The Best of Project Management Software by Jason Wesltland

The Best of Project Management Systems A selection of professional insights from the Blog archive

Since 2008 our project management professionals have been sharing knowledge, experience and learning with online readers via the Project Manager Blog. Their collective wisdom provides a wealth of how to, top tips and best practice advice, for project managers, teams and businesses. To make their writings more accessible we’ve created a series of “Best of” project management topics available free to download and share. Here is a collection of excerpts and insights from blog posts that discuss the pro and cons of project management software systems. Enjoy

Jason Westland CEO ProjectManager.com

Top 10 Must Have Project Software Features ............................................................................................ 3 10 Attributes of the Best Project Management Software .......................................................................... 6 A 30,000 Foot View of a Project Management System ............................................................................ 10 A Project Management System for Staying Engaged ................................................................................ 13 Project Management Technology for Creating Estimate .......................................................................... 17 The Pros and Cons of Software for Project Management ........................................................................ 20 What Online Project Management Software Can’t Do ............................................................................. 23 Why Is Project Software Management So Difficult? ................................................................................. 26 6 Ways to Augment Program Management Software with Feet on the Ground ..................................... 29 Using Project Management Software to Manage your Clients Expectations ........................................... 33 5 Things to do Before Selecting an Online Project Management Program .............................................. 35 Benefits and Drawbacks of using Microsoft Project ................................................................................. 38 Five Reasons Not to Depend on Microsoft Excel for Projects................................................................... 41 30 Day Free Software Trial ........................................................................................................................ 42

Top 10 Must Have Project Software Features There is a natural evolution a project manager will go through as they start down the path of managing projects. Early on in their career (which may not start out as project management), they find they have an affinity toward organizing tasks and people. They don’t like to waste time. They look for areas where efficiency and predictability can be introduced to whatever they are working on. They are not big fans of surprises and put simple systems and processes in place to prevent these from happening.

Early Project Software – The “To-Do” List The “To-Do” list is their best friend. This list is by their side all day long. It is reviewed, refreshed, and reprioritized constantly. Tasks are crossed off while new ones are added. Pages are torn out while new lists are started. There is the exhilarating sense of accomplishment and progress that an ever-changing “to-do” list brings to a nascent project manager. But, this fledgling project manager soon outgrows the “To-Do” list. It becomes apparent that priorities, people, and tasks change too frequently. The sheet of paper is not large enough to hold all the activity and the changes cause the paper to fill up with a cryptic scribbled down mess.

Precursor to Project Software – The Spreadsheet The next stage in this evolutionary process is the utilitarian spreadsheet. It seems like it was designed with a project manager in mind. The grids, the boxes, the ability to sort and resort and the flexibility to add whatever you need seem like the perfect home for the “To-Do” list. This tool allows a new project manager to keep all of their activity in one place, put together basic reports, update status, keep track of issues, and even color code and prioritize those tasks that are most important. But the almighty spreadsheet also hits a brick wall and also discovered to be deficient for a project manager. It is quickly found that one change in one place does not affect all ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

places where the change should be made. More people need to work on projects together and the single desktop nature of the spreadsheet limits collaboration. Plus, the real-time reporting needs that management wants on projects are hard to keep up with using pivot tables and pre-defined charts and graphs. What’s next? Enter Project Software. But, where do you start? There are so many different variations of project software on the market that it’s confusing to know where to even begin. Rather than get bogged down in brand or type, focus on functionality first. Ask yourself the question “what does this project software need to do?” and start putting a list together of what you know to be true in your organization and circumstance. Consider the following 10 features as a starting point for your decision-making process:

1. Robust Dashboard One of the limitations of using a spreadsheet as pseudo-project management software is the level of effort necessary to provide an overview of one or many projects. Project software needs to have the flexibility to provide dashboard reports that can be presented to an executive for a high-level overview of project status to the more granular view that a project manager or team lead would need.

2. Ability to Track Costs Every project should be viewed as having its own Profit and Loss statement. In order for this to occur, you need the ability to enter expenses and costs against the project that will either be billed for or absorbed in the bottom line. The best project tracking software will track not only cost but time and resources too.

3. Reporting that is Agile People are used to getting information exactly the way they want it. It’s no different when reporting on projects. The project software you choose needs to give you the ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

flexibility to create and customize your own reports knowing that one group of stakeholders wants the information one way and the next wants it another way.

4. Easy to Adjust Plans A plan is just that…a plan. You will need to be able to easily modify and adjust the plan depending upon the changing project environment. Project planning software should make it easy to identify, adjust and document any changes to the project plan.

5. Issue and Risk Management It is the rare project that will make it from Point A to Point B without some bumps along the way. That’s to be expected and perfectly acceptable. What is not acceptable is to allow those bumps to turn into mountains that obstruct progress. The project software you choose needs to have the ability to identify and monitor risk (potential Issue) and Issues (realized Risk).

6. Ability to Track Time This is important for any company to know what their employees are working on, but is imperative for companies that bill their customers either fixed fee or time and materials. The project software needs to have the ability for employees to enter their time so billable hours are captured and future estimates become more accurate.

7. Control Changes Scope Creep is the nemesis of any project. It’s not a matter of “if” it will happen, but “when” it will happen. If handled and tracked properly, these changes can be either an additional source of revenue for your company, or at the very least, keep a project on track. The project software you choose must have the ability to manage change effortlessly.

8. Ability to Store Documentation Documentation is the life blood of any project and e-mailing project documents can only get you so far. You are never sure if everyone is working off the right version, has received the latest plan, or has the most recent business requirements. Project software should allow for the ability to have documents stored not only at a project level, but at a

task level as well. This removes any doubt that everyone is literally working from the same page.

