People

At the heart of every successful project are dedicated and talented individuals. From our recent debrief of the APM ‘Women in Project Management’ conference, we were reminded of the vital role diversity plays in project management – Empowering women and fostering an inclusive environment not only enriches our teams but also drives innovation and excellence. This is echoed in the super power of the Change Manager – Getting everyone on the same page at the same time to help deliver successful & sustainable change!

Purpose

Purpose fuels our projects with meaning. As a Project Manager, your super power is being someone who can take an idea or problem and make the solution a reality. When attending the recent Gender Pay Gap Reporting Workshop, delivered by Inclusive Employers in Jersey, we explored how aligning our projects with clear, impactful goals that speak to our key values, enhances motivation and collaboration. Addressing disparities and striving for equity ensures that our work contributes positively to society.

Projects

Successful projects are the culmination of well-coordinated efforts and strategic planning. The super power of a Business Analyst lies in knowing a little about a lot and having excellent interpersonal skills to draw meaning and clear direction to project work. Our Change Activism event with Carmel McConnell highlighted the importance of adaptability and resilience in project management- Embracing change and proactively addressing challenges allows us to deliver projects that not only meet, but exceed expectations.

Then at the Chamber of Commerce lunch yesterday, we heard from Lynn Pamment CBE (Jersey’s Comptroller & Auditor General) that the one of the key themes for improvement made by her office to the Government of Jersey is “seeing change through to improved outcomes”. On this International Project Management Day, let’s celebrate the synergy of People, Purpose, and Projects, and the vital role that we as change professionals play in ensuring businesses realise the value of their change initiatives.

Together, our Strategy & Change team continues to create lasting impacts and drive progress within organisations and beyond. If you or your organisation need support in delivering successful projects, please feel free to reach out to us!

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Planner is an innovative tool that is revolutionising task and project management within Microsoft 365. It merges the best features from Planner, To-Do, and Project for the Web into a single unified and seamless platform that caters for both simple day-to-day task management and project management. 

Benefits and key features

Intuitive User experience -It creates an effortless unified experience that is scalable; from simple task management project management activities; it empowers everyone to manage their work in one place. It is intuitive to use, robust, and deeply integrated with Microsoft 365. It is quick and easy to add items or create a plan from scratch due to the small number of required fields, or use one of the provided templates and as we have quickly come to expect, all of this is assisted by Microsoft’s next generation AI (Copilot) which can help lift the burden of everyday tasks or give you that all important ‘starter for 10’.  

Configure and Extend – Users can configure, extend, and automate tasks and processes (leveraging Power BI and Power Automate to name a few applications), and track against your plan’s baseline, to meet your company’s changing needs while ensuring team members are continually focusing on delivering the right work items at the right time.  

Seamless Integration – A key feature is that Planner 2024 can also be seamlessly integrated with SharePoint and Teams. You can add Planner as a link, a web part, or a tab to SharePoint pages and Teams channels. Enhancing the user experience, extending the aforementioned unified work management experience across different platforms. And…to make the experience even easier Microsoft have created a MS Teams template that comes with an MS Planner tab to link to your project plan, a link to a SharePoint site for your project that includes an issue and project tracker so you can set everything up with ease and little overhead.  

Collaboration – MS Planner 2024 also allows for collaboration with people outside of your organisation through guest access. This feature grants external parties, with the appropriate Microsoft licence, the ability to view and interact with your plan. Guest users can create and delete items as well as edit task fields. You can also add guest users to the Teams channel and SharePoint site ensuring all project communication is easily accessible, shared and centrally located to help achieve the best outcome for your project. 

Centralised functionality – From a functionality perspective, there are not any new features of note that we did not have in Planner, To-Do, or Project for the Web. However, for the first time these features are now in a centralised, unified, one-stop-shop application. No more switching between multiple applications and to-do lists. From the end-user experience I would say that this is a game changer for Microsoft as in brings together ‘the project space’ with ‘operations’ and ensures all involved know what they need to do, across all their to-do items (assigned project activities across all projects, flagged emails, loop components etc) and when they are due! 

Considerations 

That said, there are some areas that would benefit from further development. You can’t @ team members in the comments of tasks (although this is actively being looked at and developed). You can create checklists within tasks, but they don’t have to be marked complete to complete the overall task. These seem like oversights and easy wins / improvements if addressed. The built-in dashboard, or ‘Chart’s as they are called aren’t great but show potential. But as we know it is super easy to link with Power BI and you can even create your own Power BI tab in your Teams Project channel so you and your teams can always and easily view meaningful and bespoke up-to-data MI. Although, we have to acknowledge that, depending on your organisation, this will require the appropriate licenses (and costs) and specialist skillset, thus increasing overhead. 

As I see it there are two immediate development areas that Microsoft should look to address in Planner 2024. The lack of being able to grant users distinct levels of permission / access rights. All users with access can freely edit. External users will have all the same access as internal teams and will have access to all associated files attached to the plan. And, if you or a user accidentally delete a task, or even the whole plan, you are unable to retrieve it or ‘undo’ the deletion. It is gone. You will need to start again. Not great – but there are several steps you need to take so it would take more than a ‘fat finger’ to delete. Hopefully, this will be promptly addressed by Microsoft. 

Licences

There are several license options available. If you are wondering what licence option is best for you and your firm is then please reach out. We have several experts at Prosperity 24/7 who would be able to assist and advise.  

