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Your team is feeling burnt out. A handful of projects are dragging on with no end in sight, and you keep having to put other projects on hold. Tasks are piling up, and it seems like everything needed to be done yesterday. Sound familiar? This is one of the most common experiences our clients have when they first begin working with us; their team feels like they’re not getting anything accomplished, but are working harder than ever. They need better visibility on their most important projects – and they need it fast. As a rapidly growing startup, we know how it feels to be drowning in projects and tasks. When our team is in the weeds, we take the same advice we give to clients: set up a simple priority system to get the visibility you need and boost morale. There are a lot of ways to set up a priority system, but our team has a few favorites. Read on to learn our most tried-and-true prioritization methods, and how to put them to use. Three Tools for Prioritization #1 - Eisenhower Matrix: A popular method for discerning what matters most and what can wait, an Eisenhower matrix utilizes a four-quadrant grid that crosses urgency with importance. Here's how it works: Do First: The top left quadrant is reserved for high importance, high urgency projects; use this for your most critical, time sensitive tasks and projects, for example, running payroll for your team or invoicing clients. Schedule: The top right quadrant is for low urgency, high importance projects; this spot is reserved for projects and tasks that really matter to your team and company goals, but they don’t have a close or tight deadline. This is where you can catalog all those tasks and milestones that lead to the big, long term projects that your team is working on. Delegate: The bottom left quadrant is designated for high urgency, low importance projects; this is a great place to list low effort tasks with impending (or past due) deadlines that need to be crossed off of your list. Sending an email that you’ve been putting off, or QAing a project for your team might live here. Think of this as your “quick wins”, or wrapping up things that are almost across the finish line. Ditch It (aka "Don't Do"): The bottom right quadrant is a space to drop projects and tasks that are low urgency, low importance. This is a place for future-oriented tasks. We often reserve this category for internal processes that we’re slowly building, but don’t need to prioritize in the immediate future. Things like SOPs, creating evergreen internal materials, or following up with clients when we don’t have capacity to take on new projects. Try it: Grab a wall and some sticky notes, or try a digital whiteboarding platform like Miro, and collect your team. Have everyone write down the projects and tasks that they’re working on, and then move the stickies into the appropriate quadrant. Once you’re finished, focus on the top two quadrants – divide the highest priority, highest urgency tasks among the team members who have the most capacity, and then follow up with the bottom two quadrants. Better yet, delegate those lower quadrants to a support team. #2 - Impact / Effort Scale: This system also uses a quadrant approach, but instead of urgency and importance, it focuses on the effort a task or project will require, and the impact it has on the goal. Quick Wins: The top left quadrant of this system is for tasks and projects that don’t take much effort, but have a big impact on your goals. These are perfect for team members who have very little capacity but could benefit from a quick easy-to-completable task. Big, Important Stuff: The top right quadrant is for high effort, high impact projects. Like in the Eisenhower matrix, this is for projects that are going to take more time to complete, but bring a lot of value to your team or organization. To the best of your ability, spread these projects across the team, or assign a few people to collaborate on it. Fillers: The bottom left quadrant is for low impact, low effort tasks and projects. Usually these are going to be tasks that just need to be crossed off the list, like writing an email. Delegate or Ditch It: The bottom right quadrant is for high effort, low value tasks. Our best advice is to keep projects and tasks out of this quadrant. These tasks and projects are going to take tons of resources, but don’t make a big difference to your team or organization – so consider tabling them for now, delegating them to someone else, or shifting your strategy to make these tasks have a larger impact. Try it: Similar to the Eisenhower matrix, work through this system with at least one other person – and we highly recommend this option for capacity planning. Get your sticky notes, place them in the appropriate quadrant, and then evaluate. How much capacity does your team have? Who can take on the low effort, high value projects? How can you distribute milestones and tasks related to high effort, high value projects? And what’s in that bottom right quadrant? Is there a way you can shift your approach so that task or project brings more value? Pro Tip: We like that the “effort” part of this system addresses team capacity. With the Eisenhower Matrix you might have a project that is high urgency and high importance, but if no one on your team has time to allocate towards the project, then things need to be shuffled around. By using the Impact & Effort method, you can quickly assess what projects need to be assigned to someone with higher capacity, and what projects can be handed off to team members with less time available. #3 - Top 3 Method: The Top 3 method serves as a quick, gut-check, big picture view of the most important projects. If our team is managing multiple different projects at once (and as a work management consulting firm, we’re always managing multiple projects at once) it’s helpful to zoom out and get a big picture view of what’s most essential. We recommend use the Top 3 method alongside other prioritization systems, like the Eisenhower matrix or the effort/impact scale, to quickly determine what really matters, and then prioritize those most important projects first. Try It: Zoom out and consider all of the projects that you and your team are managing. What are the three most important projects in your portfolio? What projects have the closest deadlines, or the biggest impacts? Limit yourself to only three. Pro tip: Even if you’ve identified your Top 3, you might still spend time on other tasks throughout the day or week. Sometimes the highest priority is a high effort, long term project – but you still need to tackle some of your shorter term, low effort tasks while you work towards that bigger project goal. Keeping your highest priorities in mind can help you and your team stay aligned and on track to make progress on your objectives. Prioritizing projects and tasks is an essential practice for reducing burnout and making expectations clear. With clear visibility on priorities, the entire team can spend less time trying to figure out what to work on, and more time moving the needle on their most important projects. One last recommendation: celebrate the wins! If you and your team are managing multiple projects, those quick wins really help to boost morale and demonstrate that progress is being made, even in the busiest of seasons. Ready to get clear visibility on your most important projects? Let us help! We can tailor your work management system to organize, prioritize, and streamline your project portfolio. So you can ditch the sticky notes and get back to work. Learn more about our work here.

Meet one of our newest team members, Peter Canino, as he shares about his first 60 days at Echo Consulting! The Backstory: How I Found Echo The PMO at my last job was interested in improving the utilization of Smartsheet within their PMO. I was looking for vendors who provided services related to Smartsheet to support this goal and I found Echo. Lucky for me! As a long-term consultant, I was interested in the Echo origin story and more importantly the plan for their future. As one of the newest members of the Echo startup, I am excited to try new things (with a plan). The Work Much of the approach promoted by Echo is documented on the web site and social media so it’s no secret what the goals are. I’ve been described in the past as genuine and transparent and I’m excited to be on a team that shares those qualities. I’m in the 4th quarter of the “game of career” and I expect to learn some things and hopefully share experiences with the Echo team and clients. When I tell people who are not familiar with IT consulting what I do, the short story is often “I’ve been in customer service for many years”. Whether the task at hand is technical or people based, I take a process-based view of the next steps and embrace the fact that communication is at the center of every positive result. The Key Takeaways Bad news does not age well, so put it out there, ask for help when needed, and deal with it. When I first heard the Project Management Institute (PMI) promote their belief that 90% of the time spent by the project manager is on communication I was not convinced. Over time, if you really break it down, it becomes more of an expectation. Echo promotes processes to automate communication with tool agnostic automations to delight their customers. I look forward to learning the Echo way of doing business and supporting a group of entrepreneurs stiving to grow a business (with a plan). Want to work with Peter? Say hello on his LinkedIn page!

