The PPM (project portfolio management) tool landscape has become a dizzying place of features, functionality and decision points. Often we are asked which tool a firm should choose and our answer is always the same: “it depends upon your goals and needs”. That said, end user adoption is the absolute and final litmus test: let’s face it, no company can afford the time and expense of shelf ware these days. To be certain your PPM tool achieves a high adoption rate and, by extension, you are credited with a successful PPM tool implementation, you need to do two things: select the right tool for your environment and implement it with a focus on the user community. To do that, we have provided some tips and techniques we have acquired over the years that produce winning outcomes.

Vetting the following topics during your PPM tool selection and implementation planning will focus the effort on satisfying business, cultural and user needs early on:

Degree of management maturity: Are there processes in place today for managing a project from ideation to post-deployment? Are financial returns tracked post-implementation to reconcile the business case cash flow projections with those actually earned? Are approvals, monetary thresholds and governance protocols for both capital and expense projects codified, understood and followed? Is ownership at each project stage established and followed? Which project and portfolio processes must remain manual and which must be mechanized? If these and other instruments for advancing a project through its lifecycle are not in place and used today, your tool implementation will amplify the gaps and your deployment will be stymied until they are reckoned with. To avoid potential implementation delays and expense overruns, thoroughly evaluate your delivery processes and shore up any major weaknesses before you implement a tool. Remember the old adage that a fool with a tool is still a fool -the tool won’t remedy serious process shortcomings.

Scale and scope: Will the entire enterprise use this tool or only certain departments, locations, or divisions? What is your average annual project load in terms of spend and number of people that this tool will support? What does that project load represent as a percentage of overall business investment? Will your projects managed by this tool directly contribute to revenue generation and/or market share expansion, or are they primarily focused on operational matters, i.e., cost control, regulatory compliance, etc.? Are certain projects so critical to the business that they will be excluded from the tool’s implementation plan to safeguard against project interruption? Is it best to structure the deployment strategy such that your entire project population and user community are implemented at the same time, or is an incremental approach better for the business? If you choose an incremental approach, are you properly staffed to support the PPM tool’s users while managing ongoing deployments? When narrowing the field of tool options, remember that your tool\’s reach into the enterprise, TCO (total cost of ownership) and overall impact must mirror that of your project portfolio\’s. There is no need to buy a bus when a sedan will get you to your destination just fine, for example. But, by all means, if you need a bus don\’t try to make a sedan work – it will fail and you will leave your users frustrated and on foot.

Tool budget: What is the budget for initial purchase as well as maintenance – both direct and indirect costs? Will your organization\’s security guidelines permit a cloud or hosted solution, or must you internally host and maintain the tool? What monies have been budgeted for tool support and ongoing development, i.e., head count, vendor or other professional services, etc.? Know that hosting externally doesn\’t remove all support costs, as there will still be a demand for employee assistance with support and maintenance of any customizations and reporting, as well as test activities related to upgrades and releases prior to agreeing to accept the vendor’s latest tool versions. If your PPM tool is integrated with your accounting system, ERP, or other systems, support and maintenance expenses will, of course, be greater.

User sophistication: Do you currently have a PPM tool or set of PM tools in place, or will you be automating a set of manual processes? If you are migrating from a current tool(s), what is your change management (people as well as data) strategy? Are your users tech savvy and independent or will they require lots of training, support and mentoring? What about the capabilities of your executives and managers who will also use the tool – where do they fall within the continuum of technical sophistication? A tool that is too difficult to use or that produces low yield data for the effort will become viewed as failure, so be sure that your tool\’s usability coincides with your user population\’s ability.

Next, some effective practices for boosting user involvement, reducing change management noise and increasing user comfort with your PPM tool include:

Tool Trial: Once you have narrowed your PPM tool choices, conduct a narrow trial of your top two or three options with a small group representing a cross-section of your user population (especially involve those who you perceive to be your most vocal advocates AND naysayers). This vests them early on in the process so that they become a part of and advocate for the change.

Tool Pilot: Select a small group of projects and participants to take the PPM tool for a thorough test drive with live data. This does a few things. First, it surfaces usability and configuration issues as well as set up decisions while you still have time to make important changes. Second, it furthers the organizational and user commitment to the tool – they see that this initiative is “for real”. Third, if your participants are accurate representatives of the varied technical capabilities in the broader user community, the pilot provides a sense for the level of support and effort that will be required.

Communication and Training: Communicate throughout the tool trial, selection, implementation planning, pilot, deployment and post-deployment phases, and, in each communique, state the business need and / or objectives the PPM tool is intended to solve. Train everyone who will use your tool, but train them at their point of need. For instance, a project sponsor whose only involvement with the tool is initiating a project request will require a quick overview, while a program manager who will be required to manage all of his projects’ financial, pipeline, status and artifact data in the tool will require a much more comprehensive and specific training approach. Remember to include the executives in your communication and training. You want them to both witness the progress of the effort and learn the system, even if it is at a high level, so that they, too, become vested in the PPM tool’s success and rely on the information it generates. There will be a moment, or several moments, when executive support will be necessary – compliance issues, additional investments, etc. – and the more they know and appreciate the tool’s contribution to the enterprise, the greater their support will be.

Support: Plan to retrain and spend a good measure of time mentoring users for a period of time after implementation. Depending upon the size of your organization and the degree of change the PPM tool represents to the environment, this post-deployment coaching period could last as little as two weeks or extend to two months or more. Augment your training and the tool’s help data with the occasional “tip and technique” publication to address common trouble spots or points of confusion. And, finally, demonstrate a willing spirit to help your users. For some, asking for assistance is a sign of weakness, so show them you care about their success by always being courteous and supportive.

In summary, achieving high user adoption of your PPM tool is the function of two things: selecting a tool based upon your organization’s needs, goals and environment; and, effectively supporting your user community throughout the process. Following the tips and techniques outlined here will make your PPM tool selection and implementation a success.

About the Author

Andrea Nicholas, MBA, PMP, LSSGB, is a Managing Partner at Optimize, http://www.optimizepm.com full service project management consulting firm. In her role she helps clients deploy strategic project management solutions that result in reduced time-to-market windows and improved project returns.

Andrea Nicholas, MBA, PMP, LSSGB, is a Managing Partner at Optimize, http://www.optimizepm.com full service project management consulting firm. In her role she helps clients deploy strategic project management solutions that result in reduced time-to-market windows and improved project returns.

Author Bio: Andrea Nicholas, MBA, PMP, LSSGB, is a Managing Partner at Optimize, http://www.optimizepm.com full service project management consulting firm. In her role she helps clients deploy strategic project management solutions that result in reduced time-to-market windows and improved project returns.

Category: Business Management
Keywords: ppm tools, project management tool selection, project portfolio management tool, project management