9. Must be Web-Based With everything, and everyone, moving to “the cloud”, there are few, if any reasons why a project software solution would not be web-based. If not web-based, it must at least be accessible remotely as the nature of projects and teams is rapidly changing from one centralized location to many decentralized locations. An extension of being web-based is the knowledge that the application is secure. You must feel confident that confidential and proprietary information is not something that is readily available for others to see. Security roles and the ability to turn features on and off for particular users are a must.

10. Encourages Collaboration With the advent of Blogs, Twitter, IM and other rapid-fire media, it is no longer enough to just have a web-based application and say that it is collaborative. Verify that the project software solution you are reviewing allows users to truly collaborate (share documents, calendars, discussions, comments, etc.) to facilitate any ambiguity being removed from your projects. It may seem like a tall order to find project software that has all of the features listed above, but they do exist. The Top 10 list above should help with your due diligence and research now that you have moved beyond the “To-Do” List and Spreadsheet as your project management tools of choice.

10 Attributes of the Best Project Management Software Whether you’re buying something as small as a camera or as big as a new car the first step is research. The wealth of information available online allows us to gather facts and opinions to inform our purchase decision. This could include compiling a list of features to reading what others have said about the new product. It’s no different if you are in the market for project management tools. You want this to be the best project management software that is available so in order to make this decision you’ll need to do your research. If you look for and include the features listed you will be on the right track to your purchase for your purchase ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

1. Security of Project Management Software The first feature that you’ll want to look for to secure the best project management software is security. Security is a pretty common feature these days as more and more people transact their business online. However, you will want to make sure that the application you choose uses at least 128 bit encryption. This makes it as safe as online banking and is a good rule of thumb to follow as far as security is concerned. Another aspect of security has to do with who has access to what features in the application. You will want to make sure that the software allows different users to have different access as the best project management software will accommodate different views and permissions easily. For example:  Administrator: access to everything.  Project teams: access to everything with some exceptions i.e. setting up new users, assigning permission rights.  Clients: read only view of their particular project.

2. Online Collaboration The next feature of the best project management software is the ability to collaborate. E-mail used to be the collaboration tool of choice now the advent of social media and other technologies has left e-mail in the dust. The project management software you choose must allow for real-time collaboration. This includes the ability to send instant messages, share documents, images and videos, and run discussion threads that anyone who has been assigned the right to do so can provide their input. This type of collaboration ensures that everyone is on the same page, can reference the history of the discussion, and keep up to date with the latest direction of the project.

3. Integrates with Microsoft Project Let’s face it; MS Project is the 800 pound Gorilla when it comes to project management. Most project managers use MS Project or have used it at some point in the not so distant past. There are many project plans that are developed and monitored in MS Project. The software you choose needs to have the ability to integrate with MS Project. This includes bringing in project schedules that were started in MS Project and exporting project schedules from the best project management software into MS Project. Why is this helpful? Your project may be one of many that a client is managing. The ability to ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

import your project schedule into their version of MS Project and link it to other projects will be a big timesaver for them and help keep activity on track.

4. Project Reporting Much of project management has to do with reporting out on the status of a project. This includes progress reports, resource reports, variance reports, and a host of other reports that help keep the project running smooth. The best project management software should include the ability to quickly create, customize, define, and refine your reports at the click of a button. You have much better things to do than sitting at your computer and struggling with getting the right information out of the project management system you have chosen. Your software should make this as easy as possible so you can get on with the real business of project management.

5. Project Expense Tracking Keeping your project within a specified budget is critical if you want to be a successful project manager. The best project management software should help you monitor and control expenses. Make sure that the software will allow you to categorize and enter any type of expense. This could be a one-off expense that happens every now and then to the ability to enter recurring expenses such as paying contractors to help work on the project. This is another area where you should quickly be able to run reports to manage the amount of expenditures that are being applied against your project.

6. Risk and Issue Management This is another big feature of the best project management software. Managing risks and issues is arguably one of the more important jobs of a project manager. Risks are constantly trying to attack your project to prevent it from being complete. Issues are risks that have been realized and have been able to get a foothold into your project and slow it down. The software needs to have the ability to capture, categorize, and report out on risks so that they can be discussed on a weekly basis. Then, when (unfortunately) a risk has become an issue, you need to be able to assign an owner to it and track the progress of resolution. These features will help you maintain focus on the right things in order to keep your project moving forward.

7. Project Member Timesheets The largest expenditure on most projects are the people that have been assigned to work on them. You will want to capture and report out on the time spent. This is more challenging than it sounds because human resources are typically reluctant to continually account for their time. The best project management software will make this task easy to enter and easy to keep up with time. This will help the adoption rate of time reporting within your company that much higher.

8. Project Planning You spend days and weeks talking to people about what it will take to get the job done when you start out on a new project. The best project management software will allow you to capture these tasks in one place along with indentation for related groups of activities, different types of dependencies, and the ability to change things as circumstances dictate. Another important feature you should look for is the ability to baseline your projects. This will allow you to capture your project schedule at that moment in time and compare how the changes to the plan have affected (positively or negatively) the original project schedule.

9. User Friendly Dashboard There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to managing a project. The best project management software will capture these relevant moving parts in one place and make sure that you can quickly and easily monitor what is happening with your project. You should ensure that the project management software you choose will allow you to customize your dashboard for your purposes. For example, one project may be highly sensitive to the amount of time that is being spent on it, so you will want to move that dashboard element to the top. Another project you are managing may be highly sensitive to the amount of expenditures, so you will want to move that dashboard element to the top. This allows you highlight what is most important to those who are interested in the success of the project.

