Project Management Blog, News & Articles

What’s New Mission Control – v1.61

June 17, 2022

Mission Control's latest release, v1.61, has just dropped. Some of the really handy new features include Start Date + Working Days, Dependency Notifications as well as a raft of enhancements across Timesheets, Scheduler, Whiteboard and Role Utilization.

What is Six Sigma in Project Management?

June 15, 2022

There are many different ways to improve business processes, and you may have heard of Six Sigma methodology as one of them. We unpack what exactly it is & how your business can benefit from this methodology.

What is the PMBOK Methodology in Project Management?

June 3, 2022

In our latest guide, we define PMBOK, how it came to be, deep dive into the PMBOK methodology and show you how you can use it to manage your projects.

5 Advantages of Cloud-Based Project Management Software

May 23, 2022

In our latest blog article we take a look at the 5 key advantages of using cloud-based project management software

How to Measure Your Billable Utilization

May 10, 2022

In this article, we explore what billable utilization is and how to calculate it, what an ideal utilization rate is and how you calculate it, and how to use Professional Services Automation to measure your billable utilization.

How to Drive Service Business Growth with Powerful Forecasting

April 28, 2022

In this article, we’ll explain what business forecasting is, why it’s important for your service business, and how to make better projections to fuel growth.

Project Management Trends & Forecasts for 2022

April 13, 2022

In this article we explore some of the Project Management trends we're seeing emerge in the initial months of 2022; new methodologies, new structures, new rhythms and new analytics tools that are changing the game.

10 Critical Salesforce Resource Management Planning Tools

March 25, 2022

In our latest blog article we identify and then unpack 10 Critical Project Salesforce Resource Management & Planning Tools that will help improve your project forecasting.

Business Growth Strategies for Your Service-Based Business

March 16, 2022

In our latest blog article we unpack the 5 strategies that will help fuel growth for your service-based business.

What’s New Mission Control – v1.60

February 24, 2022

We’ve just launched the v1.60 update of Mission Control! In one of our most comprehensive updates, ever, we have a new game changing Resource Forecasting feature, Kanban Checklist feature, a new Billing Generator feature and Auto-Generation enhancements.

Digital Transformation & Managing this within Service Businesses

February 15, 2022

In this article we take a look at how and why businesses embark on Digital Transformations, especially within service businesses.

Revenue Leakage & how to manage in a Services Business

February 5, 2022

In this blog article we define revenue leakage, determine it's mitigating causes and provide a guide on what you can do to stop it.

Resource Utilization and 5 Ways to Maximize it within your Organization

January 25, 2022

In our latest article we’ve put together the key information you need to more effectively manage your resources, including: What resource allocation and utilization are, how the two impact your business, best practices to improve resource utilization, and the best technology to use.

Tips for Project Managers for More Productive Remote Work

January 19, 2022

In our latest article we help you manage your remote workers better, go over what remote work is, cover the challenges associated with this style of work and how to best deal with them.

Does Your Not For Profit (NFP) Need Professional Services Automation (PSA)?

December 16, 2021

This guide will help you understand what Professional Services Automation is, how these tools can support an NFP like yours, and the fundamentals of nonprofit project management to keep in mind.

Using Salesforce Professional Services Automation (PSA) Software

December 9, 2021

In this article we take a look at the data consolidation, visibility and consistency benefits you receive when choosing a Project Management or Professional Services Automation Tool that's built natively on Salesforce CRM.

The Value of Time Tracking in Project Management

December 3, 2021

In this article we define time tracking, the benefits of time tracking and how to effectively tracking time in Project Management.

Improving your Project Management effectiveness using Kanban Boards

November 30, 2021

In this guide, we’ll help you understand what a Kanban board is, discuss key features, explain the value of this project management method, and most importantly, help you understand how and when to use it for your organization.

Change Management During a Platform, Process, or Digital Transformation

November 23, 2021

We’ve developed a guide to help you navigate change around platform, process or digital transformation. We share some methodologies, some approaches and some tools that you can use to smooth the transition.

