I’ve built a consulting business around implementing project and portfolio management tools, so I get the opportunity to work with a lot of organizations across many fields. And it constantly surprises me how many organizations don’t have the most basic tools to offer their project managers, the very people they are entrusting their organization’s multi-million dollar capital budgets and critical changes with.
A recent trend is to implement one of the light task management solutions on the market (Asana, Trello, Jira, etc.) and call it a “project management” solution. The problem with this approach is that “doing tasks” is not where projects go wrong. So, task management apps aren’t going to help avoid project problems. RAID logs, on the other hand, are purpose built to help project managers succeed.
“Doing tasks” is not where projects go wrong. So, Task management apps aren’t going to help you avoid project problems.
Even when organizations invest in more sophisticated Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) tools, very often they only license them for project managers so they can save on cost. This is an incredible waste because project information needs to be available to a large and often-times distributed set of stakeholders – most especially the project team. What good is a carefully curated project plan and project data repository if nobody but the Project Manager is licensed to see it? With a RAID log, you have the ability to collaborate with internal and external team members, stakeholders and clients.
In some specific cases, tool selection is limited due to organizational differences. Take the case of M&A (merger & acquisition) projects. Because they involve combining two different organizations, there is no common toolset across both organizations. Even if there are existing tools, they belong to one ‘side’ or the other. So, worst case, not everyone can access the tools, and best case, you look like you are choosing sides if you pick one over the other. In this case, a RAID log is a neutral tool you can use to run your project.
My perspective is that, as the Project Manager, you are the CEO of your project. So, whether you have no tool, the wrong tool, or tools that don’t quite get the job done, you should feel empowered to use whatever tools you need to get the job done. And one of the easiest tools for you to acquire and use? A RAID log of course!
