Selecting the Right Construction Management Software: A Quick Guide

Kelly Richardson

Copywriter

July 01, 2024

16 min read

In a nutshell, construction is all about bringing a vision to life. It spans many processes to take every project from the idea stage and turn it into a breathtaking building or space that aligns with your vision. The key to success is flawless construction management that makes every project stage and process coherent and aligned.

Construction management consists of a labyrinth of planning, task allocation, coordination, and project execution. It always implies dealing with lots of raw materials, data, and other intricate details. Needless to say, if there is a mistake in the management project, timely and efficient project completion may become nearly impossible.

Luckily, the days when construction management was a tedious, rudimental process that was handled manually are long gone. Now, there are comprehensive tools designed to streamline daunting construction projects. If selected wisely, construction management software assimilates all tiny details of your projects from worker schedules and budget breakdown to real-time progress tracking and analytics.

Why does such software matter to every construction project and how to select one for yourself? Let’s answer this now!

Top Benefits of Adopting Cutting-Edge Construction Management Software

In today’s digitized world, the role of smart digital solutions is hard to doubt, regardless of who you are and what you do. Students need to use solutions like essay writing service platforms to get through college easily and balance their lives. Healthcare specialists need solutions like electronic health records to improve care coordination. And the same logic applies to everyone.

The construction sector also can’t do without the right digital solutions in today’s world, especially if you want to grow and outdo the competition. So, if you haven’t adopted it yet, here are the key benefits of construction management software that should convince you of its importance:

• Increased efficiency—Construction management software provides you with a unified and productive digital workspace that allows real-time collaboration, centralized data storage, predictive analytics, and other tools for refining your daily workflows. By simplifying day-to-day processes, such solutions can greatly boost the entire team’s efficiency.

• Cost savings—Leveraging digital solutions can help you reduce unnecessary expenses in your projects. Namely, they help you save by accelerating your projects, minimizing waste through effective resource allocation, reducing error possibility, and giving you access to close financial tracking.

• Real-time data access—Construction projects typically evolve rapidly and require you to make quick decisions. By giving you access to all the project data in one place and supporting it with efficient analytics, construction management software can help you ensure better-informed decision-making.

• Better risk management—Effective management software unlocks close budget oversight, predictive analytics, wise resource allocation, streamlined safety protocols, documentation consistency, and effective stakeholder communication. As a result, it can help you mitigate potential risks in your projects.

• Effective communication—The right construction management software provides you with an effective platform for communication with stakeholders, management, and executors. When every involved party has access to feedback loops, real-time updates, convenient document sharing, scheduling, and task management, this can significantly improve productivity.

These are just a few of the many hidden benefits of leveraging construction management software in your projects. Long story short, such solutions are there to make every stage of the process straightforward and ensure efficiency. And every construction team needs it for success.

Choosing the Best Construction Management Solution for You

Now that you know why you need it and how it can redefine your projects, you must be wondering how to find the perfect software for you. Although it can be a rather daunting task given the large amount of options out there, you can make the right choice faster and easier by following this quick guide:

Step 1: Assess Your Company’s Needs

Before selecting any kind of digital solution, you should first analyze your current business operations and goals. Doing so will help you define the primary features to look for in your future software.

• What is the scope of your company and projects?

• What is the budget you can allocate to integrate and maintain your software?

• What is your team’s learning curve?

• What are the primary objectives you want to attain with your software? For example, you might want to improve communication, gain more control over your projects’ budgets, or all of these together.

After thoroughly analyzing everything, list features and specs you want to be integrated into your software. Keep this checklist at hand when comparing your options and making the choice.

Step 2: Define Your Current Tech Stack

After assessing your overall needs, you should conduct an audit of digital solutions that your team is already using. This is an important, though often overlooked, stage that can make or break your experience with new software, so take it seriously.

Modern construction management software comes with plenty of integration opportunities. Some of the most popular integrations include:

• CRM;

• Task management;

• Time tracking;

• Billing and invoicing;

• Document management;

• Communication tools;

• Task automation;

• Calendar;

• Feedback tools;

• Reporting and analytics;

• Risk management.

If your team is already using any specific tools from this list and is well used to them, you will likely want your construction management software to be compatible with them. So take time to analyze your current tech stack and make a list of third-party solutions that you want to be integrated.

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Step 3: Evaluate the Options

Once you’ve gone through all the preparatory stages, you can explore the available solutions. This must be the most responsible stage, so be sure to stay incredibly attentive to details.

How do you research the options? The old-fashioned way to handle this task is to search for software options on Google. If you insert the “Construction management software” query into the search bar, you will find many results you can compare.

If you decide to do this, you will need to study the websites of different software providers separately and compare them manually.