10. Project Management Templates and Documentation File Storage Finally, you will want to make sure the application you choose is online and comes with plenty of file storage. There can be hundreds of documents and versions of these documents that are necessary to manage a project. You need to have plenty of room to store these documents and more importantly back them up. The last thing you want to do is go back and have to recreate a complicated document that was corrupted or lost somehow. The above list of 10 attributes of the best project management software is a starting point for your buying decision. Be sure to talk to other users who already have purchased the software as well. This will provide you with the necessary information you need to make the best decision possible.

A 30,000 Foot View of a Project Management System What do you think of when you hear people talking about a project management system? Most people will think about a piece of software or web application that allows a project manager to run a project. The purpose of such project management information systems would be to assign tasks to resources, manage their activity, and other critical project management activities until the project is closed out. That’s a correct understanding. However, we’re going to back WAY UP in this article when it comes to talking about a project management system. We’re going to look at the macro-level of project management systems approach and how all of the documents, meetings, conversations, activity, deliverables, tangible products and services work together in the project management eco-system. There are three things that must be present in order for a system to work. These are the Inputs, the Process, and the Outputs.

Characteristics of INPUTS in a Project Management System There are a countless number of items that could be considered Inputs in a project management system. The following examples are two types of Input and what must hold true for each of them:

1. Documents There are any number of documents that are associated with a project through its lifecycle. These include business requirement documents, scope documents, quality assurance documentation, and the like. In order for these inputs to be truly useful, they must be thoroughly vetted, have the input, backing, and support of everyone on the project that needs to provide input into such documents. This will require some effort and snooping around from you as the project manager. This is the area that falls into the category of “you don’t know what you don’t know”, and it’s hard to tell if everything that is important to know about the project and what needs to be accomplished has been captured. One way of at least getting a sense for this is if you begin hearing a repetitive theme or the same answers time and again to your questions from different people. This means you’ve done a pretty good job of pulling out as much information as possible before you move forward.

2. Meetings Meetings, or more precisely, the decisions from meetings, can also serve as inputs into a project. The trick with the decisions from meetings is that they can sometimes get swept under the carpet or never see the light of day. Your job as a Project Manager at this point is to muddle through all the non-value-add dialogue of these meetings, then get to the core of what really matters and what must be done. This is important to serve as Input into the project deliverables, as it will shape the final outcome. These meetings were held for a reason, and if that reason is not realized by the end of the project it can only mean rework, lost productivity, and pain.

Characteristics of PROCESS in a Project Management System Once these Inputs have been gathered, verified, and sent along their way in a project management system, they will next be acted upon. If the Inputs are Nouns (documents, meetings, decisions, etc.) then the Process would be Verbs. This is where actions such as Create, Review, Build, Develop, and the other action-oriented words take place. What is the project manager’s responsibility when it comes to this section of the project management system? This is typically the blackbox, “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” part of the project. It’s sometimes hard to understand what happens in this area as it is filled with subject matter experts and those with enough technical prowess to rival Archimedes. But, a project manager must know at a high level what processing is taking place on the Inputs that have been provided. It is the responsibility of the project manager to make sure everyone is dealing in reality, providing realistic dates and cost estimates, and to not get bamboozled by those who may have decades of experience in one particular area. The only way this can be accomplished is to gain the trust and respect of these experts. How do you do that? Make their lives easier. Clear obstacles, help them focus, make sure you have accurate INPUTS into their PROCESS and end products don’t come back for more work. Respect their time, push back when necessary, and always work in a spirit of partnership rather than an “us versus them” mentality.

Characteristics of OUTPUT in a Project Management System And finally, there is the finished product. After each department or group has acted upon the Inputs and provided value via their Process…this is the result. The finished product can be something that is delivered to another department to put their unique signature on (for example, a version of a software package going from the Development team to the Quality Assurance team) or can be the finished product that is delivered to the customer (for example, a building that has been completed).

Regardless of the final product, it is your role to make sure the original requirements of the project have been met and that scope has not ballooned out of control. This is the epitome of the 30,000 foot view of a project management system. At its core it consists of somebody putting something into the machine to be worked upon, value being added to that input and a final, useful deliverable coming out on the back end as output. Input – Process – Output. If you view your projects that way at a macro-level you’ll be able to move mountains.

A Project Management System for Staying Engaged The following are some questions you could ask yourself about how engaged you are as a project manager.

Do I Engage During Conference Calls? A big part of a project manager’s job is to attend, moderate, and facilitate meetings about the projects they are managing. It gives them the information they need to update their project management systems. These meetings can become remote and may sometimes flip over into auto-pilot. It could be easy to “check out” of these meetings even while you are attending in person. You may be thinking about your next meeting or an upcoming presentation that needs to be finished. This ability to disengage is increased exponentially over the phone on a conference call. You can dial into the call, put your speaker on mute, and not even have to say a word! Sure, it may lead to awkward moments of silence when you have to say “I’m sorry, but could you repeat that?” It’s not that you couldn’t hear the question; it’s just that you DIDN’T hear the question… because you were doing something else. This is pandemic .Unfortunately, we’ve all experienced how disengaged people sometimes are on the call when they forget to put their phone back on mute. You can hear them answering the door, talking on another call, complaining to a bill collector about their electric bill being late, and a host of other very uncomfortable situations. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

Bottom line? Engage with the people on the call if you are on the invite. Ask questions. Answer questions. Act as if you are sitting across the room from the people that are on the call. They’ll appreciate the respect and you’ll get that much more from the conversation.