Here at Echo, we're firm believers that technology is a tool – and that the most important part of your solution is getting a tool to work for you. With so many different software options available, it can be a challenge to find the right tool for you, even before you begin to build out your solution. So we're putting our tech expertise to work by breaking down the major differences, similarities, and advantages of some of our favorite project management tools. We're kicking off with two of the world's most popular choices for project management: Smartsheet and Asana. Both tools boast a large and diverse client base, and each software has the capacity to help teams and organizations streamline workflows and get visibility across projects. But which one is right for your work? Read on to see how these two tech giants stack up. Meet the Tools What is Smartsheet? Founded in 2005, Smartsheet is a cloud-based work collaboration software powered by data. With a mission to create innovative work solutions, this company believes that great work experiences have the power to inspire, transform, and move the world forward. What is Asana? A cloud-based task and project management tool for teams, Asana prides itself on its simple, clean design and diverse features. The company was founded in 2008 by two former Facebook engineering leads. Since its conception, Asana has had a mission to power businesses by organizing work in one connected space. User Interface Smartsheet The basic workspace is a spreadsheet like Excel or Google sheet, but there are alternative views to allow visibility across projects and teams. When working in a sheet, you can view the data as a Grid, Cards, Gantt Chart, and a calendar. In addition to these views, Smartsheet has a lot of options for customizing columns. Creating columns with dropdown lists, check boxes, and other symbols are helpful for getting quick visibility within a basic sheet. Asana One of the main advantages of Asana is its clean, organized, and easy-to-navigate user experience. Each project has four view options: List, Board, Timeline, and Calendar Asana also has capacity for customized columns, and utilizes color coordination and tags to get visibility on tasks and projects. Key takeaway: Smartsheet and Asana have similar viewing options, but Asana's interface tends to be more intuitive to users. That being said, teams and organizations with a lot of experience using spreadsheets might prefer Smartsheet. Features Smartsheet Smartsheet is a powerful tool for team collaboration and project management, primarily because of its extensive feature list. Smartsheet is highly customizable, so the options for creating a solution that works for your team is effectively infinite; you can organize and process project data in a sheet, create a workspace for stakeholder visibility, design custom workflows for automating approvals and ownership, and generate detailed reports on project health. And those are just a few of the features available within Smartsheet! Asana Asana has many of the same features as Smartsheet available, but the functionality of these features differs slightly. For example, Asana has dashboards and reporting options, but we have found those options to be less customizable than Smartsheet. Asana also has options for building workflows, automations, and approvals, though workflows tend to be more linear than Smartsheet. This being said, Asana's feature of co-listing tasks to multiple projects is a game changer for team collaboration and portfolio management. Plus, Asana has an innate mechanism for creating repeatable tasks – one of the few features that's lacking in Smartsheet. Key takeaway: Smartsheet and Asana have very similar features, albeit through their different and distinct interfaces. We've found Smartsheet's reporting and dashboard capabilities to be more robust than Asana's, so Smartsheet wins this category for us. However, if your team needs to track repeating tasks, Asana might be a better fit for you. Integrations Both Smartsheet and Asana offer a wide variety of integrations with other software, so we're calling this category a tie. If you use additional tools to manage projects for data visibility, time tracking, team collaboration, or other essential functions, chances are both Asana and Smartsheet offer an integration for it. A few of the integrations we find most popular in Smartsheet and Asana are: Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Power BI, Outlook, Salesforce, and Dropbox. Key takeaway: Smartsheet and Asana have tons of integrations available. Just head over to the Smartsheet or Asana integrations page to search for your favorite tool! Pricing Smartsheet Smartsheet does not have a free option, but interested users can give this tool a try during a free trial period. Once your trial is up, you can choose between the Pro ($7 per user per month), Business ($25 per user per month), or Enterprise (priced with consultation) subscription options. Asana Asana has a free option with limited features, which can be a great way to get a feel for the software. To really make the most of the tool, consider a Premium ($10.99 per user per month), Business ($24.99 per user per month) or Enterprise (priced with consultation) subscription. Key takeaway: At the time of writing, Smartsheet and Asana pricing are almost identical with one key difference; Asana has a free option, while Smartsheet does not. For most organizations, we recommend purchasing a subscription of at least premium, but for some smaller teams looking to get started with project management, a free Asana account is a nice option. When to Use Smartsheet and Asana are both extremely powerful project management tools that could be used to fit almost any solution. Determining the best fit for your team or organization largely depends on the experience of your users, and what you need the tool to do. For large teams looking to manage complex projects and portfolios, we can't recommend Smartsheet enough. We've been using it for our clients for years, and are continually inspired by its variety of features. We tailor solutions of all shapes and sizes with Smartsheet, and even use it within our own team! For smaller teams looking to manage tasks and collaborative projects – particularly those that involve repeated tasks – Asana is a fantastic option. It's clean user interface is intuitive to use, and it requires less experience with spreadsheets, formulas, and data management. What tools would you like to see us compare? Send us a note on our Contact Page!

We’ve reached one of the most critical parts of our PMO Best Practices series: Addressing Challenges! In our experience, PMO obstacles tend to fall into the same six categories: Resource & capacity planning Visibility across projects Scope management Accountability & ownership Communication across projects Governance & poor product launches We see these challenges appear again and again for our clients, so we’ve got some insights on the best way to navigate them. Read on to learn our strategies for addressing the most common challenges when implementing a PMO. Resource & Capacity Planning If you’re having trouble with resource and capacity planning, a good place to begin is by looking at your intake pipeline. It’s essential to have visibility of all the different pieces of requested work and current projects. Once you understand your intake pipeline, you’ll need to know what resources you have available to contribute to the projects. In a lot of organizations, there are business resources that aren’t fully dedicated to projects. Instead, they might be utilized across multiple projects, or might dedicate some resources to the projects but might have a full time job outside of project work. For this reason, it’s essential to understand who is available, and to what degree they can take on new project work. Determining your resource pool can be a high level, big picture understanding – we like to use percentages with clients so that it’s easy to get a quick overview of who is available. So for example, rather than defining resources by the exact number of months, days, or even by hours per week, you might consider a resource on your team with a 20% capacity to take on more project work. If you don’t have an index pipeline in place, an intake sheet is a great place to start. We also find a RASCI matrix to work well for understanding roles and responsibilities, which is essential when determining your resource allocation. Visibility across projects Building visibility is all about getting organized and making information accessible. Think about your stakeholders and the key milestones that you need to roll up for an executive view. Having a clear understanding of project status, scope, and milestones will improve stakeholder buy in. Some of our favorite tools for visibility are a RAID log, a project status dashboard, and a planned vs actuals portfolio. A RAID log incorporates not just tasks to be done, but it focuses on Risks, Actions, Issues, and Decisions. Our favorite version of RAID also includes a C for Change Requests, and we find a CRAID log to be an essential tool for our team. We use a CRAID to replace meeting notes! There are tons of tools for data visualization, and dashboards with health indicators are a great way for key stakeholders to get the information they need in a consolidated, organized, and accessible place. In a planned vs actuals portfolio, you get a sense of what was planned, what actually happened, and can begin to understand the difference between those. Some essential information for visibility are: Project phase & status Key dates (start, go live, finish) Budget (Approved, Spent to Date, Forecasted) Project Roles (PM, SME Leads, Sponsor) Project Health - RYG (and define them!) RAID (Risks, Action Items, Issues, and Decisions) Scope management To address issues with scope management, you want to bridge the gap between stakeholder & project team communications. Building an approval process for scope change requests is essential here. This is a great place to revisit your project intake pipeline that we discussed earlier. In the example above, we consider three different roles that are involved in the intake process. First, the requestor is the one who initiates the project and is invested in its completion. The project sponsor will likely review the request and build a business case for it, and the steering committee handles approval and project prioritization. With approvals incorporated into the intake process, you can ensure that a project sponsor or other stakeholder doesn’t spend significant time fleshing out the project idea before it's been approved and prioritized to move forward. Accountability & Ownership An important note here: a stakeholder’s title is not the same as their role in the project. Even a team member with the title “Project Manager” will likely have different roles for different projects. So one of the best ways to determine accountability and ownership is to get clear on the roles involved in the project, and who sits in each role. Once you have the roles (we like to call them “hats”) defined, you can start to understand the responsibilities of that role in that project – and who needs to be involved in the project as opposed to who needs to be informed about project health. To determine roles we return to the RASCI matrix. Here’s how it might look in determining accountability and ownership within a project: Communication across projects One of the key definers of something being a project is that it has cross functional resources – meaning that all the resources working on the project are not within the same department. When that’s the case, you need to know what the shared resources are, and then you can begin to focus on visibility across departments or teams, as well as the timelines and dependencies between those resources. Lack of Governance & Poor Product Launches Bad product launches are a direct result of not having project governance. Our best practice tip for better product launches is to standardize the process for defining scope, budget, milestones, timeline, and ownership BEFORE project launch. With these standardizations in place, you can create a governance plan so that all launches follow the same process for approvals. These are the most common challenges that we see clients face with their PMOs, and we're passionate about guiding organizations and teams through these challenges. If these obstacles sound familiar to you, head over to our Contact Page to connect on how we can help.

