I think most of us would agree that top-to-bottom visibility is something most executives expect to achieve with their project management tools.

That being said, what about visibility from the bottom to the top?

As a boy, arguing with my dad was an exercise in futility. When he said, "Mow the lawn this way or edge the lawn that way," I didn't need to know why—I just needed to do it that way. He practiced what we call today, a "command-and-control" management style.

If you'll indulge a small confession here, I must admit that I didn't always do it the way Dad wanted me to. If I could, I'd try to shortcut the process any time I could get away with it. And although I couldn't tell the difference, he always could. Until the Saturday he showed me what he was looking for, and I saw the difference myself. In other words, he clearly shared his vision and I completely understood what it was. My mission then became making the process more efficient so I could give my dad what he wanted, and spend Saturday afternoon with my friends.

Is managing projects any different?

A command-and-control project management style assumes that the workforce isn't capable of:

1. Understanding the objectives of a particular project

2. Contributing anything meaningful to improve the project management process

3. Contributing as anything more than a "resource" like a computer or a pencil

The problem with most enterprise project management software is its failure to fully engage the workforce in the vision and objectives of the projects they are working on. In other words, there is no bottom-to-top visibility. By clearly showing me what he wanted as the end result, my dad made me part of the vision. I still wanted to get it done as quickly as I could, but I was now "invested" in the finished product.

I don't think individual contributors on project teams are much different.

Most people want to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves. Unfortunately, without knowing the vision, it's difficult for them to be anything more than automatons—a self-fulfilling command-and-control prophecy.

The "Dirty Little Secret"

Bad information results in bad decisions.

It's important for business leaders to have access to the most accurate and up-to-date project information they can get their hands on to make smart business decisions. But how does a corporate decision-maker guarantee that the information he or she is receiving in a report or dashboard is "accurate and up-to-date?"

That is the $20 million question.

Because accurate project data is so important, there are a number of legacy PPM software solutions available that offer very sophisticated dashboard reporting designed to give executives the information they need to make business decisions. However, most of those solutions ignore individual contributors at the project team level.

Why is that so important? The "dirty little secret" of enterprise project management software is that it is so difficult to use, people don't. At least not the people who have the greatest impact on the accuracy and timeliness of the information executives need—the individual project team member.

The workforce should be able to contribute to the project management process without jumping through hoops or a maze of complicated procedures to update task status. Project software should allow individual contributors to seamlessly update task status so managers and executives have the information they need to make informed decisions.

User interface at the workforce level is critical for all those sophisticated dashboards and reports to be of any real value. Top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top visibility and accountability is only possible with a user-friendly way for project teams to update task status. Short of that, end users will only use the software when they are forced to, and project data will always be questionable.

Are you able to guarantee the accuracy of project status information in your organization? How are you doing it?