Marrying Construction Program Control Software and Processes
For many municipalities and government agencies, construction projects programs and projects are hitting a fever pitch. Deadlines are looming and time is of the essence.
All the while, these initiatives are under the increasingly watchful eye of the public, elected and appointed officials looking to make sure that those in charge stay on budget, account for every penny and still achieve the intended outcomes on time.
Managing it all and meeting expectations can be daunting, which is why program managers are implementing program control software platforms at a record pace. The question, though, is in how well those systems are meeting the needs.
Countless news reports litter the media with tales of counties and cities facing significant cost overruns for a wide variety of initiatives. Program and project leaders are often finding themselves caught between a gargantuan rock and extremely hard place. They want to do the right thing, but the data received from program control technology isn’t providing enough information to make strong decisions in a timely fashion.
There is a solution, and its not necessarily one that requires a complete—and expensive—overhaul of the software platform. The key is to ensure that the system is set up in a way that aligns with operational processes and procedures to provide the right information at the right time to make the right call. Here’s how:
Outline Your Decision Making Process
To leverage any program control software to its maximum potential, it’s crucial to outline your decision making process first. A typical diagram looks like this:
Note the primary and secondary influencers. It is not enough to simply take data in its raw form and determine a correct decision. Many additional steps are required in the decision making process. The data must be placed in proper context to become usable information that, with the right understanding by program and project managers, can turn into knowledge. The user can only formulate correct decisions by applying data in the right manner.
Be Mindful of the Intended Goals
