Item: Smartsheet
Rating: 10
Author: Stephanie Carpenter

Overall Satisfaction with Smartsheet

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Vitatech uses Smartsheet in several ways all of which are extremely important to both our organization and our clients. Our entire organization relies on it for management of project flow and at-a-glance assurance that we are meeting deadlines and goals in a timely manner. Several of our employs travel and spend very little time in the office. Being able to remotely log into our project sheets and exchange files though line items has proven invaluable to our production and success. Not only does Smartsheet bridge the gap between our largely mobile office, but it also allows us to communicate files and deadlines to our clients whereas lengthy emails tend to get lost in translation or convoluted over time.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Assist in managing deadlines and project flow.
Allows users to communicate directly through the program to both users within the organization but also outside.
Extremely user friendly and efficient.
Real time ability to update both in the office and on the go.

Cons

The system for categorizing sheets is a bit outdated and could use some polishing.
Could use a nudge a bit further into project conception stage.
Would like an option to enter client data attached to a sheet without having to columns/fields

Return on Investment

better manage and organize projects
better communication with employees out of office
better customer communication

Alternatives Considered

A lot of other products rely on the user to have in innate knowledge of gant charts and spreadsheet programming. Smartsheet is very user friendly and has an incredibly helpful interface to get you started. It's perfect for beginner users all the way to seasoned veterans of project management.

Likelihood to Recommend

I love this software for many different reasons but mostly because I can use it to communicate with clients and with our mobile office team. I don't have to send an entire sheet or tell a client they need to create a login in order to see a file I want to share or a row. I can simply click and send and the client has it instantly. The same can be used for interoffice.

Using Smartsheet

Users and Roles

6 - Smartsheet is used by several departments within our office - Marketing, Engineering, Production, Construction and Project Management. We have users who work in the field on job sites, who directly interface with clients, who work behind the scenes on bids and awards, and who research materials and methods.

Support Headcount Required

2 - Honestly there is very little skills required to support Smartsheet. Smartsheet is hugely self supported by its easy user interface, templates, and user demonstrations. There are people within our organization who are more experienced with it than others and are there to support users and guide through any questions or problems as they arise.

Business Processes Supported

Project Timeline
Customer Service
Mobile communication

Innovative Uses

Send files or sheets directly to clients when emailing isn't sufficient

Future Planned Uses

Marketing
Interactive timelining
Website interfacing

Likelihood to Renew

Our company has come to trust Smartsheet and constantly relies on it to organize and communicate between associates and clients. It has been a cornerstone in our efficiency and success in managing our project flow and deadline goals. We continue to find new ways to integrate it into all aspects of our business and customer interaction.

Evaluating Smartsheet and Competitors

Products Replaced

Yes - I've used several other products such as Microsoft Project and even just basic Excel. The biggest reason I chose Smartsheet over the others is that it is extremely user friendly and allows me to communicate files, deadlines, or gantcharts with clients! That is the most important thing I can do is invite my clients to participate in my project flow. While the other programs do offer that to some degree, it doesn't offer nearly as much customization as far as security nor is it easy and hassle free.

Key Differentiators

Product Features
Product Usability

Usability is a huge make or break with me. Not only do I need to be able use the product but it needs to be relevant to my work and my flow.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

The ability to use Smartsheet in tandem with clients came to me a surprise. If I had to do my selection process all over I would have included checking for client and third part integration.

Smartsheet Implementation

Implementation Rating

It's absolutely paramount to take a few minutes to actually play with the software. It's nearly impossible to do anything wrong or make a mistake which cannot be fixed easily. Under the help menu is Live Training option. After you familiarize yourself with the commands, watch the live training for some in depth understanding of how to make the software fit your needs perfectly.

Change Management Lessons

Change management was a small part of the implementation and was well-handled - Each person in our organization learns differently so the challenge was how to present implementation to them in ways that would encourage them to want to participate rather than shy away from Smartsheet. Understanding how each person needs to use Smartsheet and what their investment was in the restructure of our office was very helpful in setting small goals and training sessions. It helped tremendously that Smartsheet is such a user friendly program with a really straight forward UI.

Smartsheet Reliability

Performance

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