Driven to keep up with the accelerating speed of business, enterprises are leaving behind a hierarchical “command and control” model, and embracing a flatter “sense and respond” approach so they can rapidly adapt to constant change, and readily adjust at a moment’s notice. At least, they’re trying to.
The Enemy Within
Surprisingly, some enterprises are discovering that their progress and evolution towards a flatter – and faster – way of working is blocked by an unexpected obstacle: their very own project management software.
This is because conventional software is fundamentally designed to resist and repel a democratic (i.e. flat) approach to internal and external workforce collaboration; especially when it comes to built-in dashboards and reports. In this way, while leaders and managers push for more openness and sharing, their software can be said to push back. It’s a strange, science fiction-like tug-of-war for corporate dominance (“Enterprise Wars: Project Management Software Strikes Back”?).
The Way Forward: Collaborative Work Management
Fortunately, the Jedi-free way forward is simple and straightforward – precisely because it has nothing to do with arduously trying to re-invent conventional project management software, and everything to do with outright replacing it with a qualitatively superior successor: a collaborative work management solution.
Unlike conventional enterprise project management software that is primarily built to sustain an old world command and control approach, a collaborative work management solution fundamentally supports a flatter world of work by:
Enabling program managers to swiftly build high-performance teams – and just as quickly re-allocate resources as necessary based on changing needs and priorities.
Instantly delivering a 360-degree view of the health of all projects and programs across the enterprise, whether the portfolio contains dozens, hundreds, or thousands of active initiatives.
Empowering leaders with real-time dashboards and reports so they can rapidly understand patterns, identify trends, access multidimensional business insights, and implement organizational improvements.
Integrating and syncing with other systems and solutions in the environment, so that huge volumes of information and data are effectively translated into actionable intelligence.
Allowing for customized business rules to streamline and automate tasks, activities and workflows – including launching new, ready-to-run projects.
The Bottom Line
The move to a flatter way of working is a shift in the right direction; and frankly, it’s long overdue. Enterprises that leverage an innovative collaborative work management system position their organization and people to work at the accelerated speed of business – while they deftly adapt to constant change, and effectively respond at a moment’s notice.
On the other hand, enterprises that remain constrained and restricted by their conventional project portfolio management software will continue slowing down – until eventually they’ll have to exit the race entirely. Because rule #1 in the new world of work is, quite simply: get flat, or go home.
To learn more about Planview AdaptiveWork’s award-winning collaborative work management solution, sign-up for a free, on-demand product tour – click here.
