One-size Fits All vs. Have It Your Way

When we got started in 1995, project management software was big with contractors, especially as they became early adopters (at least the larger organizations). This group was a big client base for e-Builder, but as the years have passed it's safe to say that owners have taken a proactive approach in how they manage their project information, and perhaps even taking the lead in adopting these systems. Which brings me to the point of this topic: is a one-size fits all mentality appropriate for project management software?

Early project management systems, including e-Builder, were geared more towards information management from the contractor's point of view - primarily because they were the ones buying the software. We gravitated away from this focus several years ago, in part because of what we saw as a shift towards the owner.

Given this paradigm shift, these systems need to be differentiated in terms of providing the best solution based on an oranization's role (owner, GC, program manager, owner representative, etc.) Facility owner/operators should take note that there are distinct differences between an owner-centric system vs. those geared towards the contractor. For instance, is the owner really concerned with tracking 1000 tasks on a schedule and having visibility into what subs are getting paid? Also, those owners managing a large portfolio of projects will need a system that can simplify cross-project reporting and data mining, especially if this data is to be used strategically (i.e., for planning future projects).

As you can tell by now my personal view is that owners looking for project management systems should familiarize themselves with the differences to avoid investing in a system that, although full of 'robust' features, is destined to fail because it becomes too cumbersome to manage (too many unnecessary features) and too difficult to use. I could write a book on the differences, but would rather hear first-hand experiences from those of you on both the owner and GC side.

In my next post I will talk about the other extreme in project management software, the "Have it Your Way" platform.