Have project management tools kept pace with time?
Shoaib AhmedProgram Manager| Eagle Technology GroupWellington, New Zealand
I have recently been looking at optimising the way we manage projects. One thing this has led me to think is whether some of the project management tools have kept pace with the way people work today. I am not looking to re-invent the wheel. Neither am I wanting to be lazy. I am after a way to effectively manage delivery by utilising all my resources to the best of their capability.
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Shoaob, this is a really great post. You ask, "Have project management tools kept pace with time?" Part of me wants to say yes. Over the span of my career, I have worked with most of the leading project management and PPM tools and I would like to say that they are getting better and easier to work with. I can't really claim to have a favorite on account of the fact that different environments have different needs which can lead to one tool being a better fit than another. Another part of me wants to say, or scream, NO. And this is for two reasons. First, project management tools inherently provide and in some cases are limited to application functionality. Though important, technical project management is perhaps a third of the total project management effort, the other two thirds being business acumen and leadership which are not particularly well suited to application logic. As the saying goes, a fool with a tool is still a fool. So how well have today's project management tools made a fool with a tool something other than a fool? My answer would be not that well? So hope we hear from others. Great post, thanks. Saving Changes...
I looked at linked post & sensed that there are still few concerns which are unmet/un-addressed from existing PM tools
1. Are team members finding it useful & easy to manage their activities using given tool?
2. Is it all encompassing -meaning does it let me create schedule, communicate project plan to my team, raise & address issues, manage risk register, documents, update & communicate tasks progress, let my team collaborate, etc?
3. Well IMO, the influence of social media sites (FB, Twitter, etc) has uncovered new expectations like simplicity of use, workplace collaboration and higher performance from project management tools and many PM tools are simply out of this league.
Of course there are some tools more suited in specific context/case and not everything I said will be applicable in all cases.
At Zilicus, we use our own tool - ZIlicusPM to manage projects.
Bernard GorePortfolio, Programme & Project Professional| NZ PoliceWellington, New Zealand
I'd have to say no. Relatively few of the available PPM tools make good use of social-media type engagement and mobile devices, few truly support complex environments - and very few integrate elegantly and fully into other apps.
Added to that many have interfaces that frankly stink - not intuitive and look like they are simply a front end thrown onto something older - some don't even support current windows and browser functionality fully. Saving Changes...
Philip FuchsDirector of PM/PMO| ExemplisIrvine, Ca, United States
I too must state they have not kept pace with time. My CEO wants me to find a social media acting and looking tool for Project Management. The simplicity and visualization of Twitter or Facebook rather than the look of Excel (rows and columns). Collaborative systems lack true project management functionality such as dependencies and critical path. Scheduling based tools lack a modern look and feel.
I would love know if anyone has found a system that meets a card view look and feel with full PMI functionality. Saving Changes...
