To further assist managers in executing their business strategy, the software Strategy Management counts on another improvement for project managementThe flag for overdue actions.
With this improvement, managers can see if an action scheduled for a specific date has not yet been started. If the initial date is exceeded, the software immediately signals with a red light, indicating that the person responsible for that action should begin executing the planned action immediately.
However, this functionality only works when the manager is activated in the system. For the alert to be activated, it must be requested by clicking the checkbox “Turn the action spotlight red if the expected start date is exceeded and the action has not been started.” To activate this option, simply go to Menu > Registration > Settings > Actions Tab. The checkbox will be located just below the heading “Spotlight Calculation.”.
The suggestion for this improvement came from RTM, a company that functions as a communication channel for the Brazilian financial sector, connecting around 500 institutions and over 25 information/service providers in a private cloud environment.
The head of strategic planning, business processes, and risks for RTM, Luciene Reis, explains that what was happening in the software before suggesting the change was that if the user didn't initiate the foreseen action, the software wouldn't send an alert or a reminder to the user until after the action's final deadline had passed. Therefore, managers had no idea whether the user had started the activity or not.
See also how to measure deviations in projects
“Because we weren't obligated to register the start of the activity, we were always in doubt as to whether the responsible parties had started implementing the action. And, without the alert, sometimes we only received notification when the action should have already been completed, and in reality, it hadn't even been started,” he emphasizes.
Another improvement that has already been suggested to the Stratec support team by RTM will be inaugurated in the next software update, version 6.04, which will take effect on June 30th. Soon, when a project is closed late, the system will display the final date and the expected date, signaling differently whether the project was completed on time or not. “Currently, the software does not compare the expected date with the actual date. When the project closes, even if late, it gets a blue dot, as if it had finished on time. So we asked for a different signal to indicate that the project was completed, but late,” says Luciene. According to Neidson Silva, Stratec's support and homologation coordinator, in the new version of the software, when a project is completed late, it will be signaled with a red and blue light, indicating the delay.
In order to better meet the demands for system customizations, Stratec recently implemented a new process for handling and processing these requests. From now on, the client sends their improvement suggestion to the support department, where it is forwarded to an evaluation committee for approval or rejection. Subsequently, the client receives the approval response, including an estimated timeframe. Then, the improvement is moved to planning and development. “We receive suggestions daily. The volume is sometimes very large, and not all improvement suggestions are feasible,” explains the coordinator.
Luciene also comments that at RTM the software is used not only for monitoring projects, but for the application and monitoring of management strategic as well. “In strategic planning, you can execute and track goals through indicators in the software. The system works well and regarding that, we have no complaints,” she praises.
