Collaboration Tools Can Change The Way You Work Which Can In Turn Change What You Are Capable Of Achieving

By Carol Nelson


The character of doing business in the twenty first century is collaboration -discrete teams of experienced individuals with particular skill sets working together on shared projects- and it is a development which shows no indications of waning. The old model of 9-5 workplaces populated by men in suits and ties sitting at a boardroom table or talking about 'the account' around a water cooler are, in most cases, a mode of the past.

These days it is not uncommon to find distinct teams of individuals collaborating online on multiple projects at once in ever shifting permutations of teams, partners, and clients. We live in the online age; and while, online collaboration has been made available by the internet it has not been made easy by default. There are numerous collaboration tools out there, several online collaboration software packages from which to choose.

The right project software can fundamentally affect the way you and your team work and manage your ongoing projects and, as a result, change what you are ultimately capable of achieving. One need only look at what the chainsaw did for the forestry industry to comprehend that the right tool can change everything. But how do you choose the correct project software?

## Easy to use

Not each and every member of your team is likely to come to the table with similar skill sets and backgrounds. It's important that any project software you make use of to manage your project is simple enough for each and every member of your team. On top of which, any time spent mastering online collaboration software is time not spent on the project itself.

## Intuitive features

You want the members of your team focussing on the project not on the particulars of the project software -the quirks, bugs and limitations of the latest version. A truly intuitive collaboration platform should seem like nothing more than the medium in which the project is being developed or, to put it another way, the rich, black soil in which ideas are planted.

## Powerful and versatile

There is a fine balance to be maintained between intuitive simplicity and powerful versatility. Innovative project software needs to be easy and quick to learn yet offer powerful, versatile tools which can shift the very landscape of your project management strategy. This requires a clarity of vision on the part of the platform developers and is what sets some platforms apart from others.

## Flexible

All projects are going to be different. The breadth and depth of a project, can sometimes change dramatically and unexpectedly. It is important that any software you adopt be versatile enough to handle collaborative projects of any size. Scalability is crucial. You do not want an entire team falling victim to its own success and inadvertently outgrowing the project software that lead to that success.

If you feel that your team is not performing up to its full potential, or that its creative energy is being dispersed or diminished by the limitations of your current collaborative model, perhaps it is time to reconsider that model and invest in innovative project software. There are many to choose from but if you take the time to research what is available and make an informed decision it just might be a tipping point in your project development.




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