Let’s say you need to build a house. Ok, that’s a big example. Let’s say a dog house. Now if I gave you wood, nails, and a hammer. Could you build the dog house? You probably could. It would likely be a little lopsided, aesthetically unappealing and quite unsteady but you could do it. Now what if you built that dog house again but this time you have a blueprint. You have instructions. Odds are this dog house would turn out much better, right?
Why?
Because you had a plan. You knew what the end product was going to look like. You knew exactly how many pieces of wood and how many nails you needed. You built the house and you built it efficiently.
In this scenario Trello is your hammer. So many business owners I meet believe that by simply having Trello, Dubsado, or whichever application they may use that means their business has a system. They think projects will run smoothly and deadlines won’t get missed. But just as with the dog house example, simply having tools (the hammer, wood and nails) doesn’t mean a successful dog house is on the horizon. What you need to have that so many don’t is a plan.
That’s what a system really is. A plan of procedure. A documented way in which you will handle and address a particular, recurring situation in your business. And similar to the dog house example, knowing what the end result will look like, how many steps it takes to get there and what actions you need to take will make a huge difference.
Trello, Dubsado, Asana, etc. are all great TOOLS but they are just that. These tools are only as effective as the system they were brought in to support. Additionally knowing which of these tools will be the most effective for your particular business can only be determined once you know what you are trying to build looks like.
So, how do you decide on which project management system you should use in your business?
I get asked this all the time. And my answer is always the same.
It depends.
UGHHH!
I know, I know I HAA-TE that answer too. But hear me out.
Before you know which tool would be most effective for your business, you need to take a look at your blueprint aka your system. Here are some good questions that will help you.
What does the end product or goal look like?
What metrics do you need to monitor?
What tasks do you need to keep track of?
How many people will be involved in the process?
How do you define project milestones?
Once you know WHAT you need to keep track of then it’s MUCH easier to select a tool that is going to work for you and not against you. This way you aren’t trying to build a dog house with a chainsaw.