I work for a tech development company (size: ~1,500) and we are looking to introduce a new project management tool/software in order better facilitate collaboration and growth within our organization. I've recently started this role and would like some input into the process.
1) We are considering the following tools: Microsoft Project, JIRA, Podio, Workfront, Smartsheet. Can anyone speak to the pros/cons of these and which you would recommend for an org our size? We generally have longer projects (3-6 months) that have a few teams collaborating at once.
2) For selecting a project management tool, what would you say are the best practices? What elements of the software you're using now really impact your organization and accelerate development?
Any help would be appreciated - thanks! Saving Changes...
I have experience with Microsoft Project and JIRA, which are both very robust and complete solutions, that are used in the majority of organizations. Neverthless, I strongly believe that you have to take into consideration the level of Project Management maturity of the company and the main goal of the tool you want to implement.
Generally in tech development, with the massive adoption of agile metodologies more simpler tools like Trello or Asana are way more simple to use and achieve the objectives of the team, so maybe you should check into those.
Thank you much for your response. I must say that the level of project management maturity within our org is fairly low, thus we want to develop expertise in this area and find the best software to support the development.
Do you have any recommendations for what to look for within a tool? Our current main goals are to provide simple views of all projects within the org, have access to resource allocation functionality, and be able to automate reporting - but we recognize there may be other ways that companies use these tools and have best practices. Saving Changes...
Edward DanielsProject Manager| IndependentGlen Burnie, Md, United States
I am proposing a couple of tools that can be used to better manage tasks and track project progress.
Panorama from http://www.projectpanorama.com is a PM plugin that gives each user their own dashboard with an overview of the projects assigned to them. Team members and clients only see their projects where project managers can see all projects.
Smartsheet from http://www.smartsheet.com/ encourages “collaborative work management and automation solutions help to bring focus to the right tasks, empower teams, and maintain transparency”.
Statdash from http://www.statdash.com/ helps track down team members, contractors and vendors to get a status update. schedule automatic email reminders for my team members to update the status of project milestones, which they can complete in mere minutes.
Any of the three (3) proposed toolsets keep track of key information, documents, milestones, phases and tasks. Project progress is automatically calculated as tasks are completed so you always know how close you are to completion. It can help with better reporting our project progress in one place. It doesn’t replace what we do now but helps with better visibility so that we don’t leave any task undone.
• Project completion is automatically calculated based on hours and task completion.
• Identify delayed projects before they are an issue by comparing project completion to time elapsed.
• Send out e-mail updates on progress to anyone or everyone assigned to a project.
• Setup project templates and clone them to get up and running quickly.
• Clients can approve or request changes on key documents right on the project page.
• Keep discussions in one place and outside of dreaded e-mail making it easier monitor conversation. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
Mike,
If you are looking for a 'single' and centralized solution, then all PM's will need to be using the same 'connected' tool.
If MS Project, best to have Project Server, or use Project Online. Otherwise, you will end up with a bunch of disparate MS Project files.
JIRA is more of an issue management and Agile centric tool.
Another option, is combining MS Project and SharePoint, along with an add-on like Brightwork.
Considerations include the environment and type of solution intended - Cloud, hosted, on-premise.
Questions -
1. What are you doing/using now?
2. What is wrong with the current solution and/or process?
3. What is the goal? Saving Changes...
If the focus is on a centralized solution and collaboration platform for the whole team, I can confirm the usage of MS Project Server (see Andrews comment above) in combination with MS Sharepoint, where I recommend the usage of SharePoint Lists that allows specific tailoring to project team needs. Saving Changes...
