you have committed to and when. These tools can also extend to smaller teams if needed. For Team and Project Task Management, look at tools such as Planner and Project for the Web. These can enhance how you plan, track, and report on your work and bring together all kinds of value-added collaboration options.
CPS has over 20 years of experience in understanding how organisations work, helping resolve any process or governance issues, and designing and deploying industry-leading tools to transform how our customers manage work.
Drop us a line today, and you will be surprised how quickly the benefits can be realised within your organisation.
Author
Sam has over 18 years of experience in the Portfolio, Programme, Project and Management (PPM) arena. Sam has a passion for supporting customers with their PPM delivery and associated technology solutions. Sam has extensive experience in driving organisation-wide change and digital transformation across all verticals.
At CPS, Sam now focusses on leading a team of Business Consultants and Solution specialists whose passion is to support customers with leading edge work management solutions. All whilst ensuring the associated processes and governance are in place to ensure maximum benefits are realised.