Collaborative project information management (PIM) software provider ProjectReady released a new report addressing the risk and efficiency challenges architecture, engineering, construction, and project owner (AECO) firms face when teams use email as their preferred communication and collaboration tool. “How To Add Email To The Project Record: Four Must-Have Email Features That Promote Better Construction Collaboration & Why It Matters,” looks at why employees prefer email over other communication options.
The result of a poor email management strategy, according to the report, includes reduced productivity, increased likelihood of litigation challenges, and an inability to meet project budgets and deadlines.
Poor email management reduces productivity, increases risk, and makes it harder to complete projects on time and budget.
“All information that flows back and forth across team members in the context of a project should be tracked, recorded, and stored for easy access by the entire project team,” the report states. “This approach protects the overall project from personnel issues (including vacations or the addition or subtraction of team members), promotes continuity, and provides context to the data and information being shared, which promotes greater insight into the entire project.”
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On average, according to a separate study produced by Mail Manager and cited by ProjectReady, 80 percent of project correspondence flows through email, including scope changes, requests for information, drawings, and more.
The white paper goes on to outline ideas for integration that, without diminishing user experience, makes it easier for companies to adopt solutions that incorporates email management best practices for AECO project teams. Suggestions include the introduction of easy email association, cross-platform workflow management, time and task integration, and user-friendly metadata implementation to improve search and eDiscovery at the project and portfolio levels.
“If people don’t have a way to easily communicate and collaborate, they are going to find one,” said Joe Giegerich, ProjectReady Chief Executive Officer. “For those in the AECO, the preferred method of communication is email. Rather than introducing yet another tool that would ultimately fall by the wayside, we doubled down on our effort to make email work harder, which is in line with our company mission to help our clients realize greater value from their existing tech investments.”
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