Getting the Speed Wobbles? Identifying Scale & Growth Opportunities

November 15, 2021

This article will help you identify your growth bottlenecks, share advice on how to scale up effectively, and help you skyrocket your business growth.

New Mission Control Salesforce AppExchange Test Drive Collection Page

November 11, 2021

Mission Control has been selected as one of the leading solutions to be part of Salesforce’s new Test Drive Collection pages on AppExchange. Collection pages on AppExchange help Salesforce customers better navigate marketplace by use-case, industry and more.

5 Reasons Why You Need Professional Services Automation (PSA)

November 5, 2021

What does our pipeline look like? Can we fulfill new sales wins with our current resources? What percentage of our time was billable last month? Are we making a profit? These are all common questions in professional services. We answer these questions and many more as we take a look at why and how good PSA software can transform your business.

A Starter Guide to Maintaining Financial Control and Visibility in Projects

October 20, 2021

Arguably one of the most important metrics of any commercial project is its financial performance. But in order to deliver successfully on this, a Project Manager needs both clear visibility and an understanding of the numbers to positively influence a project’s roll-out. In this article, we run through how to set-up and manage a project for financial success. And spoiler alert, it starts long before the project does.

Kosmo’s Feature Focus: Meeting Manager

October 11, 2021

The Meeting Manager feature in Mission Control is truly a game changer for any business that relies on meeting time to move projects forward. It is an essential component of progress tracking and maximizing efficient workflow.

8 Tips for a Successful Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

October 5, 2021

In this article, we take a top-level look at Software Development Life Cycles, what they are and how to use them most effectively to improve your organization’s software development.

How to Build an Effective Gantt Chart

September 28, 2021

Love it or hate it, the trusty Gantt Chart is synonymous with Project Management. When used effectively, Gantt charts should underpin and ultimately drive a project’s successful delivery. So, it’s pretty imperative to build a solid Gantt chart from the offset. In this article, we take you through some of the key factors to consider to ensure your Gantt chart delivers every time.

The Lowdown on Project Retrospectives

September 20, 2021

In this article, we take a closer look at project retrospectives, what they are, when to use them and how to best facilitate them for ongoing business improvement.

What’s New Mission Control – v1.59

September 13, 2021

We’ve got some amazing new Mission Control features and exciting new enhancements included in our latest release! Our latest version 1.59 was released on the Salesforce AppExchange last Friday 10th September and we’ve made a number of enhancements to various features, making it even more accessible, engaging and useful for our customers.

Build vs. Buy: Should You Buy Software or Develop It Internally?

August 30, 2021

Build vs. Buy: Should You Buy Software or Develop It Internally? We take a look at the risks, benefits and comparisons with both approaches.

Stage Gate Project Management – What it is & How it works

August 24, 2021

Good project managers know that the key to a successful project starts with a good framework. Using a well-established project management methodology helps project leaders plan, optimize and implement various stages of a project with more efficiency. Today, we’re talking about Stage Gate - a widely used project management process that can be a great, fuss-free fit for almost any kind of project. It is most commonly used for new product development or launching software, websites and apps.

The Benefits of Effective Time Tracking

August 17, 2021

When time is money, it’s imperative you understand how that time is being used, especially in industries like Professional Services. But not all time tracking is created equal. Recording time after the work has been done is a good place to start but there’s a whole host of ways time tracking can be used for ongoing business improvement. In this article, we explore some of the potential benefits that effective time tracking can bring to an organization.

Mission Control receives 6 new awards from the world’s leading software review website – G2

July 28, 2021

We are honored and humbled to have been identified by G2 and our customers as a High Performance Project Management and Professional Services Automation solution for the G2 Summer 2021 Awards.

5 ways to improve project resource planning

July 27, 2021

The way in which we approach and manage our project resources can make all the difference to our teams, our business and our clients. In this article we explore how smarter resource planning can support long term and sustainable project management.

Kosmo’s Feature Focus: Action Pad

June 29, 2021

The Action Pad feature is a place where resources can see a list of all the Actions assigned to them. A series of analytical charts provide a summary insight into each action's current status.