Quick Reference: Start with what you have. Determine how projects are managed right now, and then start to consider what you'd like the process to look like in the future. Choose your PMO structure. What is the scale of your dream PMO? Is it for a singular project, for the organization overall, or somewhere in between? Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate. You won't know if your PMO is working unless you stay connected with it. Conduct a maturity assessment at the start of implementation, and then re-evaluate at the six month, nine month, and 12 month milestones. Ask for help. Overwhelmed by the process of building or implementing a PMO? Book a meeting with us to get the ball rolling. So you’ve decided to implement a PMO on your team, or are updating an existing PMO. Where should you start? Get comfortable with this phrase: PMO as an integration of people, process, and technology. Yes, tools are important and we are experts in recommending and implementing the right tool for your solution. But your PMO is bigger than the tool you’re using; it's about leveraging technology to build a process that gets the right information to the people who need it. That means that in order to implement, stand up, or update a PMO, you need to do more than evaluate the technology available. You need to understand your process needs, consider PMO frameworks, and then evaluate how your PMO works in the long term. If this sounds like a lot of work, it is – and we can help! Read on to learn our tips for overhauling your PMO, and head over to our contact page to connect with us on building or leveling up your PMO. Start Where You Are We know it sounds cliché, but our biggest tip for implementing or revamping a PMO is to start with what you have. There are some key questions you can ask yourself to get started on your PMO overhaul: 1 - What is your current project process? Even if you don’t have an existing PMO in place, we’re willing to bet there is some process around how projects are managed. Maybe it’s as simple as your executive or manager sending you an email info about a new project, or maybe your team collects all projects in a group meeting and divides them up together. Really dig in and consider how projects come in, and include that in your initial analysis for your PMO. 2 - What do you want your project process to be? Dream big here! Do you want automated update requests and approvals? Would your dream PMO include visibility for stakeholders at every level? Would you keep your PMO specific to your team or department, or do you want something that works for the whole organization? Understanding the scale of your PMO is an essential part of building a system that works. 3 - What problems do you need to solve? This one is usually the easiest to work through, because most teams know what’s getting in the way of their work. An example here might be that there’s no way to track and analyze the success of projects, so you don’t know if your process really works. Or maybe your team or organization has struggled keeping projects on time and within budget. Get clear on what exactly needs to be addressed in your PMO so that you have direction when its time to build. 4 - How do you get there? Now that you have a vision, consider the road ahead to turn your PMO dreams into reality. In our experience, implementing a PMO can be a transition that takes weeks, months, or even years to complete, so it's important to understand what is needed to implement your specific PMO needs. This is a great time to ask for help, so that your team or organization can focus less on building and implementing the PMO, and more on utilizing it for more successful and streamlined projects. Know What You Need We are firm believers that PMOs are not one-size-fits-all. When setting out to build or update your PMO, there are a few different structures that you can choose from. And once you know what structure you need, you can begin to discern the functionality or "persona" of your PMO. We've worked with companies of all sizes to build, implement, and upgrade PMOs, so we know there are as many structures as there are companies. That being said, here are a few options we see come up again and again: Department PMO: This PMO structure will dictate how projects are managed for an entire department of a company. Project PMO: A small, but mighty PMO option! Sometimes creating a PMO for just one project can make a world of difference in project success. Organization-wide portfolio: Does your entire organization need an overhaul in how it manages projects? This is the option for you. Center of excellence: Another way to look at this PMO structure is in terms of "knowledge management." This PMO serves as a hub for information on best practices. Project support: This PMO takes more of a consultative office approach, and serves as a resource for people or departments who need project managers. After you understand what structure your PMO will follow, we find it helpful to consider PMO functionality by “persona”. For example, your PMO could be... Supportive: Supportive PMOS collect and provide procedures and templates. They allow best practices to be followed with minimal control. Controlling: Control-oriented PMOs assure that processes and standards are being followed through, and often include performance reporting and metrics for monitoring project workflows. Directive: directive PMOs provide all aspects of governing projects, and often include project prioritization and resource management Every organization will have different needs and requirements for their PMO. To determine the structure or function of your PMO, consider your company size, the complexity of projects, the structure and culture of your organization, and the maturity of your project process. Evaluate Your PMO Maturity As you work through the process of implementing your PMO, we recommend evaluating its functionality and maturity as it evolves. We conduct a maturity assessment with our clients at the start of a PMO implementation process and revisit the evaluation at the six month, nine month, and twelve month milestones after implementation begins. We break maturity levels down into a framework of “Crawl, Walk, Run.” Here’s how they differ: Crawl – in this stage, the name of the game is standardization. Start with your project intake and data processes; do you have a single place where projects and ideas are located, or are they listed in different tools or workspaces? Is data consistent across projects and departments (e.g. what is required for a project to go live)? Start to draw out a map of your project process right now so you have the big picture of everything, and identify areas that can be consolidated or streamlined. Walk - If your PMO is at this stage, you’re likely evaluating project methodology. Notice here if you have a streamlined methodology that applies to all projects, or different methodologies for different types of projects. Also, what are the processes for approval workflows and adoption? Having these details ironed out is a sign of a mid-level PMO maturity. Run - In the run stage, your PMO is being utilized for all projects and your focus should be on prioritization and optimization. Think of this as streamlining and consolidating; does your PMO incorporate automation for time-draining tasks? What measures are in place to From a high level point of view, implementing a PMO begins by getting clear on what processes are already in place and establishing your needs. From there, you can work within a PMO framework to tailor your solution to support your project, team, or organization as a whole. Think you'd like some guidance on implementing a PMO? That's what we do best – give us a shout to learn how we can help. Stay tuned for the next blog in our series, PMO Best Practices, Part 3: Addressing Challenges to dive into the next stage of putting your PMO into action! Quick Reference: Start with what you have. Determine how projects are managed right now, and then start to consider what you'd like the process to look like in the future. Choose your PMO structure. What is the scale of your dream PMO? Is it for a singular project, for the organization overall, or somewhere in between? Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate. You won't know if your PMO is working unless you stay connected with it. Conduct a maturity assessment at the start of implementation, and then re-evaluate at the six month, nine month, and 12 month milestones. Ask for help. Overwhelmed by the process of building or implementing a PMO? Book a meeting with us to get the ball rolling.

