No-code for Project Management: pros and cons

Introduction

Project management is advancing year by year so as the IT-tools we can use to simplify the management routines to improve effectiveness. Nocode tools (user-friendly IT tools that allow to make configuration and modification without coding) have been at the top of the hill for a few years already but only recently Project and program managers as well as PMO Professionals have got an opportunity to enjoy the power of these tools (i.e. Coda, Fibery, Airtable) that leave far behind ready made enterprise solutions.

In this article I will cover the pros and cons of Nocode tools for project management both for single project and corporate level implementation.

Advantages

● Flexibility — any software product that was originally created for a specific subject area, such as project management, has a more or less fixed logic and a set of predefined objects (project, task, subtask etc) and their attributes.

In No-code tools, we create a model that describes the workflows and business domain. Here we can create not only traditional, but also more custom objects, such as: Risk, Issue, Block, Requirement, etc. Due to this, we get the flexibility of the IT-system, which can be easily adjusted to the management approach that is already in place.

● Scalability — given that the IT-system is flexible and allows you to add new objects, workflows, then within the company we can start with one department, for example, IT and continue to add objects more relevant to other business domains, such as HR or marketing, but related to the implementation of projects.

As an example, let’s take the commercial projects of an IT system integrator: the sale (presale) is usually automated via CRM, and the implementation of the Client Information System itself or the delivery of IT-equipment is a project tied to the deal. In this case, within the framework of a no-code system, we can easily set up CRM — a customer relationship management system and link it with a project management system and, for example, start managing deal as a project.

Thus, starting from a limited business domain, we can scale the solution to the entire company and to business domains not directly related to project management, but standing nearby. Then we can rely on the same information already available, for example, on customers and deals (sales projects), linking them to implementation projects. You can also automate work with personnel and add team members, qualifications, workload, etc. Thus, by adding various objects, we can automate all new business domains and workflows.

● Low entrance (and high ceiling) — almost no special knowledge is required to start using no-code tools. To start work, 30–60 minutes of training is enough. During this time, for example, you can learn how to add fields, write simple formulas, do formatting or grouping. Meanwhile, over time, it is possible to build rather complex business domain models with relationships, and look-ups — a multidimensional database that few ready-made enterprise IT-systems can manage. We can compare the required starting skill level with the use of Microsoft Excel, in which everyone can work almost intuitively, and additional training is required only for more advanced assignments.

● Low cost of entry — you can start with very simple solutions: automating the work of a small team or even personal work and pricing in this logic in most solutions — SaaS (cloud solution) is negligible (~$10 per license).

Such a solution can be purchased from 1 license (user) or even used as a trial license, which is free for 14–30 days. The use of no-code tools in this point does not require business case approval and allocation of a significant budget at the start.

● Independence from IT — usually when we implement any IT solution, the key stakeholders (decision makers and decision influencers) are employees of the IT department. Here immediately there is a collision with an already existing or target IT-architecture, which must be adhered to. In addition, there are people of a certain qualification — developers who will have to adjust this system, there are system administrators. That is, there is a certain IT environment, which is sometimes very difficult to fit into.

Also, we most often find ourselves in a situation of a long wait for the necessary resources to execute our business request: specialists are busy for several months in advance in other portfolio projects or IT tasks. Moreover, significant time must be spent preparing and explaining the requirements to IT developers, who do not always understand the business context. At the same time, business customers and users also often lack both qualifications and time.

In the case of no-code tools, the project team and business are independent of IT development: there is no need for requirements, additional persuasion of the feasibility of request, or waiting queues for specialists. The project team can make changes almost online, at the workplace, in meetings, or in between. There are also no organizational barriers associated, for example, with the need for a dedicated system administrator of a large IT-system and coordinating change requests with him: there is often no need for such a person to use no-code tools.

● Quick feedback when making changes — in the process of developing or implementing an IT solution, additional task parameters can be added, for example: deadlines that are important for us to track, a status model — the workflow of the object. Possibility of fast modification of these entities, views, quickly test the solution and get feedback from real users — an advantage that we get using a no-code IT tool. The business user himself can quickly and easily make modifications, and the test phase is built into the modification process and does not require the allocation of separate “time frame”.

● Independence from Vendor (or system integrator) — a large number of functions in classic enterprise-systems are already built into the software. Even internal developers may not be able to help make the necessary modifications. In this case, a request is directed to the Vendor (integrator) to develop the requirement. This immediately entails the need for external procurement, the allocation of an IT system integrator resource. If these changes are minor, it is difficult to justify them within the company and get a resource allocation for them from the vendor (integrator), which also works within its product backlog, prioritizing large projects over minor improvements. As a result, this entails the lengthening of the terms of the project itself.

Thanks to the use of no-code tools, we free ourselves from the need to interact with the external provider and can quickly create the necessary objects ourselves, configure their parameters and required work scenarios.

It is worth mentioning that initial development of the complex IT-system is preferable with external assistance, and further evolution can be done on your own. Of course, you can create a MVP yourself and further develop it evolutionarily — however, such a strategy can take longer and require more effort to master the tool and learn from your mistakes.

● Faster launch — any enterprise-solution requires lengthy configuration and development, withstands a series of testes that leads to implementation project timeframe from 2 to 6 months, and only then begins to be fully used; no-code solution is quickly created and constantly evolving — the terms of creating an MVP, in this case, can be from 3 to 14 days.

Disadvantages:

● Increasing complexity with increasing scale — if the addition of objects, fields, attributes is not accompanied by documentation and is not coordinated with each other, such systems turn into unmatched blocks, differently configured entities, often duplicating each other and not allowing to assemble a big picture, for example, generate portfolio reports. To avoid such chaos, centralized functional administration and the introduction of common rules for entering objects and their parameters into the system are necessary. A clear rights allocation as to who can make what changes is also an important part of a well-functioning system.

● Performance at risk — Extra entities and increased amounts of disparate information can cause solutions to slow down.

● Information security — mostly no-code tools — cloud solutions that are not always applicable based on security policies, but recently vendors are paying more and more attention to this and offer Enterprise packages that provide increased protection.

● Business users motivation — no-code solutions are mainly designed for business users and are at the intersection of business and IT. Business users who are not inclined to understand IT tools may find it difficult to master these tools. IT professionals and developers, in turn, do not really like to interact with no-code tools, if only because working with them requires a completely different set of skills. Thus, if business users do not take on the job of working with a no-code tool, it is not very clear who in the company can do this. The described situation may lead to the need to create an additional position of a no-code specialist in the IT unit, which, of course, neutralizes one of the advantages of using the no-code tools.

Nevertheless, we proceed from the fact that among business users a person can be found and trained, who will later be able to develop a no-code system, enrich it with new features. In this case, he will be responsible for functional administration: adapting the no-code system to the new demands of the company. The technical administration that would be required to work with an enterprise system is not an urgent need in case SaaS solution is used.

Conclusion

So, it’s definitely up to you whether to use Nocode tools for your projects or not but our wide experience in automating the processes for PMO and PPM unambiguously shows us its worthiness. I will be happy to share with you some cases in the following publications.?