Things to look for when selecting owner-focused software
The software comes in many shapes, sizes and promised usability. The best construction program management software will offer a multitude of features and modules.
Do you know what some of the most desired features are?
Many times, higher education institutions will recognize that to maintain its position as a fast-growing organization, it will need a construction program management software capable of supporting massive undertakings. The following are some features to keep in mind while selecting a robust owner-focused construction program management platform.
Expanding from Spreadsheets
Having relied almost solely on a spreadsheet method, many University project managers are all too familiar with how time-consuming the paper-intensive process can become.
Using spreadsheets to manage and track schedules and costs also means risking the consequences that can come from human error and duplicate entries. Higher education institutes need to place a high emphasis on a time-efficient and cost-effective construction program management solution to take away a load of constant paper pushing.
Higher education institutes also need to look for a comprehensive software for project management that will give a high-level overview of budgeting and cost tracking, cover document management, monitor construction workflows, and provide project managers with complete oversight of action items, progress and responsibilities.
Thanks to Projectmates, project managers find the consistency and accuracy from the real-time updates provides more reliable financial reporting and reduces human error and paper waste.
Customizable Options
Your school is unique, and so are your daily construction goals, so your specific workflows need to be taken into account as well. Your software should support your organization-specific workflows and be adaptable to take advantage of future technologies.
The effective management of any project can easily require oversight of dozens or more facets at any one time. Projectmates’ construction software features provide an intelligent system that automates the entire process, making tasks such as tracking and approval requests virtually effortless.
Projectmates has often been cited as the proven project management solution for higher education institutes to use when tackling the immense number of projects they continually oversee. The software has increased project organization and accountability for our higher education clients, and has improved their project timelines through the use of action lists and easy task assignments.
Also, integrating with current software programs is critical; many higher education institutes can seamlessly integrate Projectmates with their accounting software of choice or any other existing enterprise level software you are currently using.
Customizable Reports
The ability for higher education institutions to support and report on new construction and remodeling/maintenance of existing structures is incredibly essential. A robust enterprise-level construction program management software will have a framework to provide the information you need to evaluate all your projects. Projectmates offers more than 100 pre-built reports, while additional reports are created as part of our customization offering. Construction project dashboards are also critical so you can glance at your project(s) and know real-time status.
The software you choose should also have mobile features to allow quick, real-time access to your reports while on the go. This will give you the critical insight needed to make smart decisions wherever you are.
Training Programs
Educational courses featuring hands-on tasks and real-world scenarios are what is needed to keep you abreast of new software features. It should only take a matter of days to learn more about different modules and functions to be more productive and embrace new technology standards.
Access to training materials over mobile and desktop are critical for staying up-to-date with the current software when you have dispersed teams. This is more and more important as advances in the construction field pair with the internet of things.
Backup and Archiving of Project Data
You should be able to take a snapshot of your entire construction project at any point in time to ensure you have complete and accurate records for security and posterity purposes. With the traditional paper process, this would be a labor-intensive task, but with the backup and archiving methods present with Projectmates, you can do it with ease.
Backup and archiving goes beyond the standard approach of creating backups to drives or disks by including all your uploaded native documents and creating an HTML version of all your dynamic pages. It is then neatly packed into a single, downloadable zip file.
This is important because it limits the amount of space, paper, and time to recover a document from older projects. With everything being digitally backed up in multiple locations, your project data is always secure and easily searchable and accessible.
Summary
The construction program management software you select should be customized for your workflow, provide easy project health reporting, and include an archiving and back-up system. Most importantly, you should look for and value a software provider who will work with you to ensure your software has everything you need, without adding bells and whistles to distract you from missing core features.
The software should be able to handle projects ranging from brand new campus facilities to building renovations and remodels. It is necessary that the software be as robust, versatile, customizable, and dependable as your institution is.
Projectmates’ collaborative platform dramatically improves project execution, cuts costs and delays, increases accountability and reduces risks. With its cutting-edge technology, Projectmates creates one seamless platform for managing the complete lifecycle of construction from preconstruction like planning, designing and bidding, to the actual building and turnover to Facilities.