“The game has changed as a result of the CRAID log. Having a central location where I could put all of my sticky notes detailing issues or tasks. It was an enormous help in keeping track of all the different things that came up when it was first given to us during our time with ECHO. Instead of sending emails or using team chat, I can use Smartsheet collaboration functions to keep all comments and/or updates in one place” - Elizabeth Vest, Associate Project Manager at Tremco The Problem: Lack of standardization for capturing action items, risks, issues, decisions, and change requests leading to miscommunications, items getting lost in the shuffle, and other various issues arising. Background: Tremco reached out to Echo Consulting as they were already using Smartsheet as a solution for a Project Management Office (PMO) but were looking to scale and optimize the solution to provide improved visibility across the organization and standardize the intake, execution, and prioritization of project work. They wanted help designing the data architecture, configuration, and implementation of their Smartsheet solution, as well as guidance in deploying PMO best practices. Tremco also sought Echo’s expertise to establish multiple Control Center Blueprints for faster project stand-up and the ability to make global updates across their project portfolio. Approach: The Echo Consulting Team recommended our standard Smartsheet Boost Implementation Package for this engagement. Echo worked closely with the Tremco team to review existing documentation and process workflows for a gap analysis, identifying requirements and opportunities for process improvement. We then took our proven iterative approach to design, build, pilot, get feedback, and train the Tremco team on their updated solution. Echo’s signature standard project methodology incorporates a CRAID Log to track and manage all change requests, risks, actions, issues, and decisions throughout the engagement. A key communication tool, this shared CRAID / RAID log increases transparency and accountability by providing a single executable, trackable sheet instead of multiple sheets and notes that may get lost in the shuffle. A CRAID log is also a helpful tool for teams to be more proactive and get out of the constant "fire-fighting" mode of only reacting to immediate issues. After utilizing the CRAID Log for the Echo Boost Engagement, Tremco Project Sponsors decided that they found the tool so useful they wanted to include it in the template for all projects moving forward in Smartsheet. Echo team members included the CRAID log for data capture within Control Center Blueprint to provide a standardized process for data capture and communication. Current State The CRAID Log is currently being data tested by the Tremco Team to prove effectiveness and build buy-in prior to making it a mandatory element of all future projects. “Implementing the CRAID log into our business is a new path and one that I’m glad we’ve taken! It is a great tool to capture the random or miscellaneous tasks that need to get done but tend to get lost in the shuffle of the everyday chats, emails, and calls. It’s the perfect alternative to logging the tasks within a large project plan, which risks breaking predecessors or getting lost in all the rows. We have started to implement it in various ways with various groups that we work with regularly. The way we used it with Echo to launch our Smartsheet solution really gave us the experience we needed to adapt it into our group.” - Rachel Wrobel, Director of Data and Project Management at Tremco Tremco Construction Products Group is a manufacturer of roofing materials and services, construction sealants, and a host of custom-designed products, programs, and services dedicated to worldwide construction and maintenance. Tremco’s six-sided solutions deliver demonstrable performance at the lowest possible lifecycle costs and ensure peace of mind through long-term warranties and maintenance programs. Industry: Construction Product Manufacturing Location: Beachwood, OH Size: 3,000 Want to learn how to implement a powerful CRAID Log for your team? Register for our value-packed webinar reviewing the foundations and best practices to utilize Smartsheet to manage and track risks, actions, and decisions for your team.

Quick Reference: PMO stands for Project Management Office. Consider it your key to more streamlined workflows, better visibility and communication across projects, and higher quality deliverables. PMOs have three stages: Project Intake, Project Execution, and Project Close. Your team or org might want a PMO if you're looking to improve forecasting and capacity planning, increase accountability and ownership of projects, execute better project or product launches, and add replicable efficiency to your project pipeline. ROI is essential to adoption. If you're looking to implement a PMO in your org or team, take the time to run a cost benefit analysis and set up a business case for your PMO. We've got more PMO content coming. Keep an eye out for the next installment of our PMO Best Practices series focusing on PMO Implementation. In case you haven't heard, we work with PMOs...a lot. We've guided clients through both the process of building a PMO from the ground up and updating their existing PMO to match their current needs. So we know a thing or two about PMOs. But we're wondering...do you? We're willing to bet that you have a process for managing your workflow or projects, but you might not consider it a full-fledged PMO. If you're interested in setting up a PMO for your team, or want to revamp an outdated PMO, you're in the right place! We're kicking off 2023 with a blog series dedicated to all things PMO. Starting at the beginning, this article will highlight what a PMO is, why it pays to set one up, and how it can address common challenges related to workflow inefficiencies, communication breakdowns, and ineffective product launches. Read on to learn more about PMOs, and head to our contact page to get in touch about dusting off your PMO for more streamlined and successful projects. PMO 101 PMO stands for Project Management Office, and it’s sometimes also referred to as PPM or Project Portfolio Management. PMOs are used to standardize the intake, execution, and prioritization of projects. Standardizing the project process allows organizations to focus on their highest impact projects, and lay the groundwork for successful project execution. We work with clients to set up new PMOs and update existing PMOs to match current needs. In our experience, having a PMO that's up to date and effective can help your team or organization get clear on roles and responsibilities, manage interdependencies proactively, and work smarter – not harder. Structure & Stages of PMO There are a lot of ways to view or approach a PMO structure, but for a very high level understanding of a PMO workflow, we like to break the process down into three stages: Project Intake Project Execution Project Close Project Intake This stage describes the process of a project coming into an organization or team. When building or adapting a PMO, it’s important to understand the project intake process. How exactly do project ideas or leads come into your team? How do they get approved to move into the execution stage? Who determines the project priority, and assigns the project to a team? These are helpful questions to build out a clear picture of the intake process. Notice here that the intake process also includes an estimation of project ROI. We're big advocates for staying connected to ROI throughout the project journey; at the beginning, we recommend estimating a target ROI which can be revisited when the project ends. Understanding the accuracy of your ROI projections can also help your organization become more effective in capacity planning and scope management, so projects consistently deliver on quality while staying within your ideal time frame and budget. Tracking Project Execution This is the stage of a project journey where the actual project work takes place. While a team executes on the project, a PMO can help stakeholders get visibility and track the status of the project. This keeps stakeholders informed, and is essential for project managers to stay connected and determine when the project is ready to go live. Project Close At this stage, the hard work of executing on the project is over – now what comes next? Wrapping up or closing a project often involves a review process and a handoff of deliverables. Again, this is a place to assess ROI. What is the actual ROI from the project, and how close is it to your initial estimate? As you accumulate data on your ROI estimate and ROI actuals over time, you'll have a better sense of the cost and value of your project workflows. That means more accurate forecasting and capacity planning for your team and organization. PMO Roles & Responsibilities In setting up a structured PMO for your organization or team, there