Sunday, December 20, 2009

Advantages of using Project Management Software and methods

Project management software allows project managers to achieve the more tedious, clerical tasks swiftly and professionally. The challenge for the project manager is not to illustrate the drawings, but to recognize dependencies, and manage the resources available. Furthermore, project management software is able to perform the calculations for deriving critical path and flow charts much faster than human inputs. Project management software makes maintenance and adjustments easier. Project management is a sophisticated assignment and its success relies with its procedural planning and implementation.

The best project manager is supported by a project management software tool that caters to unique project requirements. When selecting a software to run a project or business, many buyers overlook key factors that ensure a successful project management software implementation. The purpose of this article is to provide business owners and project managers with insights on how to select the best project management software.

It is a reality that there is no one single software that services every business need a company has. Therefore, the ability for one software to share data, import/export or otherwise synchronize business data with another software becomes an essential component to the software selection process. Although it may be difficult to assess the cost of moving project management software data to a new project management software without knowing ahead of time what the new project software is, part of the project software selection process should identify how such a switch in systems will be addressed, should such steps be taken in the future.

The project management software vendor and the customer should establish a mutually supportive relationship. When selecting a project management software to run and manage business data and for project management, the project manager should factor into consideration how responsive and competent the project management software vendor is in both the project management software itself and also the business industry that the project management software is intended to serve.

Project Management Software addresses Project Management Concepts, Methods and Techniques

Project Management Concepts, Methods and Techniques - Project management software addresses the full range of activities from the beginning to the end of a project and addresses the management of multiple projects within programs and across organizations. Project Management Software addresses "technical" skills like scheduling, cost estimating, and statistical risk management and encompasses complex disciplines such as scope (product) definition, procurement management, human resource management and communications.

  • Develop core project management skills to contribute to the achievement of your organisation’s strategic objectives
  • Learn the major supporting skills necessary to apply project management in a multi disciplinary and cross functional environment
  • Discover the performance obstacles to effective project management and how to overcome them to produce positive results
  • Aligned to the Project Management Institute Body of Knowledge
Project managers and Project Management Software their managers and clients must be flexible and adaptable to be effective. Effective Project Management Software recognizes that projects in different environments and of different types require variations on the basic Project Management principles. Effective Project Management Software requires ad hoc adjustments, based on moment to moment assessments of current conditions, within the context of a comprehensive plan created using sound and consistent methods and relevant past experience.

There are many project management software tools available with many features and options, i.e. tools for risk management, activity based costing analysis, earned value management, planning, budgeting and other tracking tools. A project-planning software package will usually involve five items of information for input.

1. Start date of each activity
2. Period of each activity
3. Dependences between activities
4. Resources accessible
5. At what stages resources will become available.

Project management software allows project managers to achieve the more tedious, clerical tasks swiftly and professionally. The challenge for the project manager is not to illustrate the drawings, but to recognize dependencies, and manage the resources available. Furthermore, project management software is able to perform the calculations for deriving critical path and flow charts much faster than human inputs.