I wanted to share a recent post that I read over Thanksgiving. In the post from the Project Wall tried to tackle what the key elements that makes up social project management software.
According to the Project Wall for collaboration software to function as social project management software, there are four must-have characteristics:
1. Integration with the Community
Projects cannot be a silo where only a few named users have accounts. The value of any social project management tool comes from the ability contained within the software to coordinate communication from inside and outside the project team. Only when a social project management system is fully integrated with the social network of the organization, can the full value of the software be recognized.
2. Visibility
Many project management software tools are project specific, creating various platforms being used for different projects within an organization. What is required in a true social project management tool is a unified platform that can handle projects of varying degrees of complexity but more importantly all are integrated into the social fabric of the organization to allow visibility to whomever requires it.
3. Openness
Social business is all about openness and social project management is no different. This is a lot easier said than done however. All too often people desire opacity in their actions (for example, to hide problems, control information flows, and manage expectations). For a business to really leverage the social power of their organization it’s important for people to know what’s going on (particularly when there is a problem) this is why having a social project management software to broadcast issues as the arise to the team is so critical.
4. Scalability
Social project management is not about only doing small projects; it’s an enterprise concept and as such should be able to accommodate every project manager and every project constituency regardless of the project’s complexity. In fact, the more complex the project the more value social project management software should be able to bring to the table.
The social enterprise is one where the organization as a whole is leveraged as the team and social project management software is an example where leveraging this large body of expertise is made possible.
