The IPM Blog

On a project, documents can be approved, changed, updated and reapproved all the time, often being sent back and forth between multiple people working on a Job. It’s no wonder then that it’s easy to lose track of where a document is at, and who is holding up its progress.

That’s why we’ve added a cool and exciting new feature to all the project documents in IPM. It’s called routing, or otherwise referred to as ‘ball in court’. Now every document in our project management software has a grid where you can add details of each of the people responsible for the document, and at what stage of the process they are responsible for it.

Then, through the power of Microsoft Dynamics workflows, you can set up a whole range of processes that automatically update the routing as the document moves from one stage to the other. This way you can see who’s court the ball is in at any given time – and more importantly, who is holding the process up.

But we’ve not only included the routing feature on the individual document forms – there is also an overall routing view where you can see all the outstanding balls in court for your project. And with the customisability of Microsoft CRM, you can change the view to see whatever you like, including outstanding balls in court, balls in court for one particular user or balls in court for a single spec. section or trade. What’s more, CRM’s conditional formatting also lets you highlight the list in whichever way works for you – we’ve found it works really well to highlight all the overdue balls in court in bold red, so you can see at a glance what needs actioning quickly. You can also choose to view the routing information as part of a dashboard that appears when you first log in.

As you can see from the options above, the combinations of how you can use this new functionality are endless; it’s all down to how you want to customise the workflows, the view, the conditional formatting and your dashboard. You can tweak it so that it best suits the way you manage your projects, and it means you will always know who’s court the ball is in on all your projects.

For more information on this new feature, or to see a demo of it in action, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

We are very pleased to announce that IPM Global’s project management suite has been named in Constructech Magazine’s Top Products for 2012. The winners were announced on March 1st and the full list can be found on theConstructech Magazine website.

So what does it mean to be named a Top Product? Well according to Constructech, the competition highlights some of the best products tailored for the construction and homebuilding markets. The top products are judged by the Constructech Magazine’s editorial team, who are looking for strong, stable and efficient technologies that are useful and unique to the construction industry. They also take into account the customer growth rate of each product over the past five years when making a decision.

IPM Global was named in the New Products category, for software that has been on the market for two years or less. One of the key features of IPM the judges liked was the way it uses the Microsoft interface to create a familiar and comfortable experience for the user. Mike Carrozzo, the chief editor of Constructech Magazine sums it up well when he says, “Our Top Products winners provide solid solutions in areas from mobility to BIM, and so much more. We truly believe these to be some of the best offerings found in the construction marketplace.”

A big thank you must go to Constructech Magazine for taking the time to review our product. Feel free to review IPM yourself by checking out some of the functionality and user benefits. You can also contact us to arrange a free demo if you'd like to see the software in action.

I’ve talked often on this blog about the benefits a Microsoft platform can bring to a project management application. As a product certified for Microsoft Dynamics, IPM has been able to use the Microsoft Dynamics platform to build on and create a useful, well designed project management solution that is suitable for a number of industries.

However, the Microsoft platform doesn’t just give you a stable base to build on. It also allows you the option of extending your project management capabilities (and also the capabilities of other functions in your organisation) in a number of ways. Firstly, you can apply any number of independent add-ons built specifically for Microsoft Dynamics CRM that can enable expansion in a number of areas, such as marketing, customer and sales management, manufacturing and distribution. 

Not only that, take a look at this list of five Microsoft tools every business should know about. The ability to integrate with Microsoft tools such as Sharepoint and Lync is a serious advantage for any project management application, and being part of the Microsoft Dynamics family, one that IPM can boast. In particular, a tool like Sharepoint gives project managers the ability to collaborate on projects and share information quickly and efficiently.

Not all project management applications have such a flexible, fluid software platform to work with, and one that gives them access to and integration with some of the best applications in the world. With the changing nature of how we operate and communicate in this technology dominated world, having fluid and adaptable software that can extend across various applications and departments is not only a huge advantage now, I believe it will also be commonplace in a few short years.

Here at IPM we’ve been busy developing a new product in the IPM suite; an integration tool for Oracle Primavera P6. As an additional product in the IPM suite, the integration tool gives you the option of extending your project management capabilities by incorporating features from both systems.

But what exactly does the integration tool do? Primarily, it synchronises all your Primavera P6 job activities with IPM, which gives you a more comprehensive break down of all the work being completed on your job. Within IPM, you then have the ability to manage the job activity completion dates and update resource, purchase order item and subcontract item information for each activity. This gives you a better overall view of each of your projects as you have the ability to link job activities to information that is not available in Primavera P6.

The integration tool also works both ways, so once you have finished adding information to job activities in IPM, you can synch the information back to Primavera P6 to accurately record and track the expenses on your project.

This tool is an exciting addition to the IPM suite as it gives project managers a way to fill small gaps in their project information, and it also means you get a fully encompassing view of exactly what is happening on your project.

