Last month, I was able to participate in a panel discussion between Sajan Pahar, who runs the project and portfolio business at Microsoft, and Patrick Tickle (EVP of Products at Planview). The moderator asked a question on a slide, and Sajan Parihar and Patrick had a few seconds each to choose from printed cards. It was a very interesting way to do a panel discussion, I thought. It kept everyone on track and focused.
Here are their thoughts and my take on the topic.
Statement: PPM practices are changing with technology, development methods, and end user expectations.
Patrick: I am firmly in agreement
Patrick stated that while traditional portfolio and project management are important, his business has seen a lot of interest in workforce management. There has been a shift to the Software As A Service model, and an increase in adoption by line-of-business users. Many project management software users aren’t ‘classically trained’, and companies operate at different speeds. This has led to dramatic changes.
Sajan: We disagree
He stated that things aren’t changing fast enough. People don’t want to hear about silos. Integrated portfolio and project management is what they want. Only 20% of users use portfolio and program tools, with the rest needing work management tools such as task lists. Although there is an advancing capability, it has been slow to gain acceptance.
My view: They are both right!
Over the past 10 years, I have witnessed project management practices evolve dramatically. Or, at least, I have seen innovation in the field of project management – but not everyone has taken them up and they don’t fit every business model. It is true that most features in project management software are not used by most users. While there will always be some power users, portfolio management is only a small percentage of the staff. Some do program management, others do project management, and some need task management solutions.
Statement: PPM and other IT-software providers are currently unable to meet the changing work management requirements triggered by these changes.
Patrick: I agree
Patrick stated that it is difficult for one product to satisfy all needs. There is a lot of discussion in the marketplace about how different products are combined.
Sajan: Agree
He stated that customers often use multiple solutions within the same company. Portfolio and work management systems must be integrated with social and collaboration tools. We still think about products. As more solutions are moved to the cloud, services will be used more than products. He said that a single vendor can satisfy the needs of multiple customer segments if they have different ‘views. The display for each role profile is different. Also, you need to consider how they are accessed and have a view of each device.
My view: I agree
It’s something I have been saying for a while now: a portal technology that integrates various project management systems is a market changer. Who would want to use a project management tool with a half-rate timesheet system? I prefer the best time recording software, which integrates seamlessly with my scheduling tool and uses one sign on so that I don’t have multiple passwords.
A fancy chandelier was found in the stairwell of the Lancaster Hotel, London, where Summit was held. Statement: Agile methods will overtake and render obsolete the existing PPM technology. This will lead to a proliferation in newer work management methods, and software systems that can support different levels and types of business change.
Patrick: We disagree
He stated that both waterfall and non-Agile methods of working will continue to be used for certain projects for a long period.
Sajan: We disagree
Same point – Agile
