What do you think about this?

The software tools that run our businesses typically fall into one of two buckets:

There are those that we stick with for years because they "just work" the way our business actually works.

Then there are other software tools that we find ourselves swapping out every 6 months because they make us feel like we're trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Project management software, I found, falls into that 2nd bucket. I don't think I'm alone here, right?
 

The problem with traditional project management software.

Traditional project management tools tend to focus on "one off" functions:  Start a custom project. Create a to-do list. Jot down some notes. Ping a teammate about their progress. When every new project is different from the last, these basic features can be convenient.

Here's the problem:

I want projects to be as predictable, and repeatable, as possible.

When the work that my business does largely follows the same script, then growing and scaling my business is simply a matter of driving more of that (same type of) work into the machine, fine tuning and optimizing along the way.

The work follows a process, powered by people who execute their roles efficiently.

"This is how we do, what we do, for who do it for, and who we do it with." 

That's the mindset behind building a business that scales.

It's the ethos behind productized services (something I know a thing or two about ;). But also it rings true in many other types of businesses I've seen: From creative agencies running a pipeline of client projects, to SaaS companies onboarding new customers, to technical companies running security and maintenance tasks, to physical product companies fulfilling orders.

Most businesses are process-driven, and traditional project management tools, simply... aren't.
 

The problem with documenting processes.

If only it were as easy as "document your SOPs!"

Maybe you've tried writing up those standard operating procedures in Google Docs, or a checklist tool. That's a great start! But sooner or later, you find that the work you put into your processes feels like it was all a wasted effort.

Why?

Your team stops referring back to your processes because they're in a silo—away from where the work happens. They can't find the instructions they need, when they need them. So they end up doing it their own way, or pulling you back in with those, "hey, got a minute?" requests.

Or worse—Your team tries, really tries, to follow your processes to a tee. But your projects in the real world simply aren't that cut and dry. There are always special requirements, edge cases, and judgement calls that need to happen in practice. Your static process docs can't account for all the twists and turns that arise.
 

Process-driven project management with ProcessKit

By now, you probably see where this is going.

Frustrated with too many generalist project management tools, I set out to design and build the tool I really wanted to run my business. Today, I'm proud to present that to you:

It's called ProcessKit.

It's the place to run projects, tasks, and assignments. And it's the place to document your processes.

Your processes power your projects.

Using your process templates, you can instantly build out task lists, automatically assign the right people, automatically calculate due dates, and more.

Best of all—It's adaptable. You can build "if this, then that" rules into your processes, so that your projects automatically adapt to common variations. Or, your team can make on-the-fly adjustments to tasks, without disrupting your other work.

When you're in a process-driven environment for projects, all sorts of new capabilities become possible:
  • A deep Zapier integration can fire up a process-driven project every time someone fills out a form on your website (or any other trigger or action you need)
  • You can send tasks and request things back from clients and contractors—which trigger next steps back in ProcessKit.
  • You can see progress and track activity across everything, on a single project, down to a task, or from a person.
With ProcessKit, everyone gets better at doing their jobs, because they have the process integrated directly where the work happens.
 

Take it for a spin

If you run a small team (or plan on growing), and if any of this sounds "just right" to you, then I invite you to take ProcessKit for a spin:
  If you'd like a personal demo and consultation, I'm happy to hop on a call with you too.

So, what do you think?


Brian Casel
Productize & Scale