Construction Project Management Software

Most construction managers know the names Primavera and Prolog, but there are another 100 or so systems for construction companies. There are systems for generals, subcontractors, building owners, and construction managers. Some are sophisticated enterprise-class systems, while others are simple solutions for the solo construction manager. We’ve put together this comparison guide to help make sense of this fragmented market.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

What is Project Management Software?
What Type of Buyer Are You?
The Software Buyer Landscape

Market Trends to Understand
Benefits & Potential Issues

What is Project Management Software?

“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Sure, but with the right project management systems in place, men can deliver more projects on-time and on-budget. To date, project planning control tools can’t help the mice. Modern tools automate processes such as document management (i.e. receiving, sending, storing and responding to documents), budgeting, tracking costs and scheduling labor, resources and project phases.

The core of a top project management system is its document control module for change orders, submittals, transmittals and requests for information (RFIs). Other core modules include budgeting, cost control, critical path method (CPM) scheduling, and punch list management. More advanced systems will include modules for bid solicitation, procurement, online plan rooms, Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) tracking, and photo and sitecam management.

Buyers have a choice between buying best-of-breed (i.e. standalone) systems or implementing applications available from full-suite construction software vendors. Best-of-breed systems have traditionally offered more sophisticated functionality and allowed managers to implement the system faster without being dependent on other departments, like accounting. Full-suite offerings, meanwhile, offer tighter integration between the project management system and the valuable financial data stored in accounting and job costing systems. Buyers also face a choice between software as a service (SaaS) (i.e. web-based) systems and on-premises systems.

What Type of Buyer Are You?

Before you dive into the details of various systems, you will want to identify yourself with one of the buyer types we’ve detailed below. Most buyers fall into one of these groups:

• General contractors. These buyers are looking for robust functionality that will help them track costs, manage documents, and in many cases, schedule the project. Project managers at these GCs will seek best-of-breed solutions, while C-level executives may push for integrated construction management and accounting suites.

• Building owners. These buyers manage a portfolio of capital projects, and keep tabs on the timing and costs of all projects in in aggregate. They seek best-of-breed program and portfolio management systems that enforce accountability for all parties, while encouraging collaboration over the Web.

• Independent construction managers. Construction managers require advanced functionality, including budgeting, costing and document control, however, smaller managers may not have the resources to deploy enter-prise class CPM systems. These buyers will do well with SaaS systems or independent desktop licenses.

• Sub contractors. These buyers approach project management from the standpoint of maximizing their crew’s performance, while minimizing liability. This requires good scheduling functionality to make sure the right crew is on the right job at the right time. Document control will is critical to create a “paper trail” on change orders, transmittals, etc.

The Software Vendor Landscape

The software vendor landscape is highly fragmented and can be confusing. However, we can simplify the market by matching top-rated software solutions to our four buyer types.  

Market Trends to Understand

These market trends should be considered as you select a software product and vendor.

• Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaS, or cloud-based software, is huge in the project management market. There is a huge need for improved collaboration between participants, and web-based systems make that possible. That, and the cost and ease-of-implementation benefits of SaaS have made web-based systems very popular. Most systems are now SaaS or web-enabled. Most buyers should evaluate, and strongly favor, SaaS solutions.

• Mobile applications. The nature of construction requires that managers spend time in the field, and those managers want to stay connected to their software applications. As a result, there is huge demand for mobile apps. The booming popularity of smartphones and iPads is accelerating this trend. Pay close attention to the mobile apps available, and platforms supported, for each vendor.

• LEED credit tracking. LEED certification is increasingly popular, but requires diligent LEED tracking during construction. More and more systems are offering LEED tracking applications. These automate detailed tracking of points required to achieve certification. Firms that will be building LEED projects should carefully evaluate the LEED tracking capabilities of the software products they consider.

• Improved offerings from full-suite vendors. Traditionally there has been a trade-off between the deep feature set available from best-of-breed vendors and the seamless integration that results from implementing an integrated suite. In the last few years, a number of full-suite vendors have released stronger project management applications that can hold their own against best-of-breed solutions.

Project management software is imperative for mid to large size projects. Firms that implement and make use of these systems should realize the following benefits.

• Improved accountability. The document control capabilities within a project management system creates a virtual paper trail for project plans, change orders, submittals and transmittals. This minimizes the finger pointing that has traditionally plagued troubled projects. As a result, it minimizes liability and changes behavior of participants.

• Financial visibility. When a budgeting and cost control module is in place, the manager will have far greater insight into actual costs relative to estimates, as well as the likely cost to complete. if the system it integrated to accounting and job costing systems, the data will be even more accurate and insightful.

• Improved collaboration. The web-based nature of modern systems are allowing project participants to work together more closely. Specifically, parties can review and mark-up plans, submit RFIs and receive responses - all over the web in a single, secure repository.

The primary challenges that arise from project management systems center around adoption and data entry/integration. The value of a system tends to increase as more users are added. Each new user improves the level of collaboration, and reinforces accountability. As a result, it is critical that a broad set of users - inside and outside the company - adopt the system. Too often individuals shun new systems and stick to historical manual methods, like Excel spreadsheets or legacy desktop applications. Ensuring adoption starts with involving a broad set of users in the selection process. Often we see individual project managers evaluating systems without executive and peer buy-in.

“Garbage in, garbage out,” goes the IT industry adage. A project management system will only produce results as good as the quality of the data that is entered into the system. This is particularly true when it comes to financial data. Sophisticated buyers will seek to integrate their project management and job costing systems.

Have an opinion on this guide? Email the authors. We appreciate the feedback.