It makes sense to invest in project management software when you see deadlines being missed, processes falling apart, and miscommunication occurring — but at that point, it may already be too late. After all, by the time you’ve gotten to that stage, you’re already suffering the negative costs of not having the software.
For best results, you want to invest in the software before it becomes critical. While it can be difficult to know when you’re about to outgrow more rudimentary tools, like spreadsheets, here are three signs that can signal when it’s time to invest.
A significant factor in your decision to invest in project software is the rate of growth your business is currently undergoing. If your projects are growing in size or number, then you will likely need project management software soon. Likewise, if your teams are growing or becoming more widespread. Communication gets harder as teams grow and disperse geographically.
If you’re planning to grow, it’s also an indicator that it’s time to invest in project software. For instance, if you’re bidding on large, complex projects, then it is likely time to adopt more powerful project management tools. Scaling your business requires efficiency and automation of repetitive, administrative tasks. Without the means to efficiently scale as you take on more work, you’ll needlessly waste money and effort.
Processes also get more complicated as you grow, so having a tool to manage all the pieces and stakeholders is key. You don’t want critical project tasks missed or issues overlooked, as they can be the difference between project success and failure.
Agility is also important as your company evolves, and having a tool to help do enable it is critical. As your company grows and matures, it’s natural to need to change processes and methodologies. A project management software can support you through this process, with minimal rework and no loss of historical data. Unlike spreadsheets.
In small companies, employees may work individually or in small co-located groups. But with larger and more diverse businesses, this changes. As projects require more people, the complexities and need for collaboration increase.
Even when your organization is not growing, changes in functional structures or physical locations can signal the need for project management software. For instance, if you start employing freelancers and/or remote workers, communication and integration become more challenging.
An increase in external partnerships with stakeholders such as vendors, suppliers, and customers may also add complexity to your projects. For instance, if you undertake a project that requires one subcontractor to complete 35% of the work, management and oversight can quickly become difficult without the right software and processes in place.
Without project management software, employees will have to spend more time doing manual tasks, such as entering data into spreadsheets. Not only does this take more time up front, but it also increases the likelihood of rework due to errors and lost data.
Project management reduces the need for manual and repetitive tasks, freeing up people to do more analysis and big-picture planning. This functionality also helps ensure your team isn’t overloaded and that people are engaged and happy.
After all, people tend to be more fulfilled in their jobs when they’re doing something of value, rather than when they’re doing small, repetitive tasks over and over. Nobody's happy when their spreadsheet crashes, and they just lost the report they spent the last three hours working on.
If your team members are struggling more and more with increased workloads or with simple tools crashing under the weight of large and complex files, it’s a clear sign that it’s time to invest in project management software.