project-managementI’m managing a project in my company, and we have many tasks that should be assigned to many employees and then be tracked.
We use telephone communication, e-mails and even face to face communications, but we fail to efficiently communicate or even track progress in each task.
I decided to download some software that makes us able to communicate, share files and folders, list tasks, assign tasks to people and track progress in these tasks.
BUT the company doesn’t allow us to share files over the internet, so we are searching for a LAN-network project management software.
What search terms might lead me to software that could help with this, and what type of things do I need to consider while comparing options.
I just visited the Google :) and it doesn’t look like finding the best large-organization project management software has gotten any easier in the ten years since I was searching for a similar solution. The only additional search term I can think of at the moment is looking for self hosted solutions.
I can suggest a few steps to take while looking for a solution.
First, get the support of the senior technical person in the company. That may be the CIO or COO, it was the CFO in my case. And with his help get the CEO on board.
Second, talk to people across departments and make sure you have a comprehensive understanding of all needs. Depending on the size of the organization and how much time you have, you may want to bring in a consultant agency to help with this.
Third, choose one of the departments that needs PM software the most, that has people that are open to change, and has time to experiment with new software.
With the help of a consultant or other expert in your industry and business size, choose a solution that is a good fit for your pilot department. Make sure that your chosen solution can handle the needs of the other departments, or better, make sure it has API’s so that you can interface with solutions for other departments.
Next, (maybe earlier, actually) figure out who will be responsible for maintaining the software. You may have to hire someone for this position. It is very likely this cost will be higher than the cost of the software. Remember open-source software often requires more maintenance than commercial solutions.
As you start to gather cost information, don’t be afraid to get information on internet solutions that offer government grade security, too. You might find that your leadership is open to those solutions after considering the cost of a privately hosted solutions.
Good luck, it is quite a process. Hopefully this will help you get started.
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