Lean Corner

30 questions to choose a collaborative solution adapted to your needs

1. Centralization & Management of Workspaces
2. Animation & Energization of Meetings
3. Performance Monitoring & Indicator Management
4. Project Management & Planning
5. Feedback & Management of Hierarchical Levels
6. Availability of Pre-Existing Templates
7. Standardization of Visual Management
8. Integration with Other Tools
9. Security, Compliance & User Experience
10. Summary and Perspectives: Towards an Optimized Digital Collaboration

Finding the ideal digital tool is essential to structure work, streamline collaboration and improve performance. But how do you make sure it meets the real needs of your organization?
Today, I’ve put together a checklist (30 key questions divided into 10 categories) to help you make the right choice.

1. Centralization & Management of Workspaces

The first step is that a good digital solution should allow teams to work effectively in a shared, structured and well-organized space. It must offer clear visibility on ongoing projects and avoid the dispersion of information.
Questions to ask yourself:

Does the tool allow you to create dedicated virtual workspaces to structure projects and teams?
A structured space centralizes projects and improves team collaboration.

Can you easily organize visual boards (Kanban, planning, roadmap) to structure tasks and track their progress?
Visual boards optimize task management and ensure clear priority tracking.

Does it offer clear access and permission management, so that each employee has visibility tailored to their role?
Advanced access management enhances data security and optimizes collaboration by preventing unnecessary exposure to sensitive information.

2. Animation & Energization of Meetings

Meetings should be productive and interactive. A good collaborative tool should facilitate the preparation, facilitation and follow-up of decisions taken in meetings (whether remote or face-to-face).
Questions to ask yourself:

4. Does the tool include interactive features (voting, brainstorming, retrospectives) to make meetings more efficient and engaging?
Interactive meetings energize exchanges and improve collective decision-making.

5. Can you easily prepare, structure and lead a meeting using interactive and dynamic media?
The right tools make it easier to track meetings for more efficiency. In this way, they contribute to more fluid and productive exchanges.

6. Does it enable real-time collaboration where multiple users can interact on the same documents or boards simultaneously?
Real-time collaboration synchronizes changes and improves team responsiveness.

3. Performance Monitoring & Indicator Management

Continuous improvement involves monitoring KPIs and performance data. The tool must offer a clear vision of the objectives achieved, the gaps and the avenues for optimization.
Questions to ask yourself:

7. Does the tool allow you to visualize KPIs in real time to measure the performance of teams and projects?
Real-time KPIs provide a clear view of performance and help with decision-making.

8. Can you track the evolution of objectives and analyze gaps thanks to customizable dashboards?
Customizable dashboards facilitate the analysis of objectives and optimize strategic management.

9. Does the tool facilitate the establishment of a culture of continuous improvement with built-in PDCA cycles?
The integration of the PDCA helps to structure continuous improvement and track corrective actions.

4. Project Management & Planning

An effective tool should be able to plan, prioritize, and track tasks and projects without burdening processes. It must adapt to the different methodologies used by the company (Agile, Lean, Six Sigma, etc.).
Questions to ask yourself:

10. Does it offer an advanced planning system (Gantt chart, strategic roadmap, AIC) to organize work efficiently?
Gantt charts and strategic roadmaps enable efficient project planning.

11. Does it have built-in sprint and task management capabilities that are suitable for Agile or Lean methods?
Lean and Agile tools promote flexible sprint management and efficient task tracking.

12. Does it set clear priorities and responsibilities for each team member?
A clear assignment of priorities improves the distribution of work and avoids blockages.

5. Feedback & Management of Hierarchical Levels

A good collaborative tool should ensure smooth communication between operational, managerial, and strategic levels. It must ensure that relevant information flows efficiently to the right people.
Questions to ask yourself:

13. Does the tool allow for fluid feedback between the different hierarchical levels (operational, management, management)?
Rapid feedback facilitates communication between hierarchical levels.

14. Does it have an automated reporting system to ensure that the right information is delivered to the right people?
Automated reporting allows for quick and visual dissemination of key metrics.

15. Does it allow you to adapt the display of information according to the level of decision-making (e.g. summary for managers, operational detail for field teams)?
Adapting views optimizes access to information based on the role and needs of the teams.

6. Availability of Pre-Existing Templates

An effective digital tool should offer ready-to-use work models to avoid starting from scratch on each project. These templates should be flexible and customizable.
Questions to ask yourself:

16. Does the tool offer pre-designed table and document templates to speed up process implementation?
Board templates speed up project set-up and improve organization.

17. Are the templates customizable to fit the specifics of the company?
Customizable templates are designed to adapt to a company’s specific needs, offering greater flexibility by allowing adjustments to design, structure, and content to better align with branding, workflows, and operational requirements.

18. Are there built-in templates for Agile, Lean, Obeya, AIC, or other business approaches?
Built-in templates for Agile, Lean, Obeya, AIC, and other business approaches streamline collaboration by providing structured frameworks that align with industry best practices.

7. Standardization of Visual Management

A good tool should standardize visual management across the company while offering local flexibility to adapt to realities on the ground.
Questions to ask yourself:

19. Does the tool standardize Visual Management while leaving local flexibility to adapt it to the needs of field teams?
Standardizing visual management improves consistency while allowing local flexibility.

20. Does it ensure overall consistency while allowing customization according to sectors or production sites?
Integration with other tools prevents information dispersion and improves productivity.

21. Does it facilitate the dissemination of good practices to standardize working methods?
Open APIs help automate workflows and eliminate repetitive manual tasks.

8. Integration with Other Tools

A tool should not operate in silos. It must be able to integrate with existing solutions to centralize information and avoid the multiplication of platforms.
Questions to ask yourself:

22. Does the tool integrate with your current solutions like Jira, Trello, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, or an ERP ?
Centralizing documents ensures quick access to resources and improves collaboration.

23. Does it have open APIs or connectors to automate workflows and avoid manual entry?
APIs automate tasks, reduce errors, streamline processes, and centralize data.

24. Can we easily integrate links to external documents to centralize all information on a single platform?
Integrating external links facilitates quick access to resources and reduces data dispersion.

9. Security, Compliance & User Experience

Data security and ease of use are essential. A good tool should be reliable, secure, and easy to learn to avoid laborious adoption.
Questions to ask yourself:

25. Does the tool comply with data security standards (ISO 27001, GDPR, secure hosting)?
Compliance with ISO 27001 and GDPR standards ensures data security and compliance.

26. Does it offer secure authentication (SSO, MFA) and advanced role and access management options?
SSO and MFA strengthen access protection and reduce the risk of cyberattacks.

27. Is the interface intuitive and user-friendly, promoting rapid adoption by teams without heavy training?
An intuitive interface accelerates adoption, reduces training, and improves day-to-day efficiency.

28. Does the provider offer responsive customer support as well as guides and tutorials to guide users?
Responsive support and clear guides reduce bottlenecks, promoting fast and effective adoption.

10. Summary and Perspectives: Towards an Optimized Digital Collaboration

Don’t hesitate to use this checklist to help you choose the right digital solution for you!
And to go even further, ask yourself these last two essential questions:

29. Is this solution scalable and able to adapt to the future needs of my organization?
A scalable solution grows with the business, avoiding costly migrations and maximizing continuity30

30. Are my teams ready and motivated to adopt this tool on a daily basis?
Team buy-in is key to maximizing efficiency and ensuring sustainable adoption.

By answering these 30 questions, you will have all the keys in hand to make an informed choice and structure your digital collaboration effectively.

Lean Corner