How Novac runs delivery, performance, and executive decisions from one ClickUp workspace

Novac's Digital Learning Solutions team builds content and immersive experiences for global clients. Every project runs through multiple stages, multiple contributors, and tight timelines, tracked down to the subtask level. The problem was the tool underneath it. Dr. Prreeti Shekhar, Associate Vice President, Digital Learning Services, doesn't mince words about the old one: "It was not customized to our workflow. Ours is not a typical application development. We were looking for a tool that would suit our workflow, made to order."

The mismatch showed up everywhere. Fitting the old tool to Novac's process meant constant workarounds. Project managers pieced together status from conversations rather than data, and leadership had no real-time read on effort variances, costs, or delivery risk.

From intake to delivery on one board

When a project comes in, the project manager spins up a ClickUp board from a template matched to that offering type and duration. Everyone tagged to the project can see the stages, start and end dates, and estimated effort at the task and subtask level. When effort overshoots, a color indicator flags it, giving managers a marker for follow-up rather than chasing individuals.

Performance tracking at every level

ClickUp runs a three-layer performance view at Novac: individual KPIs feed team-level projections and loads, which roll up into vertical-wide dashboards shared with clients and top management. Planned versus actual effort is tracked at the subtask level, so cost control flows from accurate effort logging rather than from a separate reporting exercise. As Hariharan explained, "cost and effort are equivalent. If effort increases, cost goes high," so keeping estimated and tracked effort aligned keeps cost in check.

For functional managers, the shift is dramatic: daily workload reviews that once required manual checking now run through a single dashboard view, cutting that effort by roughly 75%.

The rhythm of the day runs on ClickUp

Novac didn't roll ClickUp out as another tool. They wired it into how work happens. Allocations only happen through ClickUp, so people check it before email, and PMs create every project there first. Regular alignment sessions cascade the habit down: once the project managers were aligned, Hariharan said, the teams followed automatically.

That discipline is what makes the visibility pay off. "Instead of relying on a person," he said, "we just log in and check the respective projects. In a fraction of seconds, we know where we are." The gain is even sharper on the PM side: adding new projects and pulling status or follow-ups takes roughly 95% less effort than the old process.

For Dr. Prreeti, "the day begins with ClickUp and ends with ClickUp," and the reach now extends past delivery into sales.

Near-100% utilization across 188 seats. No mandate needed. The daily workflow starts and ends in ClickUp, so adoption is self-sustaining.

Instant executive visibility. Leadership stopped chasing PMs for updates. Dashboards surface effort variances, delivery risk, and profitability on demand.

Sales run on the same data. Bimonthly sales meetings run entirely on ClickUp, tying delivery performance to invoicing and scope calls with no extra reporting.

Time and cost tracked natively. Two of Novac's three project-success pillars, effort and cost, live in ClickUp. Quality is the next one they're wiring in.