Of course, doing all this research can take quite a while. To streamline the process a little bit, you can consider an alternative method—turn to trusted software review platforms. These platforms evaluate different solutions based on key factors and often rate them according to their performances and user reviews. Using review sites can make the choice much easier. Some platforms that can help you are:

• Capterra;

• G2;

• PCMag;

• GetApp;

• TrustRadius;

• Software Advice;

• TechRadar.

Step 4: Adopt and Integrate in the Workflow

After you find a tool that fully meets your company’s needs and goals, your work isn’t over. The final stage of the process involves adopting a solution and effectively integrating it into your workflow.

Here is a small checklist to help you handle this stage right and ensure that software adoption goes smoothly:

Preparing for Adoption

To adopt new solutions quickly and smoothly, you have to prepare for it well. Here are the primary preparatory steps you should follow:

1. Notify all stakeholders about the upcoming change and provide detailed instructions on using new solutions to minimize the learning curve.

2. Identify who, how, and when will be using your new software to communicate their responsibilities and minimize friction.

3. Make a list of all third-party integrations that will be used with your management software to ensure that all stakeholders know how to use them effectively.

4. Design a detailed deployment strategy, including all tests and KPIs that should help you assess the effectiveness of a new solution.

5. Be sure to create a rollback plan for the case if there are any problems with new software or its efficiency does not match your needs and you need to switch to a different solution.

Early Adoption and Testing

Every company typically has early software adopters and laggards. The first ones are true technology enthusiasts who are always seeking new solutions that can benefit their workflow and are ready to adopt them in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, the latter typically feel very uncomfortable using new tools and resist progress.

To adopt your solutions smoothly, you should identify your early adopters and let them get comfortable with the new software and test its work. Here’s what you should do:

1. Find innovators in your team.

2. Clearly communicate the goals of adopting the construction management software to them.

3. Let them get a feel of a new solution.

4. Encourage your early adopters to spread the information about the new solution in the team and stimulate their more reluctant coworkers to give it a try.

Training

While some of your team members may adopt new software easily, others might have a much more steep learning curve. You have to acknowledge this and realize that it’s okay. Next, you have to implement effective training to help all stakeholders adopt the solution:

1. Clearly communicate the goals and benefits of your new solution.

2. Provide everyone with helpful materials and guides for self-learning.

3. Hold formal training events during which you will share actionable tips on how to use construction management software and answer all questions.

4. Don’t hesitate to let your early adopters actively participate in the training process to let other employees know that they have someone they can go to if they have further questions or challenges.

Assessing the Performance

Finally, after all members of your team start adopting the new solution, you have to watch their activities closely to assess the performance, benefits, and mistakes.

Here are a few steps you should take:

1. Use the predetermined KPIs to see how the workflow and outcomes change after software adoption.

2. Track users’ activities to identify existing and potential challenges early and provide additional guidance to mitigate the learning curve.

Top Things to Look for in Construction Management Software

Now that you know everything about why you need construction management software, where to look for it, and how to adopt it effectively, let us give you a few extra tips for ensuring success.

Below is a list of the most crucial things you should consider when choosing a solution for your team:

• User-friendliness—Adopting new solutions is always hard, and so is training your employees to start using them. To minimize the learning curve and make this process smoother, you should opt for user-friendly software that has an intuitive interface.

• Customizability—Every construction project is unique and has specific goals and requirements. Hence, you need your software to be flexible and customizable enough to match each particular project’s demands.

• Customer support—Sometimes, even the most advanced and reliable software can throw a curveball. To withstand potential issues, you want to know that there is timely and efficient customer support ready to answer your questions and help you solve your problems in real time.

• Compatibility with third-party tools—As was mentioned earlier, you may want to integrate the tools you are already using with your construction management software to boost productivity. To do this, you need to look for software with broad integration capabilities.

• Security—To protect your business from data leaks and other threats, you must select solutions that comply with the latest cybersecurity standards and industry regulations.

• Scalability—Even if your construction company is rather small today, it will likely grow in the future. You have to find a scalable solution that will be able to keep up with the growing complexity and size of your projects.

• Cost—Always keep your budget in mind when looking for software solutions. However, be sure to pick options with the best value for money instead of compromising on the quality or essential features for the sake of a lower price.

• Trial period and demo—Due to the huge number of digital solutions out there, trusted and reliable software providers always offer demos or trial periods for their products. Be sure to choose an option that provides this. It can help you save your time and money on testing solutions to determine whether they meet your needs or not.

• Customer reviews—Lastly, always research every software provider’s online reputation and products. Testimonials from existing customers can help you make the right choice and avoid many problems.

Use the tips and steps described in this guide to find the best construction management software that will help you streamline your operations and scale your business!