Do I Acknowledge Receiving Important E-Mails? Another thing that was driving me crazy about working with this particular company was that days would pass before they let me know they received what I had sent them. Actually, the only way they acknowledged it was after I sent them a follow-up email asking “did you receive my earlier email?” They would then respond back that they received it and ask me when they could expect to hear back from me again. Part of your project management system for staying engaged should be to acknowledge important emails. The emphasis is on ‘important’. You don’t have to get caught in a cycle of incessant “Thank You’s”, but rather, acknowledge the fact that a major deliverable was provided that was on the critical path. Include the next steps and any other information that is relevant for where the project currently stands.

Do I Attack this Project Like a Bulldog? Bulldogs are notorious for sinking their teeth into something and not letting go. Do you do the same with your projects? Do you sink your teeth into your projects and shake them around until they are complete? The only thing we’re talking about killing here is any apathy that may have crept up into a project by any of the stakeholders, team members, clients, or even yourself. It’s your job as a PM to implement a project management system that will drive your project to closure. Stay involved and visible between meetings. Never accept the status quo that something needs to be done a certain way because it has always been done that way. Look for areas where you can improve the process and project management system that is currently in place. Your actions will speak volumes as to how engaged you are and inspire others to do the same.

Lessons Learned in Web Based Project Management Software There are a number of reasons why the same mistakes are made over and over again. They primarily have to do with how people think about work and realizing most people are wired to think a certain way. People, employees, and resources are focused on the here and now. They have an insurmountable To-Do list that they have to focus on TODAY for deliverables and results that are due either later today or tomorrow. To convince people to set aside a number of hours out of their already over-booked schedule is many times met with “are you kidding me” or the web based project management meeting is dismissed or cancelled at the last minute because of another emergency that just came up. Another reason why people put off capturing and implementing lessons learned is because there is no immediate gratification in working on something that may be implemented 2 or 3 months from now. People like seeing the results of their work in real-time, not something to be realized at some point in the future. Also, people get stuck in and love the same routine they have established each day. They are comfortable with this routine and it brings a sense of predictability into their lives. Once they get into the office, most people want to bring this consistent and predictable routine with them. They’ve grown accustomed to checking the web based project management software you have set up for what their day looks like. Implementing lessons learned requires a change to this comfort zone and causes people to stretch a bit and possibly disrupt their precious routine.

It’s Your Responsibility as Project Manager to Get Them Out of the Rut

At the end of every project, get the key stakeholders in the room and ask everyone what went right, what went wrong, and what could have been done better, faster, or smarter. You may want to bring some key metrics sourced from your project management tools such as estimated hours compared to actual, financial budget information, client comments, etc., but the biggest thing is just get the conversation started. Ideas will begin to flow and feed off each other. Once they do, you need to: 

Capture – Record what is being said on a whiteboard for all to see. Write down just enough to be able to transfer this information over to a spreadsheet for tracking purposes. Talk about each of the items on the board, the pain that it caused, why it happened, who it impacted and what can be done to prevent this from happening in the future. Note: This is not a blame-storming or finger pointing session. The effectiveness of this meeting disappears, the second people start attacking each other. It is your job as the project manager and moderator of this meeting to make sure this does not happen.

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Categorize – Once everything has been captured on the board, start transferring these to a spreadsheet and categorizing them by what type of ‘lesson learned’ has been captured. Is this something that is related to People on the project, the Process of making something better, or the Technology used to implement the project? This will provide a sense of who the best person will be to use to implement the lessons learned on the project. These lessons learned will ultimately start appearing in your web based project management software. Prioritize – Next, identify those lessons learned that would be considered “lowhanging fruit”. These are the ones that will make a big impact as it relates to either saving time or money AND would be relatively easy to implement. For example, throughout the process of capturing problem areas it was identified that one group never knows when they can begin working on their phase of the project. This has caused a delay of days and sometimes weeks. The solution is for the manager of the first department to send an email to the manager of the second department letting them know it’s ready to move forward. No cost to implement, but a huge time saver. Assign – Assign ownership of implementing the lesson learned. If you have a PMO, assign it to one of the project managers on your team to implement. Assign them the

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ones they would be best suited for whether it be People, Process, or Technology. If you don’t have a PMO, assign it to the person who will benefit the most from implementing the lesson learned. They are then responsible for following through on working out the operational details of the lesson learned. Introduce – At the next PMO meeting or weekly project status meeting, have whoever is responsible for implementing the lesson learned into the organization present how this will be done to the team. Make sure everyone understands the new process, the benefits and agrees to follow the new procedure. Repeat – Once these have been implemented, report back on how much time, money, and/or aggravation has been saved due to making these changes. People need to know that breaking out of their comfort zone was worth it, made their lives easier and was better for the company. Then, work down the list from this project and future projects to implement as many lessons learned as possible.

In just a couple of months you will find there is a well-oiled machine in place that has been built from the ground up.

