Projects are subject to many pressures in today’s workplace. These include communication difficulties, time constraints, and shifting project goals. Communication is an important issue, especially when teams don’t work in the same place. As more employees work remotely, this is becoming more common. This is why social project management was created.
Although social project management is still relatively new, it integrates PPM (project portfolio management) and team management via social media-esque functionality. The project ecosystem allows team members to collaborate and often work in real-time. We have highlighted some of the benefits that social project management can bring to your company and improve communication.
1. Social project management maximizes open communication within teams.
It provides a stream that everyone can see, including external stakeholders. This is similar to the Facebook News Feed. This allows all parties, including the team, stakeholders, and managers, to keep track of activities and project status. Team members can also ask questions and interact with one another without having to send many emails. This simplifies communication and makes it easier for you to get the answers that you need.
2. You can draw on the expertise of people outside of the project team.
Project management is traditionally done by the project team. Sometimes, however, people outside the project team may be able answer questions or share their ideas. A team member can post a need, issue, or question to the entire social project management network (such as their department or company). Anybody can then join the team and help achieve the goals. This is the most important and powerful characteristic of social project management.
3. It encourages transparency and alignment.
In distributed teams, it can be difficult to achieve goal alignment. Social PM tools can be used to foster ambient awareness through a continuous news feed that keeps everyone on the same page. This creates transparency. Employees won’t feel left out or ignored if project goals and activities are clearly visible. This creates accountability as other people, such as managers and clients, have access.
4. Projects will be completed faster.
The tasks are fundamentally the same. However, the process is more efficient and streamlines. Decisions can be made faster because discussions can take place in real time without the delay caused by email systems. ProjectPlace was implemented by Carlsberg Brewing Company to save a full year on their automation project. ProjectPlace makes it easy to initiate tasks and manage them within the system. Many issues can be resolved before the project manager even knows.
5. The team is empowered, engaged, and motivated.
All employees can use social PM software to contribute to major projects. If necessary, even people outside of the team can help with questions and resolve problems. This brings together the entire company or department. Regular, open communication with team members keeps morale high and engagement high.
Conclusion
Large-scale projects cannot be done by one team. Sometimes outside expertise is crucial in answering questions or overcoming roadblocks. These tools allow for open collaboration and enable the project community get things done.
Software for Project Management
Project-Man editors are available to answer your questions about the best project management software.