This is a guest blog by Holly Welles
Technology and business today are inseparable. Taking advantage of available software solutions is one of the best ways to stay competitive. If nothing else, tools like project management technologies can make it a little easier to do your job.
More than 90% of organizations use standardized project management, but only 58% fully understand its value. You’ve probably heard that software tools can help you, but you may not know what that looks like. What precisely can these solutions do for you, and how do you find the right one?
Benefits of Project Management Software
The overall goal of project management tools is to streamline administrative tasks. They accomplish this in several different ways. While features vary depending on the software, benefits typically include:
- More straightforward communication and collaboration
- Scheduling tools
- Budget and spending tracking
- Simplified document management
- Standardization for work processes
- A centralized place to do all of this
Project management software has a lot to offer, and there’s no shortage of options, either. This variety means you can find the perfect solution for your needs, but it also means you may have trouble finding the right one. How do you sort through everything to find the best software for the job?
Here Are Five Tips to Help You Evaluate Project Management Technologies:
[Read more…] about How to Evaluate New Project Management Technologies
In episode 117 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I visit with Tracy Bratton, PE. who is the Land Development Division Manager at Doucet & Associates, based in Austin Texas. We talk about the importance of staying calm, cool, and collected as a civil engineering professional. We also talk about the role that sound technical experience plays in an engineer’s confidence level as well as the ability to manage projects.
BIM (Building Information Modeling) has been revolutionizing the AEC industry in terms of economic and technical viability, over the past few years. The advantages of the long-term application of BIM can be leveraged most efficiently in the field of project management. The need for management of an asset is a continuous process; from inception to demolition, a true cradle to grave cycle which involves handling large volumes of data, handling a lot of responsibilities, and so on for which BIM is the one-stop solution. Project managers need to embrace Building Information Modeling, interrogate the BIM information and reap the maximum benefits out of it for 
In this episode, Chris Knutson, PE will answer some questions from listeners and give advice on why engineers should consider studying and learning about project management. He will also expand on why project management will be good for your engineering career, as well as your engineering organization.
Whether you want to become a project manager or not, you’ll be running a project at some point in your life and in one of your capacities. It might be in the role you hold at your firm, or in the role you occupy in a technical or professional organization, or even a role you fill in a community group. The point is, many of activities we undertake are projects. That is, they are what Project Management International (PMI) defines as a, temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources. A project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal.