Project Management Technology for Creating Estimate It’s important to spend the necessary time during the due diligence and up-front work needed for a project to save lots of time down the road. Nowhere is this more important than when it comes to estimating a project. This is important for a number of reasons: 

Maintains Your Bottom Line: If your company does work for clients on a fixed fee basis then it will be important for your estimates to be accurate in order to maintain your profitability.“Fixed Fee” Budgets and their close relatives, “Not To Exceed” Budgets are when you scope out the size of the project and then commit to a certain fee or highest amount for the work to be complete. Regardless of the project management technology you use, it’s up to you to keep the time that is spent on these projects within these agreed amounts. What if you can’t? Then typically your company will have to absorb the additional time and ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

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expense that is incurred on behalf of the project. Few Clients Have Open Checkbooks: It’s important to use project management technology for the sake of the clients’ budget as well. In the past, you could find a client that was willing to pay on a Time and Materials basis for a project without a clear end in sight. Those days have changed. Clients no longer have an open checkbook that you can bill time against. They expect an accurate estimate of the amount of money they can expect to pay on this project before they decide to move forward. Time is of the Essence: It’s also important to use project management technology to create accurate estimates, even if funds between companies are not involved. Let’s say it’s a project that is being done within your organization. There’s no real money that swaps hands, so the budget is not so much of a concern. However, there are very real costs to the resources that will be consumed for such a project. Also, people make their plans around certain dates and commitments around each project. It’s important to be as accurate as possible when it comes providing these timelines and project delivery dates.

Three Types of Estimates Estimates are obviously important when it comes to project management. But, all estimates are not created equal. There are basically three major types of estimates. The following is a brief description of each along with its associated pros and cons: 1. The Ballpark Estimate: As the name suggests, the ballpark estimate allows for a substantial amount of wiggle room, perhaps up to 80%-90% off the original estimate. Why would anyone ever use a ballpark estimate based upon the blatant inaccuracy of using this type of estimate? Because it’s fast, it’s lightning fast. But, what good is a ballpark estimate if it is so inaccurate? It may be just enough to give the person an idea that they are in the wrong ballpark. It’s not the fanciest project management technology to use, but it will at least let someone know if something is in the $100,000 ballpark or the $10,000,000 one. 2. Order of Magnitude Estimate: The second type of estimate is the order of magnitude estimate. This is where you look at a new project in the context of projects that have ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

already been complete and then say “this one is going to be half as large or 3 times as big.” You would then factor in any areas of complexity, such as using a new technology or integration with an existing system. This is a useful estimating tool to use. While not as fast as the ballpark estimate, it will allow you to get more of an accurate estimate in a short amount of time…perhaps within a couple of hours. Again, this will not be a rocksolid estimate, but it will at least let someone know if they are in the infield or the outfield, based upon the results. 3. Detailed Estimate: The detailed estimate, as its name would suggest is just that…detailed. This is where project management technology really can come into play. A detailed estimate is created from a WBS and started from the ground up. You look at every piece of work that has to be done, assign an amount of time to it based upon conversations with Subject Matter Experts… and then add it all up. This will give you the most accurate estimate possible using project management technology, but, it will also take the longest time possible out of the three types of estimates. You want to be sure to factor in other time to the detailed estimate including project management work and administrative tasks. Client responsiveness is also something that should be taken into account if you are looking to associate a date with the amount of time that was generated from the bottom up exercise.

Project Management Technology for Creating Estimates There are a number of project management technology tools you can use for creating estimates. 

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WBS Generator: Many packages come with the ability to create a Work Breakdown Structure generator. This will help you get an idea of the scope of the project along with how long you feel each task will take to complete. Timesheets: Another project management technology tool you can use to create accurate estimates is to compare timesheets from the past. Pull these timesheets and spend some time analyzing the numbers to see how long a similar project took to complete. Review Past Projects: It is good form to archive past projects along with their associated notes and lessons learned. Take the time to pull these old projects out and see what went right, what went wrong, and how close their final number ended

up being to the estimate. Use this as a basis for putting your accurate estimates together. Measure twice, cut once. No truer words have been spoken when it comes to house building. Plus, you can use this principle in estimating your projects to ensure your projects are complete in scope and on budget.

The Pros and Cons of Software for Project Management The following are two types of software for project management you could consider using along with the pros and cons of each.

Stand-Alone Software USED FOR Project Management As the name indicates this is software that was not explicitly designed for the purpose of project management but can be used for project management. It consists of independent software that with a bit of effort on your part can be customized to support your project management activity. What are examples of this type of software? Word processors, spreadsheets, presentation software, databases, time and information management systems, and accounting packages can all be used for the purpose of managing projects. While not expressly designed for the purpose of being used for project management they do have a place when it comes to getting to “know your data” as you figure out what is important to you and your team and what’s not as important. The upside of using stand-alone software is: 

Most people know how to use the software - Stand-alone software has been around for some time now and people are already familiar with how to use these packages. This reduces the need for training costs to bring everyone up to speed on how to use new software for project management. Plus, people will be in a position to more likely adopt the software since they are already familiar with how to use its features and functionality. The software already exists on people’s computers – An extension ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

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of the first bullet above is that this software is most likely on their machines. This means that it can be used immediately with no additional cost. The Software is Focused on Its Area of Expertise – Each software package that falls in this category is designed to do an amazingly good job for the reason it was designed. This means it has a LOT of functionality in that area, is easy and flexible to use and learn, and continues to get better in that one area. For example, an accounting package is going to spend a lot of time getting better on the accounting side of things and not spend a lot of time enhancing the basic word processor functionality that it may offer.

The downside of using stand-alone software is: 

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It doesn’t offer a holistic approach – The nature of stand-alone software is that it’s…stand-alone. This means that it could be easy for gaps or misses to occur in your plan because there’s not an overarching view of the entire project. Each package that is used as a solution for software for project management solution operates in a silo that needs a lot of manual attention to keep things in sync. It doesn’t play well with others – Integration between processes and systems becomes a challenge when you use different pieces of software and couple them together for project management purposes. It’s hard enough for these stand-alone programs to talk amongst themselves in your own company and next to impossible to have them talk to a client’s processes and systems.

