Optimizing Project Management
Before a publication, a book, a platform, or a band update comes out, many internal and external parties have contributed. These range from marketers to editors, authors, graphic designers, technicians, printers, and so many more. Manually tracking every project via email took too much time and led to too many errors. So it was high time to automate these tasks and communication.
“In our editorial department, we work with two types of external partners: those who format, print, and deliver our publications, and those who specialize in book layout. It’s a complex process that involves many details and requires a great deal of expertise. So it’s extremely important that communication with external partners runs smoothly and efficiently, so that our projects don’t fall behind schedule,” explains Brigitte Peeters, project manager at Vanden Broele.
For a project, you simply follow the different phases through the Power App. This way, you're guided step by step and won't forget anything.
Brigitte Peeters – Project Manager at Vanden Broele
But at Vanden Broele, there are also other layout processes—for example, for the marketers—who work differently than the editors.
In addition, it is also important that all other departments have insight into the progress of specific projects. For example, when a customer calls about a specific book, the administrative department needs to be able to see whether the book is already in print or still in the layout phase. That way, they can let the customer know when it will be available and delivered. Therefore, it’s important for smooth operations that other people also have access to that project information.
Wepublish
Vanden Broele, in collaboration with Alistar, developed a Power App, which they named ‘Wepublish.’ Using the Power App, colleagues can easily share information with external partners and keep track of their projects from start to finish.
“A ‘record’ is created for each assignment, to which various types of information can be linked, such as the type of assignment, the invoice reference, briefing files, …
”To do this, simply follow the different steps in the Power app. That way, you'll be guided step by step, so you won't forget anything."
“That way, the external partner knows exactly what is expected of them. They receive an email specifying what they need to review, and can then upload a file via a SharePoint link. Once a proof is ready, they fill in a field, which automatically sends an email to the project owner so that person also knows a proof is available online. The project owner then goes to SharePoint check whether the file meets their requirements and, if necessary, resend it to the author. The author can then make edits in the same folder and upload the correction file. When a date is entered in the ‘correction’ field, another automatic email is sent to all parties involved.”
No one needs to worry anymore about whether or not an email was sent. You just need to follow all the steps to successfully complete projects, such as a book publication.
“Our marketers work differently than the editorial team, because they submit their own PDFs and therefore don’t always work with external parties for layout. When they use the Power App, they simply select a different project type, which requires them to follow different phases tailored to their assignments.”
Depending on the type of task you choose, a different process is initiated in Power Apps. This is very useful if your company operates within a department with different process flows.
Dynamic and customizable
“The Power App itself is very dynamic, and our people enjoy working with it. You can submit a request very quickly. In just a few minutes, you’ve filled out everything, sent your request, and can easily track its progress thanks to the automatic emails. You’re constantly ‘in the loop,’ so you no longer have to chase things down all the time, which saves you a lot of time,” says Kelly Steenlandt, also a project manager at Vanden Broele.
Brigitte goes on to explain: “And even though it’s not a flawless system—after all, it’s still people who have to fill everything out—you can make it ‘human-proof.’ If you notice that errors are consistently made at a certain stage or that a particular field is systematically left blank, you can, for example, make it mandatory. You can observe user behavior in the Power App and adjust certain settings yourself based on user habits. That’s a huge advantage for us—that we can create fields or adjust conditions on our own. It ensures that we can continue to streamline our processes. For example, we had a problem where many orders weren’t assigned a reference for billing. So I made that reference mandatory, which helps the billing department save a lot of time and avoid errors because everything is immediately assigned correctly.”
“Thanks to the training we received from Alistar and our own modest technical background, we’re able to understand what happens when, for example, you add a field. The system is very intuitive, so you can make changes without being a programmer—meaning you don’t necessarily have to rely on the IT department,” Kelly concludes.
The system is very intuitive, so you can easily make changes without needing to be a programmer
Good match
“We used to work with a SharePoint site, which was really just a list. However, that list had limitations in terms of fields and options. When we wanted to turn this into an application, the question arose: should we go with a SharePoint app or Power Apps? We then involved people from various departments in making this decision, and the preference quickly shifted toward Power Apps. We then mapped out everything in terms of processes and fields, and worked out all the technical details together with our Alistar consultant. We went through that process fairly smoothly because we have a good rapport with our dedicated consultant.”
“With an implementation like this, you really need someone who can put themselves in your shoes, who thinks along with you, who challenges you, and who isn’t afraid to make changes if that turns out to be better for the end result,” Kelly adds.
Knowledge Partner
Vanden Broele has been sharing knowledge and expertise with local governments and nonprofit organizations since 1957. In the past, this was done through print; now, it also involves offering knowledge platforms and digital tools. Kelly explains: “We combine knowledge platforms with tools that incorporate processes. For example, when a resident submits an event request on their municipality’s website, they are actually using our platform behind the scenes. On that same site, they can also find information, such as the laws governing events.”
To be the best possible partner for its clients, Vanden Broele also regularly reviews its own business processes. As project managers, Brigitte and Kelly are always on the lookout for internal tools. “We look into what can be improved. This can range from very specific tools for a particular department to general solutions. It was with this approach in mind that we teamed up with Alistar to start working with Power Apps.”
Want to use Power Apps in your business?
Power Apps enables you to develop functional mobile apps that support your business needs. It can also communicate and integrate with other Microsoft 365 services, such as Power Automate, SharePoint, Power BI and Exchange Online.
Follow Vanden Broele's example and turn to experts who can properly guide you through the process of building Power Apps.
