Mavenlink

What do you like best?

I use it for time-tracking and overall project health on behalf of our team and clients. Mavenlink gives each of our teams the right level of visibility into a program with the added ability to drill into key areas (e.g., total budget, percentage of project completed, phases of work, team utilization) as needed. Collectively, we are also able to use those data inputs to make real-time adjustments in partnership with PM to the overall program and allocation of resources.

For time management, the Mavenlink platform is easy and seamless to use - I, along with my colleagues, are able to enter our time (or even set a timer to help track it live) as we go about our day and complete our work/assigned tasks. The platform also allows our account management teams to assess where we might be lighter in terms of support - or frankly, spending an increased amount of time in a given area - becuase of the granular way that you are able to drill down into specific tasks associated across the overall program and by individual or area of expertise.

Resourcing is also able to take a closer look across our agency to see where resources might be needed - both in real-time on client work, but also to help our talent team assess what roles are in-demand for our recruitment pipeline.

In general, this tool has been able to streamline some disparate or disconnected processes, arming us with the right information and data on overall performance to guide and inform real-time decisions.

What do you dislike?

I haven't been able to fully tap into all that the platform offers, because it's a robust tool with a lot of bells and whistles. While I haven't been able to test it fully, I know my colleagues have and are pleased with the way it supports their specific area.

Note that team members also need to be aware of how often data needs to be entered to ensure that those real-time evaluations are able to happen as appropriate. If everyone cannot commit to the same schedule or level of input, the platform won't be as dynamic and responsive with the right information.

There's not much I dislike about this platform, as it's truly user-friendly and easily adopted internally once everyone is trained and has a shared understanding of expectations and how to use the platform.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Take a demo and lean into the expertise from the Mavenlink team to ensure you're able to tap into all the platform has to offer. Make the time to ensure you're able to fully leverage the tools it offers, understand the kinds of reports it can provide and in general, that you have the right setup to maximize the platform fully.

Training your team to ensure they are also able to easily navigate the platform and understand its capabilties and how they apply to their day-to-day work. If you want real-time data insights, it'll be important for your team to understand when you require to track their time to ensure that you're able to pull the latest and greatest data sets and make truly informed decisions about your program.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

We use Mavenlink daily to assist with resourcing, appropriate allocation of team/shared resources and the overall health of a project or program. This step equips us with the necessary intel for leadership to make decisions related to the overall project direction, level of investment and overall utilization across resources. It also gives us snapshots in real-time to see how the work is evolving.

Resourcing can be challenging at an agency, particularly across areas where we have shared services across all of our client engagements. Because we're able able to take a closer look across our agency to see where resources might be needed, our talent team assess what roles are in-demand for our recruitment pipeline. This step allows us to be ready to tackle the work we have today and ensuring we're right-sized fr

It also makes time-tracking more of a streamlined task than others and the interface is really user-friendlly and easy to follow.