This is the fourth post in our series on Successfully Implementing Project Management Software
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One of the best things about online project management tools is their ability to allow all users in a project group to collaborate. Oddly enough the worst thing about them is the fact that sometimes they rely to heavily on these people to keep the content up to date. Let me explain...
Good Collaboration
There is a reason people like social networks right? Its because they are fun and at the same time a good opportunity for people to read relevant social news and be heard. People don't see social networks as extra workload and for this reason I like the social network approach when applied to project management software. A good application should allow users to perform social activities like blog on projects and tasks, view and comment on others posts. This way your team will get involved, create a dialogue and give themselves a reason to keep using your software.
Collaboration Gone Bad
One of my pet hates is software that gobbles time from everyone in the business to keep it up to date. Many systems that give you the golden vision of managing your whole business require time sheeting, task and progress updating, status reporting, issue and risk, action updates etc...
Its just common sense that your users will hate this sort of system. Which means they won't use it, and then it will be out of date and useless.
Don't do this to yourself. Get a collaborative system but avoid systems that require massive amounts of input from everyone.