Back to basics: Collaboration is Key in Project Management

In our previous article, we talked about why a company needs Project Management. Now, we look at why collaboration is key to getting the most out of Project Management.

Project Management doesn’t happen on its own ...

Today's projects involve different departments within an organization. Employees operating in diverse areas are required to work together. Neither is collaboration on projects restricted to employees within an organization. Partners, suppliers and clients can be involved in different phases of a project, so it’s important to understand how, and to what extent they work together.

... And why collaboration is key

The success of a project often depends on effective collaboration between the parties involved. Even a perfect project loses focus without good team input and team input is influenced by the facility of communication related to the project and its progress. Don’t forget that the completion of tasks generally depends on more than one person. Also, there is often an interdependence between activities.

Effective collaboration...

Having a team that collaborates effectively is the key to a successful project. Notable points include:
- Sharing knowledge : make information available to everyone so that the whole team benefits from the expertise of the project members.
- Swap documents easily : daily documents should be easily updated and shared between project members.
- Discuss and comment: don’t hesitate to comment on a task or an update on a document.
- Monitor the progress of a task: there is often interdependency between employees’ tasks. Being up-to-date on completed work optimizes input and is a way of monitoring the progress of a project.

... Requires good computer skills

In today’s world, as computers become ubiquitous they have changed the way we communicate, paper documents have become a thing of the past. In their everyday lives people use email, social networks, mobile applications and the internet, which by their nature are more collaborative modes of communication. But, in an organization, are these tools really the best method for teamwork?

Planzone was developed to facilitate in-house collaboration in organizations. The idea is not transpose the tools from our personal lives into our professional lives, but a concept where data sharing and discussions are at the heart of a centralized space. Project Management then transforms into a fluid communication vehicle between team members.

In our next article we will explain how Planzone reconciles Project Management and collaboration.
Until then,

The Planzone team