Interview : Bob, IT Executive at Audioprox

> Can you briefly introduce Audioprox ?

Audioprox is a national group of hearing aid specialists with a network of hearing solutions centers. Our staff is composed of graduate specialists, aware of the latest technological innovations. Our role is to allow the hearing-impaired to reconnect with the world of sound.
Hearind aid specialists from Audioprox collaborate tightly with top research doctors in order to constantly improve our hearing aid solutions.
You can find out more information about us on our website http://www.audioprox.com (exclusively in French).

> Could you explain to us why you need a project management solution ?

We manage a team of 6 specialists who often collaborate on transverse projects : laboratory network development, IT network management, staff management, accounting, supplier relations, central-buying service management, or marketing. These projects require perfect synchronization between the staff of the marketing, communication, sales and technical departments. Furthermore, we are often away from the national headquarters, especially when we have meetings at customer sites or hearing aid centers. So we have been looking for a tool to synchronize project monitoring and internal communication.  This tool should also make it easier for us to work remotely.

> What tools were you previously using for this kind of project?

We had no specific tool until now. Our work was coordinated by email and phone communication, but this was not going to work for us any longer. We actually had to constantly verify that the rest of the team had done the requested tasks to go forward with the schedule. For instance, when a manager opens a new center, I have to be aware of hardware and software needs for that new center, and the manager needs to know on his side if I have completed required work. Hence we needed to find a software solution to share to-do lists, and more globally to monitor project progress.
Besides the project management aspect, we were looking for a virtual and centralized workspace to allow every project team member to access information about work completed and work to do.

> Why did you choose Planzone ?

A friend recommended Planzone to one of our colleagues. The website offered a free 30-day trial license of the product.
During the trial period, we discovered that Planzone is easy to use, with an intuitive and well-designed interface. A couple of minutes after I subscribed I was creating my first project. Project information is clearly structured, and as soon as I log in, I instantly spot actions that need to be done, as well as any of my tasks that are late.
I have to say that Planzone seduced me really quickly because all my required features were easily available. We tested four other software packages before making up our mind, but all of them always had something missing.
Moreover, I can use the tool incredibly quickly: I can create tens of tasks within a few seconds and I know that my team members receive an email alert to tell them they have been assigned to a task.
This is why once the 30-day trial period expired I validated my choice for Planzone.

> How do you use Planzone today ?

We integrated all our on-going projects in Planzone.
The main feature we use is the task management tool. It has become a really practical way to verify work in progress with respect to the initial schedule. We meet for a debriefing every two weeks. When we have these meetings, I can use Planzone to directly see individual to-do lists for all my team members. So we can track our productivity with a modern tool, while keeping everyone aware of progress on every project. Since it is basically oriented towards functional development, Planzone brings a high degree of motivation for my project teams.
The document sharing tool is also a real time-saver. And our team members in the field get constant access to communication elements and monitoring tables when they are away for an appointment.

Eventually, I want to use Planzone with even more team members, and maybe within our hearing solution centers.  Indeed, I think that the more we’ll use Planzone to share information and communicate, the more we’ll see a positive impact on global productivity.