How to increase project productivity

June 28, 2021

If only you had more hours in the days….or more dedicated project resource, right?! These are common issues when running a project. But increasing a project’s output shouldn’t always be about working longer or working harder, but instead working smarter.

What’s New Mission Control – v.1.58

June 14, 2021

We’ve got some amazing new Mission Control features and exciting new enhancements included in our latest release! Our latest version 1.58 was released on the Salesforce AppExchange last Saturday 12 June and we’ve made a number of enhancements to various features, making it even more accessible, engaging and useful for our customers.

How to manage multiple projects effectively

May 25, 2021

We share tips and tricks on how to manage multiple projects effectively, using best practice professional service automation.

The changing face of project management

April 28, 2021

The last 12 months has fast tracked the use of software systems for project management into a global reality for many and to align with our growth we’re delighted to announce the expansion of our team with the appointment of James Strahan.

Kosmo’s Feature Focus: Project Generation

April 14, 2021

What’s better than one fully comprehensive, tried and tested Project Plan? Two of them! With Mission Control’s Project Generation tool there’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it’s time to start a new project.

Kosmo’s Feature Focus: Console Cruising

April 7, 2021

Project Managers need to be across a whole host of project information at any one time. From budgets and invoicing to timelines and deliverables, there’s a considerable level

3 pitfalls of project management and how to avoid them

March 22, 2021

As much as we love project management, it doesn’t come without its pitfalls. Risks and issues are often project specific whereas pitfalls are those common hinderances that keep popping up across projects and across industries.

Kosmo’s Feature Focus: Risk Log

March 16, 2021

Running a project involves some risk factors: Will something impact the delivery date? What components could make a project go over budget? Will every part of the project meet stakeholder expectations?

Kosmo’s Feature Focus: Resource Utilization

March 4, 2021

Ever feel like a project’s time and resources are running away from you? No matter how well organised you start out on a project, things change. And with Agile project methodology increasing in popularity, they’re supposed to.

Establishing cadences to support business growth

February 28, 2021

If your 2021 business plan clearly outlines goals for growth, is everything already in place to effectively support it? It’s easy to look at the bigger picture and be motivated by numbers and targets but if the business infrastructure isn’t set-up to support them, business growth and increased revenue on paper might not mean an increase in profitability in reality.

Kosmo’s Feature Focus: Gantt Chart for Salesforce

February 20, 2021

As a Project Manager, there’s undeniably a lot of balls to juggle at any one time. And whilst there are many options available on how to ensure you don’t drop any of them (like spreadsheets, schedules or even your trusty grey matter) a Gantt Chart provides a perfect solution.

The Evolution of a Project Managers role

February 4, 2021

One thing is certain as a Project Manager and that’s that the industry is constantly moving and evolving, which means so is the role, its function and wider perceptions within organizations and beyond.

What’s New Mission Control – v.1.56

January 21, 2021

What a way to start a new year with a new release of our Mission Control project management software, native to the Salesforce platform! Our latest version 1.56 was released on the Salesforce AppExchange last Friday 15 January and we’ve made a number of enhancements to various features, making it even more accessible, engaging and useful for our customers.

Kosmo’s Feature Focus: Baseline Tracking

December 29, 2020

We all love it when a plan comes together…but what if it doesn’t? Or if there’s an obstacle or two along the way that puts your project off track? 2020 is the perfect example! With Baseline Tracking, it’s all part of the process.

Five steps to selling project management software to the C-suite

December 17, 2020

When the need for project management software is first identified within an organization, it can seem such an obvious and compelling solution. Making the decision to engage and roll that software out, however, is rarely that simple. A range of stakeholders, influencers and decision makers need to be brought in and sold on how this software will revolutionise the business.

Kosmo’s Feature Focus: Daily Digest

December 9, 2020

Ah, the humble ‘to-do’ list: A daily ritual for many; some starting the day with a strong coffee, favourite pen and a trusty notebook, others opting for a typed list, working out priorities for the day. But what if your daily ‘to-do’ list at work was delivered to your inbox each morning?