tend to be three basic roles or levels that address the above stages: The Requestor The Reviewer The Doer Requestor This team or individual initiates the project request or intake process. If there is a project intake form, this is likely the individual who fills out the form, and is a key stakeholder as they are invested in the project coming to fruition. In terms of visibility, it is essential that the requestor can view the status of the project during its execution phase, and is brought into an approval process as the project comes to a close. This ensures that the project is completed fully and addresses the requested deliverables. Reviewer The reviewer is often a resource manager, and ferries the project request through both the execution and closing stages. Once the project is requested via the intake process, the reviewer assesses the request, assigns resources to it, and manages the prioritization of that project. Throughout the project, the reviewer will likely have access to the status updates of the project. Doer The "doer" comes into the project in the execution stage. They're essential to diving in and completing the project to match the requested deliverables, and will continue to have visibility of the project as it moves through the completion stage. How PMOs Help Now that we have a sense of the high level workflow and stakeholders of a PMO, we can address exactly why PMOs are useful. There are a host of benefits to having a PMO for your organization, department, or team, but the easiest way we can summarize it is that PMOs help streamline projects and produce better results. Adding a PMO to your workflow can help to: Increase project transparency Better prioritize projects based on impact and resources Improve consistency and quality of project execution Build accountability for teams and individuals Provide visibility and roll up views for individual projects and across projects Introduce governance for projects and teams Track and analyze execution for future process improvements Is a PMO the Right Fit for Your Team? While there are many benefits to setting up or updating a PMO, we're willing to bet that you're reading this because you're looking to address a problem. In fact, the main driver for many of our clients to adopt a PMO is that they're encountering a specific challenge with their current project management process. Take a look at the list below and consider: is your team or organization struggling with any of these issues? Inaccurate resource forecasting & capacity planning Maybe your team or organization has a process for forecasting and capacity planning, but the forecasting isn't accurate. Or maybe there is no process for estimating resources needed and allocating them as appropriate. A PMO can help your team or organization get a better understanding of capacity, where resources are, what resources are needed, how to allocate those resources. Low visibility on project status We often see this challenge in organizations that are scaling rapidly, or in teams that have grown quickly. Maybe the team or individuals feel clear on their own projects, but there isn't a greater visibility for stakeholders who are outside the execution aspect of a project. When stakeholders aren't informed, they can't accurately assess capacity and resources, and have little ability to manage project scope until risks become issues. Some common symptoms of a visibility problem are when PMs forget which projects are going on at the same time or assign projects to team members that are already at or beyond capacity. We think of visibility as being about more than just status updates; it's about getting the right information to the right people at the right time. Poor scope management When projects come in over budget, lag behind schedule, or are not delivering on quality, you have a scope management problem. But don't worry – a PMO can help! Lack of accountability & ownership This is a common challenge in both new and mature PMOs. Accountability and ownership can fall short when your team or organization looks at project management through the lens of individuals rather than roles. For example, if someone on your product team wants to initiate a marketing request, they might intuitively reach out to someone on the marketing team they know well – let's call that person Jim. Jim might already be working at or beyond capacity, so he might not have the bandwidth to properly address and reassign the project request. The result here is that the request gets lost in the shuffle, and the product team doesn't get what they need from marketing. But instead of focusing on individuals, we recommend using a PMO to build out team roles. With clear and defined PMO roles in place, individuals or teams can move through a project request or inquiry process that sends essential information to a defined reviewer. This way, the project gets assigned to who is the best fit and has the capacity for it - rather than getting lost in Jim's email. Poor Communication Across Projects & Managing Dependencies Poor communication happens when different teams or departments overlap on a project but don't have consistent communication streams, and often don't even use the same terminology to describe projects. It can feel daunting to try and standardize communications, but trust – it's worth it! Building a PMO with standardized terminology, processes, and a clear framework can help bridge the gap between teams and improve communication. Poor Project/Product Launch Ever had a launch that was very expensive, and performed poorly? We've seen it time and again with clients. Prepare for better project launches in the future with a tailored PMO. Articulating the value of a PMO While we find frequent success with building and implementing PMOs for clients, we also understand that a PMO isn't the right fit for everyone. When considering whether or not to invest in a PMO, it's incredibly helpful to determine and articulate the value of that proposed PMO. To do this, start with a CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis). Consider how much the PMO will cost – or if you already have a PMO in place, the cost of updating it – and consider how much value the PMO will bring to the organization or team. What's the ROI on improving your process? Is the cost, effort, and duration something your organization or team can support? You can also create a business case for your PMO, whether you're looking at a singular project or a project portfolio. To create a PMO business case, define on the problems that you're trying to solve. Do those problems align with the challenges we mentioned above? Are there any assumptions you're making about what the PMO will achieve? What risks are involved in updating or building a PMO? Take your time really digging into these questions to determine if a PMO is right for you. Once you know what problems you're trying to address, you might also consider some PMO-related alternatives. For example, sometimes moving an existing PMO to a new tool is enough to improve efficiency and streamline your process – and we can help with that_! If you don't have a PMO, are there ways that your team could start to utilize pieces of a PMO process and collect data on how it improves your workflow? Adding dashboards into your tool is a great example of starting to move towards process efficiency without planning a full PMO build. Start Where You Are Whether you have an existing PMO that needs an update, or are building a PMO from the ground up, we can guarantee that your work involves some kind of process. It might not be as structured as the organization we present here, but we are firm believers that every organization can start where they are to build a tailored PMO that serves their needs. The key is to dig in and get curious about how your team or organization executes on progress. From there, you can begin to discern where there are gaps or needs in your process, and start to implement a PMO that supports your organization. Stay tuned for the next blog in our series, PMO Best Practices, Part 2: Implementing A PMO to dive into the next stage of putting your PMO into action! Quick Reference: PMO stands for Project Management Office. Consider it your key to more streamlined workflows, better visibility and communication across projects, and higher quality deliverables. PMOs have three stages: Project Intake, Project Execution, and Project Close. Your team or org might want a PMO if you're looking to improve forecasting and capacity planning, increase accountability and ownership of projects, execute better project or product launches, and add replicable efficiency to your project pipeline. ROI is essential to adoption. If you're looking to implement a PMO in your org or team, take the time to run a cost benefit analysis and set up a business case for your PMO. We've got more PMO content coming. Keep an eye out for the next installment of our PMO Best Practices series focusing on PMO Implementation.

