Picking PM Software
| Situation: You need to make some choices about PM solution providers, but don't know how to compare them. Here are a few quick resources to help you pick software to support your Project Management efforts. Schedulers Some of the information seems to really be from last year, but if you're looking schedulers, this Project Management Software Review brings out some interesting points of comparison. Wikipedia's definition of Project Management Software, also gives you a good list of characteristics that you can consider when making a purchasing decision. PPM Software Projects @ Work (gantthead's sister publication) offers a great PPM Software Evaluation Tool that is both comprehensive and free. You must register to download it. This tool is completely vendor agnostic. Project Management Training The same type of tool as the one above, Projects @ Work's Training Vendor Evaluation Tool will help you make a training investment that you can feel good about. You must register to download it. This tool is completely vendor agnostic. |
Answers to General Questions
| Situation: You need answers (and potentially new ideas) |
I've been playing with Check Out The Niche Stuff Before Deciding...
| Situation: Your need PM Software for some unusual project challenges Most of us looking for project management software limit our range of choices to the big names. Whether or not we end up choosing a big name or highly specialized package, its a good idea to look at the niche offerings. They may not end up being what you need, or integrate well with your other efforts - but giving them a look will likely refine your thinking about your unique needs. For example, consider RoboHead marketing project management software (think highly repeatable best practices, short and simple projects). These guys could care less about gantt charts, dependencies, etc. Workflow, document management, integrated reviews REALLY matter a lot in this context. Once you've taken the tour here, it makes you look at MS Project in a whole different light. ATC Professional project management software is incredibly specific - designed for dealing with industrial plant projects. These projects are non-stop, complex efforts that require very detailed tracking not only of progress, but effort and compliance with government regulations. This may sound like a simple thing, but many people never think of Googling "[project type] + Project Management". That's likely to be your best first step on the road to understand what your specific needs are. |
Wow - Outlook Integration with MS Project 2007!
| Situation: You want to get a lot more out of MS Project with less effort A few weeks ago, the MS Project folks gave our team a briefing on the 2007 version that is now a part of MS Office. There were a lot of terrific improvements. I'll touch on the EPM (UMT) components later, but the most important thing that they've done (IMHO) is integrating Project with Outlook. There's also a timesheet component that's worth considering as part of the whole Outlook-centered world Microsoft has created for you. What if... - your project team interacted with you directly from Outlook, where they live every day? - small project leads werent forced to use full blown MS Project, when they just want to work with a list of tasks? I think you end up with better data, less administrative overhead, and tools that fit what you really need. The graphic below shows you how an MS Project Web Access task looks within Outlook 2007. |
One, Two, Cha, Cha, Cha...
Situation: You can't find it on Google and want someone to join the search party There are some interesting spins on search out there. ChaCha is particularly interesting if you run into a roadblock and can't find what you're searching for. Somehow (I'm guessing through the magic of overseas labor) they can afford to assign each searcher a "guide" who does the searching for you while communicating with you via IM.I asked her, the question I"ve asked a thousand people over the years - "How many project managers are there in the world?" I know that's a tough one. Gantthead's over 285,000 members now, www.projectsatwork.com is nearly 70K strong and the two audiences barely overlap. I also know there are 20 million MS Project licenses out there. What my guide came up with is # of PMI members, which is typical - but at least she got that far. In any case, its just one more thing worth trying if you "still haven't found what you're looking for". Status: Connected to guide: MonicaC MonicaC: Welcome to ChaCha! MonicaC: Hi You: hi You: I'm trying to find out how many project managers there are inthe world. MonicaC: let me see what I can find You: thank you MonicaC: I don't know know If will be able find the precise infomation... MonicaC: but I can give you Project management association site and you might be able to enrollment stats at those sites MonicaC: the first site I sent has a link to a pdf file MonicaC: the last fact sheet is for november 2006 MonicaC: that site states 222,734 were enrolled worldwide at the time MonicaC: checking for other sitesa MonicaC: those are the only association I have been able to find MonicaC: Are these results sufficient? You: thank you MonicaC: You're have a great day MonicaC: you're welcome * MonicaC: Please RATE ME. Thanks for using ChaCha. |