We are currently running the Beta version of the Primavera P6 integration tool, so if you’re a current IPM customer and would like to be involved with putting it through its paces, please contact us or leave a comment below. Feel free to contact us too if you’d like more information on the whole IPM suite.

I’m very pleased to let you know we have recently developed a brand new addition to the IPM Suite called the IPM Mail Manager. As an additional product, the mail manager can extend the capabilities of IPM’s current RFI and RFQ functions, so it works well for both project managers and estimators.

So how does this neat little tool work? Basically, you link an email account to IPM (either your own email or a generic team email address multiple people can use) and when you create a new RFI or RFQ, indicate you want to use the mail manager. The mail manager will add a specially formatted area to your outgoing email, where the person receiving the RFI or RFQ can add their response and email it back to you. The mail manager then takes the information from the return email and automatically updates the appropriate area of IPM.

This means that when you receive an answer to an RFI or a quote from a vendor, that information is automatically updated in IPM for all the appropriate team members to see. Not only does this save time re entering data from emails, it also means the information is available to everyone, even if the team member who receives the email is absent from work, or briefly out of the office.

We are currently running the Beta version of the mail manager, so if you’re a current IPM customer and would like to be involved with putting it through its paces, please contact us or leave a comment below. Feel free to contact us too if you’d like more information on the whole IPM suite.

In my blogs I have often said that one of the benefits of IPM is that it is Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD). This is clearly something we are very proud of, but I also know that for some of you, it may just seem like a jumble of letters and a logo on our website.

So what does an accreditation like this one really mean for people who buy the IPM project management software? Well, as our product is built on the Microsoft framework, Microsoft had to ensure that it was a solid offering and worthy of the Microsoft name. In order to do this, Microsoft really put IPM through its paces, including undergoing vigorous testing by independent software testers. As you can imagine, Microsoft has a very sturdy reputation to uphold so they have to be careful about who they give this accreditation to, as it is essentially a recommendation and endorsement from Microsoft.

For you, the end user, this means you can be sure our product will stand up and be a solid solution to help manage projects. We are not ‘flaky’ with hidden bugs and coding issues that have the potential to derail projects, and cost companies huge sums of money. I recently came across a horror story from one Microsoft ISV who had a client that elected to go with a non Microsoft certified customisation. The result was a coder who moved jobs without documenting his coding, and the company having to do a rewrite to make the software compatible for an upgrade to CRM 4.0. Problems like this can cost companies huge amounts of time, money and effort.

So considering the vigorous process software needs to go through in order to secure the CfMD accreditation, it is a good indication of a product that won’t cost you time, money and effort later down the track.

If you’d like to find out more about our Microsoft certified software, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Project management software is a considerable investment and one that takes much research, evaluation and comparisons of different offerings to get right. So to help you choose the best software for your organisational needs, here are seven things to look for when making the all important decision of which project management software to go with:

1. Job Costing
The software should be able to handle your job costing needs, including giving you instant access to actual project costs and the ability to alert users to potential cost overruns before they send the project too far off budget. Good project management software will also be able to produce cost projections easily and regularly.

2. Document Control
One of the main advantages of project management software is that all your job information is stored in a central database accessible to everyone who is working on the project. Therefore, an easily accessible database with the ability to store all the information relating to the project is a must. Documents stored in the database must also be easily tracked and retrievable in the event of a dispute, claim or change of scope.

3. Reporting
Good project management software should come with built in comprehensive reporting facilities that can be easily customised to suit your organisation’s specific needs. Reports should be able to be generated quickly and easily with up to the minute information to give you the most accurate view of your project. A bonus is also the ability to report on all aspects of the project, not just document control but also costs as well.

4. Ability to Customise
With the nature of project management, no two organisation’s processes are the same and that’s why it’s important to be able to customise the software to suit your organisation. Small configurations to the software that do not need external consultants and are free for users to do themselves are so important when it comes to any kind of software. Customisable forms, field labels and dashboards all help make project management software easy to use and relevant to your users, as well as user-defined workflows to streamline and automate your processes.

5. Integration
In order to keep everyone in your organisation on the same page and reduce duplicate data entry, project management software should be able to integrate with your ERP system. Good project management software will have seamless integration with a number of ERP systems that allows smooth transfer of information between the two applications. Integration between other applications is also a plus, such as email integration with Outlook.

6. Web based/SaaS option
With advancements in cloud computing and hosting software online, many project management software applications are moving towards this new technology. Although it may not suit every organisation, good project management software provides the option to buy an online version of the software. This gives you the opportunity to assess which is the best option for your business needs and the ability to choose to use the software either on premise or online.

7. Scheduling
This may seem obvious, but some project management software applications do not provide the ability to schedule work on the project. Gantt charts are an easy way to see at a glance the project schedule, and if these are integrated with other areas of the software to automatically update should something change elsewhere on the project, it’s even better.

If you are in the market for a new project management software solution, feel free to contact us for a free demo of IPM and all of the above features.