After nearly 90 days in my new role at Echo Consulting, I can confidently confirm what many of you probably already know: change isn’t easy. My journey starting a new job in a new industry has brought a host of lessons already, many of which were hard learned by wading through uncertainty, confusion, and frustration. But as I reflect on my first three months in my role, I can identify three key takeaways that stand out, and that I believe will shape the way I continue to grow in my role. My guess is that if you're starting a new job, setting up a new system, or trying anything new in life or your career, these lessons will ring true for you, too. 1 - Everything is Hard At First This first lesson might sound intuitive to some, but it’s been helpful for me to call out the obvious: when you start something new, it’s probably not going to be easy. This makes sense, because starting something new inherently means that you’ve never done it before, and you have a lot of learning to do. But addressing this reality is a helpful way to not create an expectation that no matter what you do, you’ll seamlessly slide into expert level execution. In joining the Echo team, I immediately found myself surrounded by new experiences. Like anyone onboarding into a new job, I had to meet my new colleagues and build a familiarity with the company processes and culture. But in addition, I was stepping into a new field. That means that part of my onboarding journey has been focused on understanding what Echo does, what the landscape of the project management industry looks like, and how I can use my skill set to contribute. On the days where I’ve felt like a fish out of water, it’s been incredibly helpful to remember that my steep learning curve in my role doesn’t mean that I’m not a good fit for it; it just means that it’s new, and I should expect it to feel a little daunting. 2 - Work With What You Have Onboarding would have been a lot more challenging if I truly didn’t have any skills or experience to offer the team. But that wasn’t the reality. Even if it feels like you have nothing tangible to offer, most people can contribute something to the team’s goals within their first 90 days. For me, contributing to Echo started with something I know well: communication. I began my new role by engaging in team conversations, asking questions, and volunteering to help with projects in the ways that I felt I could. As my onboarding journey continued, I’ve had lots of opportunities to dive in and contribute while supporting my own learning. In my first week, I explored Miro, a tool that’s quickly becoming a team favorite. A week later, I was able to leverage my graphic design experience to set up our Founder, Molly Yanus, with a fresh, up-to-date slide deck for a speaking event. Since then, I’ve been getting more familiar with Echo’s work, and I’ve begun to see how my background in communication and management can fill a need for the team and the company as a whole. It feels good to know that after 90 days, my ability to help my team thrive will only increase. There’s a lesson here that I hope to carry forward as I take on new responsibilities and projects, but it applies to anyone starting a new job: companies hire employees because of their experience and insights. Yes, it’s great to learn new tools and get familiar with company culture. But those things can be taught. Your unique perspective and approach to your work is what got you hired in the first place, and you can leverage that perspective any time, especially when you feel out of your depth. Chances are, your team is hoping you’ll do exactly that. 3 - Trust the Process Finally, my onboarding journey has been a constant practice in trusting the process. As someone who loves to think critically and find solutions to problems (a trait the entire Echo team shares) it can be challenging for me to lean into trust rather than problem solving. But what I’ve learned in onboarding so far is that trust and problem solving don’t need to be in conflict; with a little change of scale, I’ve learned that these approaches work hand in hand. Each time I’ve run into a challenge at Echo, I’ve done my best to understand the obstacle and think critically about how I can surmount it. In many cases, the process of overcoming roadblocks has involved creative solutions and lots of trial and error. If I were looking only at the short term experience of each challenge, I might be tempted to think that I’ve had a tumultuous run of things so far. Lots of ups and downs, lots of “wasted” effort trying to find the simplest solution. But if I zoom out and look back on my first 90 days, each of those challenges – and cycles of up and down – have been steadily moving me in the direction of growth. Yes, there have been some difficulties, but there has been more positive growth and progress overall. If I were to plot my journey on a graph, everything is trending up. And as I look ahead and wonder what comes next in my role at Echo, I’m reminded that while there will certainly be more learning curves and challenges ahead, in the long run I can trust that I’m learning and evolving every step of the way.

Quick Reference: Strategic planning ≠ Annual planning. Strategic is your big picture company vision; annual planning is the roadmap to get you there. Preparing for your Annual Planning meeting is critical, and it's going to take more time and effort than running the meeting itself. Everyone should be participating in the Annual Planning meeting. Whether its in break out sessions, surveys, or sharing ideas, make sure your whole team feels like they've contributed. Once the meeting is over, follow up with participants immediately. This illustrates that you're moving forward with action items from the meeting, and shows that attendees' time was well utilized. To absolutely no one’s surprise, we love a good plan. Our team knows from experience that it’s not enough to have ideas and half-baked visions for your company; to execute that vision and make it a reality, you need actionable steps and milestones. And we can’t think of a better time to talk about planning than right now, when so many companies are wrapping up projects and setting their sights on the new year. Hosting an Annual Planning session for your team is our number one recommendation for any company looking to grow, streamline, or pivot in the new year. And in case you haven’t noticed, just about every company is looking to do one of those. We are huge advocates for Annual Planning sessions because we’ve tried them ourselves. In fact, our team meets on a quarterly and annual basis to look back on where we’ve been, take stock of our current state, and create a strategy to move forward in alignment with our goals and values. Take our word for it: Annual Planning is the best way to usher your team into the new year with clarity, intention, and energy for the changes ahead. While the new year is almost upon us, there’s still time to focus on annual planning. To help you host an Annual Planning session (or at minimum, block off an afternoon to do some big picture planning with your key team), we’ve outlined our Annual Planning framework, including best practices and our favorite tools, below. If you’d like to see how these pieces work together, check out our Annual Planning Webinar video, hosted by our Founder Molly Yanus, from Q3 of 2022! Strategic Planning vs Annual Planning Before we share our recommendations for annual planning, let’s distinguish it from strategic planning. Both Annual Planning and Strategic Planning are essential processes for clarifying and executing long term direction and success of your business. But they are separate and unique approaches that work together for the betterment of your growth. Strategic Planning Strategic Planning meetings happen every 3-5 years, and dictate the long term trajectory and vision of a business. In a Strategic Planning session, your key stakeholders will discuss the company vision for the future and long term goals. There are a few questions that you can ask yourself to adequately prepare for your meeting: you want to be in the next 3-5 years. In the years between strategic planning sessions, your team should update the strategic plan as needed – adjusting it to changes in your company or industry – but for the most part this is a guiding framework from which all decisions should be made. Think of this as your company’s North Star. It’s always present, it’s pretty consistent, and it helps you orient as you move forward. Annual Planning Annual Planning helps you execute the company vision. In an Annual Planning session your team should check in about the company goals and trajectory, and then create a tactical roadmap to meet your objectives. There’s a key difference here in terms of scope: Annual Planning happens on a budget or fiscal year cycle. With a clear start and end date, companies can use Annual Planning sessions to make sure goals and expectations are realistic, hold themselves accountable for making progress, and then reevaluate on an annual basis. Annual Planning Meeting should dedicate some time to reflecting on the prior year’s objectives and evaluating progress and success related to those goals. Once those parameters are clear, Annual Planning sessions can be used to focus on how to improve in the year to come. If your Strategic Plan is a North Star in your journey, Annual Planning is the map in your hand. You use it to determine how to get to the next milestone, and check in with it regularly. It’s your day-to-day resource for navigation. Planning to Plan: Preparing for Your Annual Planning Meeting It might sound surprising, but we've