Smartkem – Enabling high adoption of a centralized Project Management Solution

Biggest Project Management challenges of a niche Manufacturing firm?

As a Chemical Development SME organization, Smartkem had numerous projects running simultaneously across their different business functions, and at different technology readiness levels.

In their weekly project review meetings, it was cumbersome to track individual project status. It was difficult to monitor different aspects of the projects such as if the projects were staying on track, were behind schedule, running over the budget, etc. There was a lack of centralized project supervision and ownership. Managers struggled to own or delegate tasks and remained stuck with planning the next rather than looking at the projects with a holistic view.

They tried various project management software previously, without success or, at a high cost to the business, but they needed a solution that would allow their business to centralize all projects into one management software suite and allow reporting of the overall business project activities.

Collaborating with the BrightWork Customer Success Team

As Smartkem chose Brightwork 365, their first priority was to quickly implement the project management solution in their Microsoft 365 environment. Their aim was to start managing their different projects and programs and integrate them into one management and reporting package.

Following the Start-Evolve Project Management Success Approach, Smartkem was immediately assigned a dedicated BrightWork Customer Success Partner, who ensured a quick and efficient start of their project management solution adoption and implementation.

• From the onset of the implementation process, the Brightwork 365 Support team was there to answer any questions and provide support to their IT provider. Working with their IT provider, the BrightWork team enabled a smooth transition into preparing Brightwork 365 for installation and use within the organization. The BrightWork Customer Success Partner and the Support Team have been assisting the Smartkem point of contact(s) throughout the implementation process with any questions, issues, and support.
• With any change at the organizational level, comes the challenges of resistance and the need for change management. There was a need for project management expertise and guidance all the way through the adoption and transition. BrightWork 365 software is user-friendly and easy to navigate, but what helped further was the continuous assistance in leveling up the Smartkem staff with the best practices.

Overcoming the challenges and improving business outcomes with Brightwork 365:

• Smartkem set up a centralized database for all the projects with quick access to information and documents. This centralized approach has allowed their project meetings to focus on the project plan delivery and to analyze any risks or issues to the health of their projects across portfolios.
• With Power BI dashboards and charts, it became possible to drill deeper into individual projects and catch issues in time and work as a team to resolve them.
• Using Power BI dashboards, it became easy to generate business-specific reports that Senior Leadership can access to check the status of critically important projects.
• Brightwork 365 has in fact made it possible to access project data through the portal and present “real-time” project data to customers on-site.
• Project Managers in the organization are able to manage multiple portfolios of projects without spending a great deal of time making continuous updates. With automated processes and dashboards updated in real time, they take less time to compile data and reports. Basically, the focus is now less on admin work and more on actual project management.