Powering digitalization: how Austrian Integration Fund rebuilt its workflow with GanttPRO
“Most tools stop me, GanttPRO helps me.”
A story about how ÖIF transformed its digitalization workflow, moving from fragmented and manual planning to full project clarity.
Company overview
Company: Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF)
Role interviewed: Dr. Erich Langer
Project coordinator (coordinating complex multi-department initiatives)
Project types: integration and education related projects
External pressures: project complexity, system shift, compliance, deadlines, policy changes
Tool history: free Excel-like software
Problems hinted at: lack of structure, misalignment, confusion, manual work, unclear workflows
Summary
Company Background
What does your company focus on?
Austrian Integration Fund is a central agency that supports asylum and subsidised protection-holders, displaced individuals and immigrants in their integration into Austrian society. The core mission of the ÖIF is to promote linguistic, social and professional integration through various services such as values-and-orientation courses, German language programmes, targeted initiatives for women with migration background and qualified immigrants.
In recent years, the institution has been moving rapidly towards digitalization. Paper-based processes are being gradually replaced, a central database application that stores all relevant information on displaced individuals and supports interdepartmental coordination needs to be constantly updated, and new digital tools, such as an employee mobile app, are being introduced. The volume and complexity of the projects require a lot of people’s engagement and clear coordination for everyone involved.
“Most tools stop me, GanttPRO helps me.”
Struggle
How did your approach look before GanttPRO?
Before GanttPRO, Dr. Erich Langer notices, the management process was fragmented and mostly manual. Initially, only a free Excel tool was available for a clear visual representation of projects but it quickly reached its limits. It was impossible to get an overview of multiple projects at once and the features, such as assigning responsibilities or linking tasks, were very limited.
As the project coordinator for the ÖIF’s digital initiatives, Erich works closely with project managers to define project goals and create mindmaps. However, in addition to existing tools like Word for organizational charts or project structure plans, he lacked a powerful graphical Gantt-based software to monitor, track effectively and manage project timelines. The existing toolset did not provide the necessary structure to adjust schedules reliably without creating confusion. This made the need for a professional project management tool increasingly clear.
Solution
GanttPRO brought the structure and visibility that had been missing. The Portfolio Feature became an excellent tool for viewing multiple projects at the same time. That instantly gave Erich a clear overview of the ongoing projects and allowed him to identify potential synergies or detect bottlenecks early. “I know that other companies offer this too and even at a bigger price than your solution, like Microsoft Project”, he notes. Being able to access every detail from one place became an essential of his workflow.
Gantt chart, being the core of GanttPRO, has become the foundation of timeline clarity for Erich. He uses it to break a project into clear structured steps, as well as to monitor progress. This structure allows him to ensure that the project stays on track and is delivered on schedule.
Another noticeable advantage for him is the tool’s intuitiveness. “What I like most about your software is that it’s very intuitive and easy-going. This is critical when choosing a tool because most software on the market is very complicated. I want a software that helps me, not one that stops me.”
As digitalization progresses, the Project sharing has also become essential. “You can even share the link with other stakeholders who don’t have a license, and they can easily view everything, track changes in real time, and filter by different content,” he notes.
Impact
What does your work look like now with GanttPRO?
Erich uses GanttPRO throughout the whole project lifecycle: mostly at the beginning when entering all work units, later briefly for daily monitoring. He also coordinates and trains other project managers, although organization-wide adoption is still developing due to the cultural component. Through templates, extensive documentation, as well as written and video-based materials on GanttPRO and project management, Erich has become one of the key drivers of progress within the ÖIF.
The software is doing everything what you think: you don't have to guess what its purpose is and how each feature works
Although adoption inside the organization is still developing, after two years Erich cannot imagine working without GanttPRO. The tool has become a crucial part of how he visualizes and oversees projects of various complexity in a fast-changing environment, providing clarity and reliability to manage with confidence.