Specialty Software DESIGNED FOR Project Management The second type of software for project management solutions are those packages that are DESIGNED specifically for the purpose of managing projects. The most common example of this is Microsoft Project but there are a number of other online and offline solutions available. The upside of using specialty software is: 

It does play well with others – Project management software is designed to certainly work together within the program itself and is typically easier to connect to other ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

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project management software solutions. For example, if you change a date, deliverable, resource, or other element in one place in a specialty software package, that change will cascade through the all the plans, reports and other necessary locations where that information needs to be updated. Additionally, there are “hooks” that can integrate into other specialty software solutions that your clients may use, and at the very least the ability to export and import critical information about your project. There are a number of pre-defined templates – Software for project management that is expressly designed that purpose will come with a number of pre-defined templates for your use. These templates can range from project schedules to reports that are put in place as a starting point for you to use to get a jump start on your projects. There is no need to reinvent the wheel as 80% of project management reports are the same (status, resources, workload, expenses, etc.) and usually require just a bit of refinement to make them work for you.

The downside of using specialty software is: 

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It will require some training – These types of applications are not readily available on people’s computers nor are they typically familiar with their use. This will require some attention on your part as a project manager to make sure they know how to use the system properly, have their questions answered, and lean toward adoption. There will be some cost involved – While there are specialty software for project management solutions that say they are ‘free’, these are usually based upon limited functionality, users, or features. If you are looking to implement an enterprise wide solution for project management software then you will need to make sure you have a budget in place in order to make this happen.

A word of advice if you are just starting out on your pursuit of finding the software for project management…get to know your data first. You can start down the stand-alone path and get a sense of what you like and what you don’t need. This invaluable information can then feed into the selection process for your specialty project management software.

What Online Project Management Software Can’t Do Project managers often get caught up in looking for a silver bullet. We experience problems, delays, and frustrations with our projects. We wish there was just one thing that we could do differently, buy, or change in our process that would solve all of our problems.

Symptoms of Silver Bullet Thinking There are multiple manifestations of this type of thinking. Below are a few of the more common ones: 

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We Just Need to Hire the Right Person: A common symptom of looking for a silver bullet is attaching the solution to all of our problems on just one person. For example, we may be having problems with our team. There may be a lack of motivation or perhaps some technical skills are missing. We have been cleared to find a new team member to fill the gap. We have interviewed this person a number of times and just LOVE what they are going to bring to the team. Either consciously or subconsciously, we pin all our hopes on this person to help fix morale, raise the level of skill of those around us, and basically solve what ails us and our project team. We Just Need to Implement the Right Software: Another common symptom of looking for a silver bullet is resting all of our hopes on a piece of software to solve our problems. There may be communication issues, process breakdowns, version control problems, or a host of other inefficiencies that are negatively impacting our projects. We may reason that if we implement the right online project management software it will take care of all of the aforementioned problems. We may believe that once we flick the switch on our new online project management software that everything else will fall into place. We Just Need to Change the Process: A third symptom that someone is looking for a silver bullet to solve their problems is changing the process to do the trick. For example, a project manager may reason that if they are involved in the sales cycle earlier, there may be fewer commitments made by the salespeople that can’t be honored by the company. This one change may or may not have the holistic impact that the project manager is looking to facilitate. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

The danger in putting all of our hopes in one solution is that it prevents us from looking at other options. For example, we may have settled on the perfect online project management software to use. We may believe this is what is going to solve ALL of our project management problems exclusively. It causes us to stop looking at other areas that will help as well, such as hiring a new team member or changing the process.

Why We Look for the Silver Bullet to Solve our Problems There are a number of reasons why we may slip into the trap of limiting ourselves to one solution to solve our problems. For example: 

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We May Be Desperate: We may find that the problems facing us are so overwhelming that we feel backed into a corner. We feel as if we have tried everything else and this one silver bullet solution is all that is left to do. We’ve Read Great Things about the Solution: We subscribe to different trade journals and magazines as project managers in addition to the blogs we read online. There may have been an outstanding review of an online project management software solution that sounded exactly like it addresses the problems you are experiencing. This caused you to reason that the online web project management software will solve your problems. We’ve Heard Others Talk about the Solution: You may have found yourself listening to someone at a networking event tell how they solved a problem similar to yours. The solution they tried solved all of their problems, so you become wildly optimistic that the same solution will solve your problems as well.

There are a few things to keep in mind about the above scenarios. First, you never want to make a decision based on desperation. Second, people have a tendency to inflate what their solution did for them and their company. It could have solved some of their problems, but as often as is the case, a solution does not solve all problems as they would lead you to believe. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

What Online Project Management Software Can’t Do Keep the following points in mind if you are leaning toward online project management software to solve your problems. Believe me, we are huge advocates of implementing online project management software in as many organizations as possible. But, we are also realistic that there are certain things online project management software can’t do. Online project management software can’t: 

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Build and Nurture Relationships: Project managers erroneously assume that online project management software will enable them to connect with everyone via email, updates, reminders, and reports as soon as it is up and running. The art of building and nurturing relationships should never be left to a virtual planning tool. Building and nurturing relationships with your team occurs best face-to-face. Interpersonal relationship building is actually what will solve most of your problems. Understand the Nuances of a Project in Your Company’s Environment: There are so many moving parts to a project that it is hard for online project management software to keep up with all of those dynamics without the judgment and discretion of a project manager to fill in those blanks. For example, one project may be wrapping up while another project is queued up. The online project management software will start serving up those tasks as instructed. But, it won’t know that one of the VPs has come in with a quick, one-off project that needs to be squeezed in between those two projects. Online project management software needs to be manually updated accordingly. It Can’t Ensure What is Entered is Accurate: Online project management software can’t make sure what is manually entered is accurate. The principle of garbage in, garbage out still holds true for today’s technology tools. For example, it won’t be able to tell you whether the amount of time allotted for testing is the right amount of time needed. Only you and your expert project manager opinion will be able to verify that what is being entered is correct. What an online project management software program will do is allow you to check reality. You’ll be able to use features such as Gantt charts and other reporting modules to ensure that your plan makes sense.