Conclusion

Despite a few limitations, Microsoft Planner 2024 is a powerful application, that offers significant benefits and with its deep integration with Microsoft 365 and other applications like SharePoint and Teams it really does enhance the end-user experience. The benefits and the potential for improvement outweigh any negatives and make it worth considering for those seeking to streamline their task management and project management processes.  

As with anything, it is essential to weigh the pros and cons to determine if it is the right fit for your organisation’s needs. Remember, the perfect application does not exist, but the right one does. And Microsoft Planner 2024 could just be the ‘right’ one for you, especially when considering the benefits of being in a leading class and secure ecosystem. 

I encourage anyone looking to enhance the end-user experience and bring internal teams together, while staying within the Microsoft ecosystem, to explore Microsoft Planner 2024. See how it can help chart a course for streamlined workflows and improved productivity.  

Alternatively, if you are navigating larger projects, programmes and portfolios, and are happy to stretch out beyond the Microsoft shores, I recommend the all singing all dancing Smartsheet, which can also be used outside of the project space and is arguably more user friendly at the time of writing this article. Here at Prosperity 24/7, we offer a solutions-based approach and are not anchored to any one product. This enables us to provide the best advice to meet your business requirements and ensure smooth sailing. 

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In other words; Smartsheet is a cloud-based platform primarily designed for work management, project management and collaboration. It combines the familiar interface of a spreadsheet with powerful tools for tracking projects, automating workflows, and reporting on work. But calling them spreadsheets is like calling the Mona Lisa a doodle. These are spreadsheets on steroids. They are dynamic, they are heavily customisable, and they are smarter than your average grid. With dropdown menus, checkboxes, and hierarchies, they turn the fundamental tasks of data entry and planning into a walk in the park.

Features

Smartsheet offers a variety of features designed to enhance productivity and collaboration. These features are adaptable to various industries like IT, HR, Marketing, and more, so while Project Management teams may be the obvious area to implement Smartsheets do not be put off if that is not the area you work in as these features will benefit the whole organisation.

Sample Gantt view
The primary features can be broken down into the following 6 key areas:

Programme, Portfolio, Project & Task Management 

• Task Tracking: Assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress.
• Gantt Charts: Visualise project timelines and dependencies./li>
• Resource Management: Allocate resources and manage workloads.
• Programme Management & cross-project dependencies: link, track, and roll-up all business / enterprise-wide projects.

Collaboration

• Shared Workspaces: Collaborate in real-time with team members.
• File Sharing: Attach and share documents directly within tasks.
• Comments and Discussions: Communicate and provide feedback directly within the platform.

Automation 

• Workflow Automation: Automate repetitive tasks and processes to save time.
• Alerts and Reminders: Set up notifications for important deadlines and updates.
• Approval Processes: Streamline approval workflows for faster decision-making.

Reporting and Analytics

• Customisable Reports: Generate reports tailored to your organisations’ structure and needs.
• Dashboards: Create visual dashboards to monitor key metrics.
• Real-Time Data: Access up-to-date information for better informed and quicker decision-making.

Integration 

• Third-Party Apps: Integrate with popular tools like Microsoft Office and directly into Microsoft Teams.
• API Access: Customise and extend Smartsheet’s functionality with API integrations.

Security and Compliance 

• Data Security: Robust security measures to protect your data.
• Compliance: Adherence to industry standards and regulations.

And for the road warriors out there, Smartsheet’s mobile app keeps you connected to your projects, whether you are in the back of a cab or at 30,000 feet. It is like having a command centre in your pocket, only without the bulky buttons and beeping noises.

Sample dashboard and mobile view

Considerations 

Once implemented and users have become familiar with its features and capabilities, Smartsheet is an incredibly valuable tool. The benefits of Smartsheet outweigh the initial training requirements, and any perceived complexity of getting started. Once up-to-speed users will quickly forget any initial challenges and will wonder how they managed to deliver their work with their old PPM or work management tool!

Here at Prosperity 24/7, as a Silver Solution Partner, we can support you through the full end-to-end onboarding journey, to help ensure that the value of Smartsheet is realised as quickly as possible. We offer comprehensive training, customised solutions, and guidance to simplify the use of Smartsheet, making sure that all users understand the ‘art of the possible.’ We provide all the support required making it easier for users to navigate and utilise its extensive features. There are several plan options available that can grow with your business, which we can discuss with you to find the best option for you and your firm, both now and in the future.

In conclusion, Smartsheet is aimed at a wide range of users, from small businesses to large enterprises and would be particularly useful for teams and organisations that need to manage multiple projects simultaneously and require a flexible, customisable tool.

Smartsheet is not just a tool; it is a revolution wrapped in a cloud-based solution. It is the answer to the prayers of teams everywhere, who long for more hours in the day and less chaos in their lives. So, if you want to be the office hero, the maestro of management, the sultan of spreadsheets, give Smartsheet a whirl. Your projects (and your sanity) will thank you. And remember, in the world of project management, Smartsheet is not just smart; it is genius.

While Smartsheet is an incredibly powerful and valuable tool, it is only part of the solution. To truly deliver successful projects and realise the benefits, it is imperative that you involve the right people and partners, with the relevant skillset and experience. At Prosperity 24/7, we have excellent people with vast experience and a proven record of accomplishments who can help you and your company go from strength to strength.

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