Collaboration software vendor SiteScape on Monday introduced Forum Program Management, an add-on module to its collaboration software designed to track the progress of multiple projects across the enterprise.
Forum Program Management aims to augment project management applications by providing top-down visibility into multiple projects within a program. In addition, the integration with SiteScape’s Enterprise Forum 7.0 collaboration software creates a collaborative framework for program management, offering threaded discussions, document management, calendar sharing, workflow, instant messaging, and real-time conferencing, according to SiteScape officials in Maynard, Mass.
Whereas project tools from vendors such as Microsoft or Primavera satisfy a broad range of project management needs, program management introduces a different set of challenges around tracking changes from numerous projects across multiple vendors, locations, and technology platforms, according to Peter Gaston, director of product management at SiteScape.
“A program is a hierarchy of sub programs and projects. Sometimes when you have a lot of projects together, the old tools no longer work. You can build a project in Microsoft Project and print it out, (but) a week later when it changes it can be hard to integrate those changes,” he said.
To that end, Forum Program Management offers features such as top-down visibility into multiple projects, the ability to drill down into priority action items, a searchable record of program activities and meeting history, and a library for knowledge management.
Furthermore, the add-on software contributes collaboration within the context of a project, Gaston said.
“(Forum Program Management) allows the day-to-day work, (the) collaboration on actual work, and bringing in things like billing information, tracking status, technical performance (management),” he said.