Online project management software allows everyone to stay in sync, serves as a repository of source documents, offers dynamic dashboards and does so much more.

Why Is Project Software Management So Difficult? “Is this the first time we’ve ever done something like this?” asked the Project Manager to the developer. “What do you mean?” asked the developer. “I know that we’ve done this type of software project many times before, but it always feels like it’s the first time ever. The same questions always seem to remain unanswered, the same disconnects occur, and we always run into the same problems. You would have expected by now that we would have had this all figured out” languished the project manager. Have you felt this way at times? Have you wondered why project software management is so difficult? Here’s the encouraging and discouraging news all at the same time. It’s not just your company and your resources that are having this conversation. It’s everywhere! You can leave your position as a project software management professional in one organization and start in another company and you’ll pick up the same conversation right where you left off!

Why is Project Software Management so Difficult? It may be a total misperception, but it just doesn’t feel like there is that much confusion in other industries where project management is applied. The following are some of the unique aspects of IT projects that we all face, along with some suggestions on how you can simplify things a bit. 

IT Does Not Operate In a Vacuum: There are very few, if any, projects that IT works on that are self-contained and not intertwined with other groups, departments, processes, and organizations. A major function of IT is to support the business activity of an organization. Because of this fact, there are myriads of people involved who are affected by any changes that are made during the project software management process. For example, a company needed to make a change in order for a certain number and code to be assigned to a product faster. This would then allow the other departments to do what they needed to do with that particular item. This ‘change’ came directly from the IT department without consulting with the end users ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

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first. We all know where this story ends up. There was less than stellar acceptance, and even some outright opposition to the project software management process. What’s the solution? Make sure you have the buy-in and acceptance of the business users that will be impacted by the change that is being considered. Additionally, you’ll need to check the mindset of your company and how they view the relationship between the business people and the technology people. Is the feeling that technology is in place to support business, or, is the feeling that the business is in place to support technology? You’ll have a harder time gaining buy-in and acceptance if the latter is the case. There is a Never Ending Supply of IT Projects: Another reason why project software management is so difficult is that there is a never ending supply of IT projects. A project may have just been completed and the end users really like what they received. Now their imaginations start going crazy. They start thinking about all the other things that could be done to make their jobs and lives easier. They start putting together a wish list of ideas that ultimately turn into the next project for the IT department. Part of the problem with projects software management is that ideas are endless and free, while the resources necessary to get things done are finite and expensive. What’s the solution? You need to develop an objective and criteria based process for choosing which projects receive attention. The next time a project request is made you can run it through the gauntlet. Examples of questions include…Does it support the company’s strategy? Are there resources available to work on this project? Will it require highly expensive and in-demand resources? Will it benefit more than one group of people? How much training is involved? This questioning process will help filter out those requests that are projects for projects sake. There has to be a line drawn in the sand somewhere, and you as the project software management professional are as good a line as any. IT Resources are Stretched Razor Thin: A third reason why project software management is so difficult is because the people that are working on these projects are stretched way too thin. The never ending supply of IT projects ensures that these people have not only their share of work to do, but the work of at least two others as well! This is especially true in recent years where cutbacks hit companies hard. The people that could work on the projects were no ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

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longer there, but the projects were. This introduces complexity into the process for a number of reasons: Attention is Divided: It’s hard to focus on the task at hand when you know you have looming deadlines and commitments just outside your door, trying to break it in. You may be talking to a team member about what needs to be done on this particular project. They are shaking their head and saying ‘uh-huh’, but you know they are not listening. They are more concerned with the commotion outside of their office that is just about to burst through their door in the form of missed commitments, deliverables that were wrong and angry stakeholders. The situation then snowballs because the details you are trying to cover with them will be missed and soon you will be outside this door trying to break it down. Quality Suffers: This type of stress on a person can only have a negative impact on the quality of their projects. This adds complexity to project software management because now you have to backtrack and make up for lost time because of work needing to be redone Dates are Missed: Divided attention and sub-par quality finally culminate as missed dates. This increases everyone’s frustration levels; attention becomes more divided; quality suffers more; and even more dates are missed. It’s a vicious circle. How can you break this cycle? Run interference for your resources. Stop interrupting them at a whim. Allow them solid, uninterrupted blocks of time where they can get work done. You may want to consider setting up ‘office hours’ depending upon how mission-critical this particular resource is to the project. This is where the only time people can drop by and chat with this resource is during a specified time. This causes people to work around this valuable resource’s schedule and not the other way around. Technology Gets Old…Quickly: Finally, another reason why software project management is so difficult is because technology changes so quickly. Everyone has just come up to speed on the latest technology and it’s already out the door. Internet years are like dog years. Every year that you work in a high-paced internet driven technologically savvy environment is like seven years to everyone else. Things change so rapidly it’s hard to keep up. What to do? Make a concerted effort and have a real plan in place for your resources to keep up with the technology. Have ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

one person keep their eye on what’s coming up. Have another person go to the courses and then come back and share that with the rest of the team. It’s not impossible to keep up with the changes. You just need to pick a direction and stay on top of what is happening in that particular area.