consistently found that preparing for the Annual Planning Meeting takes significantly more time and energy than holding the meeting itself. Why so much time spent in planning to plan? Being prepared ensures that you'll make the most of the meeting, and that your team feels like their time was well utilized. We can't stress the importance of this enough. Whether you’re hosting your meeting in person or virtually, most teams will need to set aside their regular routines and projects to attend. To make the time count, be prepared and make sure everyone is ready to show up, engage, and dive in to the meeting content. Especially those who are presenting or facilitating. When we prepare for an Annual Planning Meeting, we ask a few simple questions: Why are we doing it? The specific value of an Annual Planning Meeting will be unique to your team and organization. But in general, Annual Planning sessions are crucial opportunities to realign with your strategic goals, pivot when appropriate, and course correct in regard to missed opportunities or big company changes. Annual Planning sessions also allow teams to be proactive about the year ahead. Rather than waiting until they arrive, you can use Annual Planning meetings to address risks, threats, and opportunities before they happen. While the majority of your time in an Annual Planning meeting should be spent looking ahead, don’t miss out on the chance to look back at the previous year. This is a great opportunity for teams to identify lessons learned from the past year, understand how they got to where they are today, and then let those findings inform your strategy moving forward. Ultimately, the why behind Annual Planning is to get clarity and direction. Use it as a time to understand where you came from, where you are now, and where you’re headed. And then, you and your team can make a plan for how to get where you want to go. What do we cover? A common misconception is that Annual Planning is all about budgeting. Budgeting is definitely going to be part of the conversation, but it’s not the whole purpose of the meeting. There’s a tactical component of planning, a strategic component, and of course, there’s logistics to explore. In fact, we think that the Annual Planning Meeting is the perfect time to have different teams and departments come together and collaborate on the next year’s plan. This helps prevent teams from becoming isolated, and brings continuity to work across the company. Who should be included? As much as possible, we believe that everyone should be included in annual planning – but not necessarily in the same way. Every organization or company has different levels of leadership, different roles, and different ways of connecting teams together. We recommend having a team or individual that is responsible for planning and steering the meeting itself, and then having additional groups who contribute information and ideas to the meeting. For example, have an Annual Planning committee that handles the logistics, agenda, and follow-up from the meeting. But for the content of the meeting and sharing of ideas, pull in as many different team members and managers as possible. The goal in your annual planning should be to get teams and departments collaborating on a common direction in the new year, rather than simply sharing their information from the past year. The bottom line is that for the annual plan to be put into practice, everyone should feel like they have contributed and are clear about conclusions and action steps from the Annual Planning meeting. Where should we host it? We advocate for in person meetings whenever possible, especially if your team is remote. Try meeting in a space outside the regular office, and dedicate some of your annual meeting time to being screen-free so that your team can connect, consider, and think big for the year ahead. With so many teams (ours included) being remote these days, a virtual Annual Planning meeting can be a great option. There are loads of virtual collaboration tools (our current favorite is Miro) that help make remote meetings feel integrated and productive. No matter where you’re hosting your meeting, take the time to consider the logistics of the meeting and your team’s experience. If the meeting is in person, consider the room setup, plans for travel and breaks, budgeting for lunch, etc. It’s especially important to have all the logistics of the meeting ironed out ahead of time if you’re asking folks to travel; you want to make the most of your time and theirs. There are similar considerations for a virtual meeting, with an emphasis on tech. Will you need breakout rooms? Is the whole team familiar with the tools that you’ll be using? Is there a dedicated representative to help support with any technical issues? Answering these questions ahead of time can avoid time and energy wasted in navigating technical issues, and help keep the team engaged throughout the meeting. When should it happen? We usually recommend that Annual Planning Meetings happen at the start of the quarter before the new fiscal year. So for companies whose fiscal year begins on January 1st, an ideal time for an Annual Planning meeting would be in October. That being said, we are firm believers that it’s never too late to have your Annual Planning Meeting. If you’re approaching the start of the new fiscal year, try carving out an afternoon or a day on your calendar to connect with your team about what lies ahead. Even a little bit of forethought and stepping out of daily operations can do wonders to usher your company into the new year with clarity and energy. Diving In: Our Approach to Effective Annual Meetings Once you've gotten all of the planning out of the way, the meeting becomes the fun part. This is where you get to connect with your team, rehash the biggest lessons from the previous year, dream a little about where you want to go, and start making a plan of action. As they say, this is where the magic happens. When we facilitate an Annual Planning Meeting, we like to take a chronological approach. We start with where we’re coming from, taking time to conduct a retrospective with participants and discuss lessons learned. Then we check in with the present moment. Current trends, outstanding projects, statistics and surveys – these are all great data points to collect. But there’s also the less measurable information that’s just as important, such as things that are bringing the team joy, or draining the team’s energy. We also explore what feels like it's blocking us and getting in the way of meeting our objectives. Finally, we reaffirm our mission, values, and vision for the future. Once we know where we are, we can start to look ahead. We discuss team aspirations, company vision, growth trajectory of the business, and what it would mean to the team to be successful by the end of the next year. It’s important to note that Annual Planning Meetings are designed to be idea generators, and many of those ideas won't go into effect on January 1st. So in addition to thinking big, we encourage any team in an Annual Planning Meeting to consider the scope of their goals. Is your goal going to come to fruition in a month? Six months? Will it take the whole year? Setting expectations on goals helps to turn them into reality. After the Meeting Once the meeting is over, we highly recommend immediate follow up with all who participated. It’s likely that your meeting generated some ideas, some action items, and brought about concerns or changes that need to be addressed. While it might be tempting to wait until some of those changes happen before you circle back with attendees, we’ve found that immediate follow up produces better lasting results. In your follow-up communications, you don’t have to have all the answers or have solved all the obstacles that were brought to light. But you can begin to set expectations for when people will hear from you about changes to be made, and when you might need to hear from them. This is also a great time to send out a post-meeting survey to collect feedback and insights, since the meeting will still be fresh in everyone’s mind. One of the greatest benefits of immediate follow up is that it illustrates to your team that their time and energy wasn’t wasted. So many big picture planning meetings end up becoming a place to share ideas, and then those ideas sit on the shelf for the rest of the year. Connecting with attendees right away with clear communication and a plan for moving forward shows that ideas were taken seriously, real change is coming, and gives everyone who attended a sense that their contributions are being utilized. When it comes to setting your business or organization for success in the new year, an Annual Planning session is the best place to start. If you're looking to host an Annual Planning session and want some facilitation, reach out to our team! For a full breakdown on the benefits of Annual Planning, check out our Annual Planning Webinar recording with Founder Molly Yanus. Quick Reference: Strategic planning ≠ Annual planning. Strategic is your big picture company vision; annual planning is the roadmap to get you there. Preparing for your Annual Planning meeting is critical, and it's going to take more time and effort than running the meeting itself. Everyone should be participating in the Annual Planning meeting. Whether its in break out sessions, surveys, or sharing ideas, make sure your whole team feels like they've contributed. Once the meeting is over, follow up with participants immediately. This illustrates that you're moving forward with action items from the meeting, and shows that attendees' time was well utilized.

