I'm new to this forum, thank you for letting me join. I wanted to say hello and introduce myself.
I work in the press office for Ganttic, high level resource planning software.
My main reason for joining the community it to get a feel for the tools project managers are using for planning and scheduling projects and tasks - and any issues that you have with them.
Do any of you find Excel works for your project planning needs? Or are there little irritations you'd like to share? Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
I use it because some people are not able to use MS Project. So, in my case, my objective is to facilitate communication then Excel works for me. Saving Changes...
Excel is good for structured data such as risk, issue, action & decision logs, financial management and simple scheduling, but I wouldn't use it to create or manage the schedule for a complex project with significant interdependent activities.
As Sergio indicates, since some stakeholders might not have MSP, you could use it as a reporting tool to share project status.
Kiron Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
I use Excel for project planning when needed. For Gantt charts, it can be challenging. And like others say, it is best practice to avoid sharing the MSP file. I tend to use MSP and print to PDF if need be, or if using SharePoint, sync with my project site.
Excel is like a multi-tool. Saving Changes...
Michael HernandezDirector of PM/PMO| Hayden Consulting LLCWindermere, Fl, United States
I agree with the responses above. Excel is used only because many team members or stakeholders want to easily see the details and they do not know how to use MS Project. Saving Changes...
I agree with all of the responses here. I use Excel for creating the very first version of my schedule just to detail out the tasks initially and to maintain Risk/Issue registers.
I use MS Project and other PPM tools for managing my project schedule and they are good Project Management tools. You can share the schedule in PDF & other formats. Saving Changes...
Drake SettsuProject Manager / BloggerHi, United States
I use MS Project to plan the timeline of tasks. I create PDF's or export my MS Project to Excel for distribution to Stakeholders or my team. Excel can't track a project efficiently. MS Project has so much to offer in project tracking. Excel is a very god tool for other needs in Project Management. Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Welcome to this forum Catherine.
I fnd excel to work for certain tasks or activities but not as a planning tool for a large complex project. I use excel to do three weeks look ahead schedules, milestones schedule and other high level plans. Saving Changes...
Arnulfo HernandezProject Manager and Controls specialist| FCAGroupSaltillo, Coahuila, Mexico
Excel is useful when presenting to CMO or Management, mainly charts and resumes, Excel helps you to track trends and statistic data, so it is very useful thru the life cycle of the project Saving Changes...
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