Of course, you can! We even encourage it! A pilot of Hadrone PPM software (PoC) allows you to test the software's capabilities before purchasing it. The way the pilot is prepared and conducted allows you to test Hadrone PPM in a very short time, minimizing the involvement of your team on the client's side. PoC is free of charge and usually lasts between 2 to 4 weeks.
PoC objectives
Before starting the pilot, it is important to set specific goals to plan its scope and ultimately draw valuable conclusions from it.
The goals set by organizations depend, in particular, on the current project maturity within the organization and the tools currently used — office tools (spreadsheets, presentation tools) or other project and portfolio management solutions.
Below, we discuss the three most common goals:
- Testing the capabilities of Hadrone PPM with sample data from your own projects.
- Support with estimating license costs.
- Clarifying the requirements for vendor support during implementation and post-implementation maintenance of the software.
The first goal involves checking the capabilities and limitations of the software in relation to the client's needs and specifications. Simply demonstrating the software's capabilities, even with a sample project portfolio, is often not enough to ensure that the software will be well-suited to the needs of the organization. This is also the case with Hadrone PPM. That’s why we encourage our potential clients to run a pilot — we want the client to be satisfied with the implementation. As a result, we rarely face situations where, after the implementation, the client decides to abandon our solution and look for another one. On the other hand, we sometimes encounter situations where a client has purchased and even implemented another solution, but after actually using it, they found limitations that make it impossible to work effectively within that software. We prefer to avoid an implementation altogether rather than deliver and implement software that the organization later does not want to use. Testing Hadrone PPM "in action" involves populating the system with sample data from the client's real projects and simulating day-to-day work in the software. Only then will users be able to determine whether and to what extent Hadrone PPM can help in their daily tasks.
The second goal set by clients is support with estimating the license scope, i.e., the number of users (both paid and free) who will work with the software, and the required additional modules (e.g., integration with MS Teams, Active Directory, MS Project). Sometimes, it is difficult for a client to imagine how many people should be using the software and which will require paid licenses (so-called specialist user accounts). After simulating the work in the software, it is much easier to determine who will work with the software, in what role, and whether they will need a free (standard) account or a paid (specialist) account.
A description of the Hadrone PPM licensing model, including details about free and paid accounts, can be found in the article „How Hadrone PPM software is licensed."
The pilot also allows the client to assess the level of vendor involvement required for the final software deployment in the organization. From the perspective of labor intensity (and costs), it is particularly important to consider the scope of user training conducted by the vendor (train-the-trainers or training all users), as well as the involvement in project migration, dedicated integrations with other systems, or the creation of data warehouses and custom reports and dashboards.
PoC process
The pilot includes the following steps:
Step 1: Preparation of Hadrone PPM software and the team
Usually, the Hadrone PPM pilot is conducted using the software hosted on our cloud. This way, the client does not have to deal with technical aspects and can focus only on the content. However, if the organization prefers to run the tests on software installed on their own infrastructure, that is also possible — in this case, we provide Hadrone PPM software along with a temporary license key for installation in the client's IT environment.
In this step, the client also selects the people who will be involved in the pilot, both for the configuration of the software and for testing it with selected projects.
Step 2: Gathering data for workshops
During the workshops, we configure the Hadrone PPM software to meet the specific needs of the organization. To do this, we need to gather information about the current way the organization operates in the areas that will be used for the software configuration. Since we have conducted many such pilots, we have developed an efficient way to quickly collect this data. We use a specially prepared file for this purpose. After sending it to the client, we organize brief meetings (up to 30 minutes) to discuss it. Then, the client completes the file and sends it back to us, along with data on 2-3 projects (e.g., goals, scope, schedule, budget, resources, and effects), which will be entered into the software during the workshops.
Step 3: Workshops on configuration and use of Hadrone PPM software
The workshops are held locally (in Warsaw) or remotely (using MS Teams). They consist of two 4-hour sessions for different groups of stakeholders on the client’s side.
In the first session, we jointly configure the Hadrone PPM software using the data provided earlier. The people responsible for the entire project portfolio (usually from the Project Management Office) participate in this session.
The second session concerns entering sample projects and simulating work on those projects. In this session, besides the PMO representatives, Project Managers who will later test the software also take part.
Step 4: Testing Hadrone PPM software
The Hadrone PPM software tests include a period of approximately 2-4 weeks, where the client’s team will check the software’s capabilities (if needed, this period can be extended). Any number of people from the client’s side can be involved in the tests.
During the tests, we provide ongoing support from our consultant to answer questions and suggest solutions. This happens through regular email/phone communication as well as through one-hour meetings to review the test progress, which we organize twice: one week and two weeks after the workshops.
Step 5: Post-pilot summary meeting
After completing the tests, we organize a post-pilot meeting, where we review the results of the tests and discuss possible next steps related to choosing and implementing the software.