I came across an article on the PMI’s Voices on Project Management site last week and it really struck a chord. In the post, Lynda Bourne highlights the importance of document layout in order to communicate your message effectively.

With the advent of smart phones, email and twitter, much of our communication has become instantaneous, short bursts of information. As this information is often only a few sentences, we give little thought to the layout, instead punching out a few lines here and there whenever a thought crosses our minds.

But with project documents that often contain complex information, intricate fine points and important details, getting the layout right is crucial to make sure the information isn’t lost or confusing for the reader. Clean lines, simple fonts and white space around logos make complex documents easier to read and project a very professional image to your stakeholders as well.

To make the process easier, many project management software applications, such as IPM, have built in report facilities that can generate a report with the same layout each and every time you need the information. This means you only need to worry about the information you put into the report, and the software will take care of all the fiddly layout bits to make sure your reports are clean, simple and easy to read.

What’s more, with everyone in your organisation using the same report template, you are all on the same page, and project a professional, united image to external stakeholders. IPM also allows you to customise parts of the report templates to suit your organisational requirements.

So although our communication has become very short and quick, in project management it still is important to pay attention to the smaller details of your communication with others, such as report layouts. If you would like to know anything more about IPM’s report facilities, please don’t hesitate to contact us or leave a message below.

The recent Chilean volcano ash cloud and resulting closure of airports across southern Australia and New Zealand really goes to show how easily our travel plans can go awry. If you happened to be one of the many stuck at Melbourne airport last Monday, I’m sure the delays were not only frustrating, but also straining on your time. And even though this happened on a public holiday in Australia, there were still delays for people returning to work for days afterwards.

Project management often involves travel, and unexpected travel delays and long stopovers can have big impacts on your work. But what if you had the tools to use these delays to your advantage?

I recently read a blog entry posted on the PMI’s Voices on Project Management site by Dmitri Ivanenko about how project managers can effectively use travelling time. The blog talks about how project management often involves the need for travel, and this travel time is a perfect opportunity to catch up on emails, project documentation or review schedules.

But what if it only takes you a few minutes to catch up on those emails, or the documents you really need to work on are still at the office, or saved on the office PC? Sometimes free airport Wi-Fi and remote access to your emails can only take you so far. What you really need is the ability to access exactly the same information on the go as you would if you were in the office, especially in the event of an unexpected delay like the volcanic ash cloud.

With software like IPM, the database is central and can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. So you can work from the office, home or gate lounge 3 of an airport whilst waiting for your plane to take off, and you still have access to all the same data you would have if you were in the office.

One of my posts a couple of months ago also looked at how virtual communication is changing the face of project management, and this same technology can help you make the most of any unexpected travel delays or long stopovers. Microsoft’s CRM technology means certain project management software programs, such as IPM, can be accessed remotely from your smart phone, so even if you are stuck without your laptop, you can still get full access to the database.

The ability to use software offline is also important. In the event you are delayed and can’t get internet access, you are still able to work on your project documents using the project management software, then sync the information you have entered with the main database once an internet connection is restored.

We all agree that travel delays are frustrating and inconvenient, but they are also sometimes unavoidable. But with the right tools you can turn your travel delays into effective time to work on your project.

I’ve talked often on this blog about the availability of project management software for the past 20 years being limited to highly specialised, inflexible, out of the box solutions. And in order to make these solutions fit their organisation, companies were either forced to change their processes, or pay for customisations to be made in order to suit them better. Both these options seem unappealing, so what is the answer?

With many software programs, customising the software to suit your business needs often requires changes to the code, which can be expensive. Not only that, extensive customisation will often take you out of the upgrade loop, as the software is either now too specific to be compatible with the upgrade changes, or customisations you have made will be overridden by the upgrade changes.

On the other hand, you can go with software out of the box, with little or no extra customisation, and adapt your working processes to fit the way the software has been designed. This option is cheaper, and means the software can be upgraded with minimal disruption to the existing code as there are very few customisations.

But neither of these options sounds very appealing. On the one hand, you have the added expense of customisation that can take you out of the upgrade loop, or you have to change your business process to suit the software. But with the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 this year, there is now a way you can have the best of both worlds.

Using the foundation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, IPM is one particular project management software program that can be configured very flexibly without the need for code changes. By using workflows and simple customisations such as field labels, role based forms and dashboards, IPM can be configured to suit each individual organisation’s processes without making any changes to the original code.

What’s more, these configurations and workflows can often be executed and managed by users with the appropriate security level, reducing the need for (and costs associated with) outside consultants.

If the simple configurations are not enough to suit your processes, the software can also be easily customised. In the past, we did have problems with these customisations being overridden during the upgrade process, but now with the introduction of CRM 2011 all customisations can be carried through to new versions. This means IPM can support both user defined configuration and customisation without limiting you in the future by taking the software out of the upgrade loop.

If you would like to know more about how IPM can be configured for your business, please don’t hesitate to contact us for a free demo.