If you’re reading this, you’re seeing the newest change at Echo firsthand. Just before the rush of the holiday season, we launched a brand new website! Our updated site, with its branded design and practical functionality, feels like a new toy – but its launch brings much more meaning to our team. We’re a different company today than when our old site was launched. Echo has grown, evolved, and changed dramatically since its inception, and much of that change has happened in the past year. We’re firm believers in intentional change, and as we looked in the mirror we felt it was time to showcase who we are now. And let us tell you, we like what we see. Growth in All Directions When we say Echo has grown, we’re not waxing poetic; in the past year alone, our team has tripled in size. What an adventure the last year has been! As of this moment, we are a team of 11 full time employees, spread across five states. To accommodate the growth of our team, we’ve experimented with new tools and innovated tailored solutions to fit our own needs. For example, as our team grew we quickly realized that we had more meetings than ever, and that the extra meetings were interrupting our team’s workflow. We needed a solution that reduced our meetings, but still allowed us to communicate. The result? The CRAID log! Our CRAID log system builds off of the popular RAID project management framework allowing the whole team to have transparency and accountability for projects. With our CRAID log in place, our team is more connected to day to day operations and the big picture of our work. As if using CRAID for our team wasn’t enough, we’ve found so much success with this system that we’re recommending it to clients. Our CRAID log solution is now one of the top strategies we guide clients to adopt, and it was born out of solving for our internal needs. Adding new team members also means that our company-wide skill set has expanded dramatically. When you visit our team page, you’ll see that each member of our staff has a “persona”; a self-appointed title that captures not their role, but the way they view and embody their work. We haven’t just hired consultants and specialists; we’ve welcomed passionate problem solvers, trusted guides, formula maestros, and solutioneers to our ranks. As our company evolves, we’re working every day to embrace our team’s individual passions and aptitudes. We’ve already seen how this strength-based leadership approach allows us to think outside the box and better serve our clients. And we’re excited to see how our collective skills lead to innovation in the years to come. Why It Matters On their own, each of the highlights above is something to celebrate. Tripling the team in one year? Amazing! Innovating new solutions? Score! Leading with authenticity and playing to our strengths? Yes, please! But all of these accomplishments – with the capstone being our new website launch – are indications of a much bigger and more profound truth. Over the past three years, we’ve done more than grow; we’ve evolved. And we needed to adapt. Many of our clients can relate to this feeling. Every time we begin working with one of our fantastic clients, we hear familiar pain points. Things like… Our company has grown and we need a better way to manage our work We have tried and true processes, but our current systems aren’t cutting it anymore. We need bigger, better tools to support our team. We know exactly how to do what we do – but wow, our system is complex! We’re using too much energy using our systems. We need to streamline. We know what it’s like to run into these challenges, because we’ve been there. We’re tinkering with our own changing business every day. And if there’s one thing we believe in business, it’s that the best way to be successful is to address change with honesty and an open mind to new solutions. We didn’t start this process with a website. We’ve been working behind the scenes on our own processes to support our growing team. So in some ways, our website launch felt like a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Welcome to Echo, 2.0! We’re excited to use all that we’ve learned to build high performing solutions for years to come. The Road Ahead While a lot has changed for us in the past few years, there are a few key elements of our business that remain consistent. We’re woman-owned: Molly Yanus, our founder and CEO, embodies the “lead by example” approach. We prioritize women’s professional development and put equity into practice on a daily basis. We’re tech agnostic: Technology is a tool, and we know how to use the best software available to help our clients. Interested in Smartsheet, Power BI, and Clickup? We’ll teach you to put these tools to work. We foster self-sufficiency: We’ll work with you to build a tailor-made solution for your team, teach you how to use it, and then support you as you learn to manage the solution on your own. As for what’s next, we’re excited to continue sharing how we’re leading with authenticity and shaking up the project management world. Keep an eye on our blog and YouTube page in the new year for some fresh content on our favorite tools, tips, and lessons learned. And as we continue to evolve, we’ll be showing up on a few platforms that we’ve never had before (hello, TikTok)! We’re feeling invigorated by our new website, and how it showcases who we are as a company today. If you’re interested in learning more about our work, head over to our approach page to see what we do. And if you're looking to grow more and struggle less in 2023, give us a shout.

As a new member of the Echo Team I am required to obtain the Smartsheet Foundation Project Training Badge, and the Core Product Certification. It was such a relief when I received my Smartsheet Foundation Project Training Badge last week. Having years of experience in the working world and software I didn’t think much of the requirement. Besides, I love Excel. How hard could it be? (Have you ever noticed in life when you put out questions to the Universe you will have an experience to answer the questions you ask?) This is what I learned from asking that question while pushing my way through the Smartsheet Foundation Project Training Badge experience: It took longer than I expected. It was no small task for me working on it 5 days a week - 3 or so hours a day. In total it was 15 business days. It was harder than I expected. I worked my way through 8 lessons, 8 Knowledge Checks, 8 Activity Lessons, 3 Tests, and a Capstone eLearning exercise followed by a Capstone final exam based on the sheet I built. Here is a list of hurdles and how I got through them: It’s ok to struggle. The baby chick if not allowed to struggle its way out of its shell will die. It’s in the struggle that we gain strength. I share my struggle with you here so you will know you are not alone in learning Smartsheet, and that the struggle is worth the effort. I remember learning Excel back in 1999 was hard too, but I did it and it has served me well. I believe Smartsheet will do even more for me because it does so much more than Excel ever could when it comes to organizing projects and people. The painful hurdles were temporary, and the gain permanent. My favorite thing to do is create a dashboard. It’s a culmination of entering all the tasks, creating all the different reports and summary sheets, and pulling it all together visually. Isn’t it ironic how a struggle can turn into joy? Echo is a Smartsheet Aligned Partner that has implemented more than 100 Smartsheet Solutions, across dozens of organizations. We partner with growth-oriented teams that are looking for tech-enabled solutions with the right blend of tech, process, and people for the best results. Contact us or set up a meeting to discuss how Echo can help your team meet your goals.

Have you ever hoped you could auto-populate a Smartsheet drop-down list using another Smartsheet source? Do you currently update any drop-down lists manually in Smartsheet to keep the options up to date? With Smartsheet’s Add-On, Data Shuttle, this process can be automated! We’ve provided written instructions with screenshots along the way to help you streamline this process. Instructions In order to auto-populate a drop-down list, you will need two Data Shuttle workflows: (1) Offload Data and (2) Upload Data. The Offload Data workflow will automatically download a csv file from one of your sheets and attach it to any sheet you’d like. The Upload Data workflow allows you to take the information in that excel document to populate any drop-down field of your choosing. Offload Workflow: When you get into Data Shuttle, you click on the plus sign on the left-hand bar, and select Offload Data: Data Shuttle will walk you through the configuration: Source: Select the sheet that has the rows of data you would like to auto-populate your drop-down list from. For Target: Select the target location as a Smartsheet attachment and select the sheet you would like the data to be sent to. You will also select a file name and type at this step Filters: If there are any criteria for you to filter out specific rows, this is your opportunity to do that. For example, if you’re working toward auto-populating a list of Project Names – you may be taking your source data from your Intake Sheet. In this use case, you likely only want to pull over approved projects into the drop-down list. This can be set in filters on your offload workflow. Mapping: For an offload workflow, this simply confirms the headings of the Smartsheet that will fill into excel. They can also be re-ordered here, but for this use case – it is not necessary. Run Options: Manual: You can log in to Data Shuttle and push the button to ‘run’ whenever you’d like. On Schedule: You can select a schedule of when you’d like the workflow to run. (For example: every day, every week, or even several times a day.) Finally, you name your workflow and it will be all set to go! Before moving to the Upload Data workflow, it is best to run the workflow manually once, test that the data made it over and everything looks as you’d expect. You’ll be looking to confirm a CSV excel has been uploaded to the target sheet. Upload Workflow: When you get into Data Shuttle, you click on the plus sign on the left-hand bar and select Upload Data. It will show all the same options as the first workflow. Source: For source, you will select ‘Smartsheet Attachment’ as Source Location and select the same sheet that was chosen for your Target location in the Offload Workflow. The attachment will also have to be selected by Most Recent or Name. I recommend using name as the source sheet could have several attachment types. The name selected in the previous workflow will be noted here. (TIP: Make sure to include ‘.CSV’ or whichever file type you selected. Finally, you will select which row is identified as the header in your file upload. In this use case, it will be 1. Target: Select the same sheet as the Source sheet and the workflow action will be ‘Update dropdown choices for selected columns. Filters: Filters can be selected on this end as well, but as they were set in the Offload Workflow, it won’t be necessary here. Mapping: Search on the right-hand side for the column you would like to populate the drop-down fields for. In the corresponding drop-down to the left, select the column of data to pull from in the excel document. Run Options: Select ‘run on attachment’ – the schedule is set in the Offload Workflow. Expressions: No changes here. Name your workflow and you are ready to run and test! Want to learn more about Smartsheet, Data Shuttle, and Echo's work? Head over to our Smartsheet Page or set up a meeting with one of our experts!