Kosmo’s Feature Focus: Resource Profiling

December 1, 2020

“I know just the person for the job.” What a great place to land; when a project or task presents itself and you have just the person in mind for it. Even better if they’re available and raring to go. Yet working in larger organisations or part of a wider project team means you might not always know everyone’s skillset and previous experience prior to a project commencing.

Project Management in 2021 and beyond…

November 20, 2020

As 2020 has fast tracked the use of software systems for project management into a global reality for many, we’re delighted to announce the expansion of our team and the appointment of our newest team member, Trevor Doornbos.

Is it time to wave goodbye to the Excel spreadsheet?

October 27, 2020

We hear from businesses everyday that still manage their projects on Excel spreadsheets. Is this a problem? Not if you truly believe that it is the most effective way to keep control of your project. Our entire team has a long history of strong relationships with the humble Excel spreadsheet.

User Stories: Testing The Customer Journey Through Salesforce

October 1, 2020

How Salesforce Software Can Encourage Teamwork When Working Remotely

September 14, 2020

2020 has provided business with invaluable insight into the realities of working from home and what that means for the future. Some of the bigger players have provided options for employees to continue to work from home until we’ve seen out the current pandemic and potentially even further.

Maximize Project Efficiency and Visualization of your Workflow in Salesforce

September 3, 2020

Our customers know by now that three times a year we get a tad over excited when it is new release time, particularly when we have new awesome features to introduce. This release is no exception and we want to show you how you can make the most of our new features to improve business performance.

What True Transparency Can Do For Your Business Within Salesforce

August 27, 2020

Transparency has become a business buzzword. Everything we read is about how important it is to be transparent as a business, be open and honest about all operations as well as communicate and share what is going on behind the scenes and let your customers in.

A Decade of Aprika: Now and Then

August 3, 2020

Agile Methodology the Future of Project Management?

July 15, 2020

The last couple of years has seen a shift within the project management industry and this was well reflected within KPMG’s research. Predominately driven by changes in business operations, this shift includes a demand to be more disruptive and an ability to successfully navigate rapidly changing landscapes.

Project Management Methodologies Explained

June 22, 2020

The world of project management is expanding as more businesses realise its importance to enact real change and innovation. Dubbed ‘The Project Economy’ by the Project Management Institute, we are now in a time where businesses are fundamentally shifting the way they operate, where projects no longer sit adjacent to operations but are the main way problems get solved and businesses innovate.

Key Principles of Digital Adaptation and Retention

June 9, 2020

We’ve seen the immediate affect of COVID-19 on the business world, from the small shop front that has had to create basic online or phone systems for ordering products, through to larger enterprises that hadn’t quite got around to cloud-based applications scrambling to adapt.

What’s New Mission Control Version 1.54

May 21, 2020

We’ve been through quite a few iterations and improvements of Mission Control since our last ‘What’s New’ blog post. We always issue detailed release notes and webinars for each of the three annual releases of the software to our community.

5 Key Pillars of Software Product Management

April 27, 2020

We release three major versions of our software every year and whilst getting a new updated version out the door is a fantastic achievement, we never consider it the finish line.

Salesforce PSA Software: 10 questions to ask before you buy

October 2, 2018

Professional services businesses operate across the board in almost any industry you care to name, and they generate revenue by selling time. So, it’s critical that, if you’re a professional services organisation, you can keep track of your billable time, business efficiency –

How Salesforce Task Management helps profits

September 10, 2018

Are you running multiple projects with many individual tasks? How do you manage visibility of all those tasks? If you’re like many businesses, you’ll have a team of ‘spreadsheet ninjas’ whose job it is to keep track of tasks and the status of each task.

Can Salesforce Project Management make you more competitive?

September 3, 2018

If you’ve ever run a complex project with multiple steps and people, you’ll know it’s tricky to keep all those elements under control. However, you might believe that a project management tool is an unnecessary expense and you can easily manage projects yourselves.

How Salesforce Time Tracking Boosts Productivity

August 15, 2018

Have you ever felt that your projects are taking more time than they should? Or projects are using up non-billable hours in unnecessary admin? Are you spending way too much time wrangling complex spreadsheets rather than concentrating on your business?

