Ask The Expert: Lauren Maffeo

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Categories: cost management

Lauren Matteo It’s been a while since we’ve had an Ask The Expert column so I figured it was about time I reached out to some people and brought you some insights from others! I caught up with Lauren Maffeo, project management researcher at GetApp, recently and here’s what she had to say.

Lauren, what are the most surprising things you've uncovered in your recent research?

When I conducted research on the project management software market last year, I expected project managers to cite a diverse range of software that they use to manage projects. Instead, two in three respondents said that they use Microsoft Project (you can read more about that result here), despite the fact that three in four respondents worked in a small business.

I was also surprised that almost three in four project managers use between two and five total tools for project management - and five percent use more than 10 tools! These numbers suggest that today's most popular project management software tools support built-in workflows that don't match how today's project managers work.

Yes, I can totally see that from my own experience! Has any of your research uncovered areas where decision makers in project management could cut that down? It must be expensive to maintain so many tools.

The best way for project management leaders to save money and improve efficiency is to shop for project management software that integrates with the tools their project teams already use.

For example, let's say your cross-functional project team uses Salesforce for customer relationship management (CRM) and MailChimp for email marketing. If your project management software doesn't integrate with Salesforce and MailChimp, then you're paying for three separate tools and keeping project data in three separate locations. By contrast, if you switch to project management software that integrates with Salesforce and MailChimp, then all project team members can view project details within the same software and keep using the specialty tools of their choice.

Great tip, thank you. What other tips do you have for project managers wanting to make decisions about their tools? Where should they start?

Project managers should start by confirming how many tools they're currently using for project management. This can be everything from software to Google Sheets to Post-it notes. Then, they should shop for project management software that integrates with as many cloud-based products in their toolkit as possible.

They should also prioritize project management software with strong task management and collaboration features. Finally, project managers should shop for multi-tiered software that can scale as their project teams and business needs grow.

What do you think project managers should be aware of going into the remainder of this year?

Project managers should be aware of how crucial it is to prioritize "soft skills". Gartner research shows that the traditional PPM role won't exist by 2020. This is largely because the nature of IT projects is changing as businesses shift to digital. Since business leaders will be pressured to innovate more quickly, Agile project management will grow in value. So, project managers who can successfully lead project teams and persuade stakeholders will have more influence than ever before.

Wow, interesting. So tell us, what's the best thing about your job?

The best thing about my job is learning and sharing how technologies that seem abstract today (like blockchain) are already improving peoples' lives. It's also exciting to see the project management discipline gain so much respect. Not long ago, project management was largely limited to IT departments in large enterprises. Today, teams across industries from healthcare to digital media practice project management methods that range from Agile to Kanban. Project managers who can merge technical knowledge with strong soft skills are not just poised to lead successful projects - they have the chance to lead business strategy.

Thanks, Lauren!

About Lauren: Lauren Maffeo covers trends in the project management, finance, and accounting software industries for GetApp, a Gartner company. She focuses her research on strategies and tools to help small and midsize businesses create unique value. Lauren previously covered technology trends for The Guardian and The Next Web.

Posted on: May 15, 2017 08:00 AM | Permalink