EM Consulting: a client-first approach to project visibility with GanttPRO
“The tool allows building tasks, subtasks, assigning deliverables, prioritizing, and it all flows very easily. It has all the mechanisms that you want from a planning tool without the complexity of Microsoft Project.”
A story about how EMCONS helps clients stay in control of complex, vendor-led projects by turning schedules into a clear, client-friendly plan in GanttPRO.
Company overview
Company: EM Consulting
Role interviewed: Eugenio Marogna, founder
Project types: long-term consulting and methodology implementations, clients supervise delivery
External pressures: large operational scale on the client side, scheduling accuracy expectations, long project cycles
Tools history: Microsoft Project
Problems hinted at: Microsoft Project is often too complex for non-PM clients, cross-organization collaboration complications
Summary
Company Background
What does your company focus on?
EM Consulting is an Italian-based company with expertise in project management and one main goal – to help clients deliver their projects successfully. With its own PM methodology developed, EMCONS supports the process and provides execution from start to finish.
Eugenio Marogna, founder of the company, shared how their client-side approach is built and what role GanttPRO plays in this process.
“I use GanttPRO as a strategic tool. The projects I implement are long-term ones: for instance, the implementation of the methodology across a customer’s organization may take one year or a year and a half. So I don't enter into the nitty-gritty of all the details but the clients use it very extensively.”
Struggle
How did your approach look before GanttPRO?
With over 40 years of experience in project management, Eugenio was a long-term Microsoft Project user. It was implemented on both EMCONS’ and the client’s side, making it a familiar and reliable system. But as the market expanded with new software and technologies, exploring new directions became necessary as most of EMCONS’ clients needed a platform with a smaller learning curve and more user-friendly experience. That’s exactly why GanttPRO was chosen.
“It was too complicated for our client who in most cases is unfamiliar with any PM mechanism, so we started looking for an alternative. We found GanttPRO in the top list of most used project management tools and decided to give it a try.”
Solution
Eugenio recalls this moment this way: “As soon as we started experimenting with GanttPro, we discovered it had many capabilities without being too complicated. The interface was very straightforward and the key point is that it was available from the browser. It’s very important for us as it doesn’t tie your platform to a specific architecture, whether it’s Windows, Mac, Linux or any other.” As Eugenio and his team always work together with the client, a PM tool becomes a single system where both EMCONS and the client operate. “After we introduced GanttPro to our customer, they started using it extensively and purchased, I believe, 10 licenses. It was truly a convenient and affordable option for them with lots of opportunities.”
“I use GanttPRO as a strategic tool. The projects I implement are long-term ones: for instance, the implementation of the methodology across a customer’s organization may take one year or a year and a half. So I don't enter into the nitty-gritty of all the details but the clients use it very extensively.”
“Once you have the plan established, you are a member of the team, and you have the application downloaded on your smartphone, it's a piece of cake, really. You feel supported, not controlled.”“Once you put the milestones or deliverables with the dates, GanttPro becomes very powerful for triggering.” What stood out in GanttPRO was the visible reminders – milestones and deadlines being set. These key points immediately show whether the project is going in the right direction and help a lot for EMCON’s clients to track the progress as well.
As EMCONS and the clien always operate together, a simple interface and minimal learning curve were a must. “In the beginning, it was a bit challenging, not because the product is difficult, but because it is not a Microsoft product. And if you are used to another tool, you're trying to replicate the way of using your interface”, says Eugenio. “And that can be very easily overcome with your support.”
Support played a big role in exploring the functionality and quickly showed how easy the interface is in fact. “Your support proved effective every time. Your manager is very passionate about what she does, and she understands between the lines as sometimes the question is put in quite a rough way. I found myself very comfortable working with your customer support. And once I did that, I discovered that the user interface is pretty straightforward.”
Impact
What does your work look like now with GanttPRO?
“The mechanism allows building tasks, subtasks, assigning deliverables, prioritizing, and it all flows very easily. It has all the functionality that you want from a planning tool without the complexity of Microsoft Project.”
With GanttPRO, EMCONS made project tracking easier for clients who aren’t used to PM software. The browser-based tool and mobile access reduced friction, while milestones and deadlines provided clear checkpoints for supervision. Customer support helped overcome the initial adjustment and get value faster. Next, Eugenio and his team plan to include GanttPRO in a book about their project management approach as an accessible platform for clients.