Salesforce Kanban Board for Project Management

August 10, 2018

What is a Kanban board? Well, think of it like an electronic whiteboard covered in sticky notes – only you have the ability to manipulate those notes within the software. The Kanban board was originally developed in Japan

The Salesforce Gantt Chart: How it helps your project management

August 8, 2018

The Salesforce Gantt chart: How it helps your project management. A Gantt chart, named after Henry Gantt who popularised this type of chart, is one of the most commonly used methods of displaying activities and time lines for project management.

Mission Control: New Project Overview Page

June 15, 2017

We recently released the latest version of Mission Control, which included two new features: Project Overview Page, Track Pad. The Project Overview Page has always been hugely popular amongst Mission Control Users for it’s ability to provide a 360 Degree view into one particular project.

What’s New: Mission Control V1.39

December 16, 2016

We’re excited to announce that we have launched the latest version of Mission Control onto the AppExchange today. It’s jam-packed with some amazing new features, just in time for Christmas!!

Professional Services: Avoiding the peaks and troughs!

October 10, 2016

I was recently asked to present my thoughts on what it takes to run a successful Professional Services business and thought I’d follow it up with a post.

What’s New: Mission Control V1.36

August 24, 2016

We are pleased to announce the release of the latest version of Mission Control. Version 1.36 is now available on the AppExchange. This release includes a number of new and exciting features, including:

What’s New: Mission Control V1.35

April 11, 2016

We’ve been hard at work again developing more awesome features for Mission Control. I’m pleased to advise that the latest version (1.35) was released onto the AppExchange on Monday 11th April 2016. Some of the key highlights include:

My Top 10 Picks in the Salesforce.com Spring ’16 Release

February 19, 2016

My Top 10 Picks in the Salesforce.com Spring ’16 Release

February 19, 2016

If you’re anything like me, you’ll know what I mean when I say I get a feeling of excitement whenever I hear the words ‘Winter’, ‘Spring’ or ‘Summer’.

What’s New: Mission Control V1.34

November 9, 2015

Mission Control is Lightning Ready! The latest release of Mission Control (Version 1.34), which was released on the AppExchange on Monday 9th November 2015, now supports Lightning Experience .

Project Management: Six KPIs to keep your PMO on track

October 8, 2015

If you’re as passionate about Project Management as we are here at Aprika, you’ll no doubt be as equally excited by the new Project Management Office (PMO) Dashboard that we’ve recently added to Mission Control.

What’s New: Mission Control V1.31

September 25, 2015

Here we go again, got up to speed with the last set of amazing features released in August? Well, strap yourself in because we’re at it again.

What’s New: Mission Control V1.29

August 10, 2015

We are very excited to announce our largest release since Mission Control was initially launched. The range of feature enhancements being introduced to our project management solution that is native to the Salesforce.com platform

Resource Capacity Planning: New feature!

July 17, 2015

We’re hard at work developing some awesome new features for Mission Control, our project management application which is native to Salesforce.com.

What’s New: Mission Control V1.27

January 30, 2015

We bring a variety of new features to you this time, all of which are going to provide you with a richer project management experience. The major inclusions this time are:

What’s New: Mission Control V1.25

September 24, 2014

We’re excited to announce a number of new features have been added to Mission Control, our native Salesforce.com Project Management solution.

What’s New: Mission Control V1.17

February 24, 2014

It’s that time again, a new version of our project management tool, Mission Control has been launched on the Salesforce.com AppExchange today. Below is a summary of the major new features:

What’s New: Mission Control V1.16

October 14, 2013

We’re pleased to announce that the latest version of Mission Control, our Project Management application that is native to Salesforce.com has been launched on the AppExchange today. It boasts a range of new features, including:

What’s New: Mission Control V1.14

January 21, 2013

A new version of Mission Control (version 1.14) has been released on to the AppExchange today. Below is a summary of the new features now available making our Project Management solution even better.

Mission Control launches on to the AppExchange

July 30, 2012

Mission Control launches onto the AppExchange We have launched our latest product, Mission Control onto the AppExchange today. Mission Control is a project management application that integrates with the following Salesforce.com editions:

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