The modern Project Management Information System (PMIS) is a widely-tested and amply-proven product, having been used on global construction and engineering project management for a long time now. In EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) projects especially, a good PMIS has been conclusively shown to increase productivity and foster significant savings in manpower spend, thereby directly impacting the project’s profitability. It cannot be denied, however, that with the huge number of solutions and products available in the market today, finding the right solution can be daunting as not all project management information system software is created equal. In fact some can prove at worst detrimental (in draining much-needed resources and manpower) and at best, ineffective. This is true of home-grown PMIS software systems as well; developing effective ways to manage and digitise the complex world of project information across the project lifecycle is not easy and many things can and do fall between the cracks and are not noticed until the problem snowballs and the negative impact is felt far downstream. One of the reasons this continues to happen is the cost of  high-quality PMIS software – or rather the perceived cost. The truth is, PMIS software should be considered an enterprise solution and part of the corporate infrastructure and not – as too often happens – a software application or solution that lies on top of the rest of the software used by the company.

Today I will talk about how to select a PMIS for your organisation.

The obvious first step would be consider your requirements and document clearly everything you think you need to manage the flow and archival of your project data, documents, correspondence, etc. That said, many organisations lack the ability to accurately assess or evaluate these requirements, and that is where the value of a third-party external software development organisation comes in and why it should be argued that the best PMIS is one that has been developed and tested by people outside the organisation with domain knowledge of the field and the industry.

In other words, professional project management experts, or at least people with deep knowledge of EPC projects, how they work, where the gaps are, and where the pitfalls are should be the ones developing and testing PMIS software and not potential or actual users of said software. An external organisation will see this information objectively and be able to devise optimal methods of managing it, which may be outside the EPC organisation’s traditional methods and/or comfort zones.

Now let’s say you’ve shortlisted a few options for a PMIS software and are trying to decide between them. What do you do?

I suggest keeping the following considerations in mind.

Will the project management information system scale? Will it keep up with your organisation portfolio as it ebbs and flows? Will it work as efficiently with 10 concurrent projects as with a single one?

Next, does it offer a sufficient array of functions suited to your organisation? Not everybody needs all software features so opt for a solution and solution provider who is open to customising the software. Bottom line: you should get everything you need and nothing you don’t need.

Next, consider the scope of functionality you actually need from your PMIS software. Do you need to manage engineering data only or other project processes like bidding, RFIs, submittals etc.? Again, don’t pay for what you don’t need just because it’s bundled with the software.

Next, check out the PMIS’s collaboration functionalities. In today’s world, the ability to smoothly coordinate between locations and entities can be a big competitive advantage so be sure your PMIS  helps stakeholders collaborate in real time without needless loss or delay that could lead to conflict and penalties.

User management is another important factor in evaluating a PMIS.  Make sure the system can efficiently manage the entire project team. That means internal groups and departments as well as partner and consultant user groups and not forgetting clients, vendors, and other third-parties. The system should be able to handle all these user groups with complete security and efficiency.

And that brings us to the next factor, security. In today’s scenario you can’t be too careful with your data so ensure the PMIS software has robust security at every level of every process.

Finally, consider accessibility. Most PMIS software today will offer some level of cloud-based functionality by default, but try to find ones that offer state-of-the-art tools like AI and Machine learning as well so that you can take advantage of the latest technologies and advancements.

In conclusion, there is no easy answer to the question: what kind of PMIS do I need.

You need to take the time to investigate not only the solution but the solution provider, because you will be interacting with them for a long time with regards to support and upgrades and it would be in your best interest to see them as technology partners not software vendors.