6 Ways to Augment Program Management Software with Feet on the Ground Program management software is great. It allows you to roll up your portfolio of projects into one central location and categorize them by type, such as organization, customer, etc. Scorecards can be used to determine how well projects are performing in each portfolio, and then that information can be used by executives to prioritize and/or cut projects. The challenge with program management software, however, is that it doesn’t run on auto-pilot. It’s not something that you can set up and forget. It requires diligence by the program and project managers to update with information that ensures their projects are running as expected. That is why there is no replacement for having feet on the ground and people on the frontlines of project or program detail. We don’t like to paint program management with a military brush, but sometimes it does feel like we are fighting a war. For example: 

You Fight For Resources: You know which resources you want to include on your projects and incorporate into your program management software. The only problem is that everyone else wants to use the same resources on their projects. It takes a certain amount of lobbying, finagling, and deal-making to get these resources on your projects. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

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You Fight for Budget: There may be a certain project that is just what your program needs to realize its fullest potential. The problem is that you don’t have the necessary funds in this year’s budget. You need to convince management that your project is worth the investment. This undoubtedly means that the budget will be coming from somewhere else in the organization. You Fight for Approvals: Once all the pieces of your program are complete, getting approval from clients or even internal gatekeepers may be like pulling teeth. There always seems to be ‘just one more thing’ that they want to look at or tweak before they put their final stamp of approval on the project or program.

What can help you get through these tough situations? To borrow military terms, you need a ground assault. Program management software may be the air cover you need, but to really get something done you need to have feet on the ground. To increase your project’s chance of success try these…

1. Go Get the Information You Need The last thing you should do as a program manager is sit back and wait for information to come to you. There is no excuse for, “I didn’t know that was happening” or “I didn’t know that was the direction that was chosen.” Some managers believe that they can sit back and wait for everyone to come to them with the information they need, but this may or may not happen depending upon how busy everyone is or the culture of the company. Gathering information requires a skilled and experienced program manager. They need to have managed enough projects and programs to know when something is missing or isn’t right. When they are alerted to an issue, they will start questioning those closest to the problem or issue. It’s not done in the style of an interrogation, but as a way of ‘connecting the dots.’ Resources are less likely to come forward with information if something has gone wrong. They may reason that they can fix a problem before it becomes too big of a deal. That may be the case, but if not, it puts the entire project and a big part of the program at risk. The skilled program manager makes it their responsibility to go get this type of information.

It’s the program manager’s responsibility to go get the information they need, but it’s also their responsibility to make sure everyone else has the information they need. Nobody on the team should be wondering what the next step is, what the goals of the program are, and what needs to be done in order to meet those goals. The program manager whose feet are on the ground will use every means of communication at his disposal. This includes one-on-one meetings, group meetings, emails, presentations, reports, drive-by updates (quick chats walking down the hallway), phone calls, IMs, and any other appropriate method to keep everyone informed.

3. Keep the Right People Involved in the Program Outside of knowing how to use program management software, a program manager must also be skilled at keeping the right people involved in the program. Notice I emphasized the word “keeping?” What usually happens is that a program starts off with all of the right people involved; executive sponsor, functional managers, client, and the relevant team members are all actively involved and gung-ho about getting the project off the ground. A little time passes and the shiny new toy that everyone liked playing with starts to lose interest. People have moved on to a new shiny object, and support for the current program begins to wane. It’s up to you to wrangle them back in and keep them engaged and interested. Otherwise, you’ll be unable to maintain the level of support necessary to complete the program.

4. Set the Right Example Yourself You need to lead by example if you expect people to act a certain way. If your teams see you taking shortcuts, they will think it’s okay to take shortcuts. If they see you disregard ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

the plan developed from the program management software, they’ll think it’s okay to disregard the plan. Part of managing a large program is that people know what you would do if confronted with a certain situation or choice. Provide them with an impeccable example to follow.

5. Put Everything Important In Writing Something else that helps you keep your feet on the ground as a program manager is to put every important decision in writing. This is not for the purpose of covering your tracks, but rather to chronicle the decisions that were made along the way. The end of the project or program many times looks very different than when it started out. Instead of sitting in an office somewhere, get out there on the front line and seek to understand changes and carefully document them. This will prevent long, drawn-out conversations of why the project went a certain way when memories begin to fade.

6. Challenge Assumptions You as well as your team should challenge assumptions. Just because something has been done a certain way for a long period of time doesn’t mean it always has to be done that way. There may be a much better alternative to get something done. It requires some frontline jostling and questioning to implement a new and better way, but it’s worth the effort once the savings in time and/or money is realized. These six activities are outside of the realm of program management software. The software is a critical part of managing your programs; however, it requires a very real and frontline presence of a program manager. This speaks volumes to the resources you are managing and helps ensure a more successful program.

Using Project Management Software to Manage your Clients Expectations 1. Keep a Log of ALL Successes The first thing you need to do in utilizing your web project management software is to keep a log of ALL successes. Notice we stressed ALL successes? Regardless of how big or how small these successes are you will want to capture them and store them in a safe place for later use. What constitutes a success? Anything that has been done on behalf of a client that helped move their project or company forward. This could be the completion of a new software application, business process improvement initiative, or something that was done that helped increase sales, lower costs, or a little of both. What is the best way to capture these successes? Some project managers feel as if they will be able to remember all that was done on the client’s behalf if they sit down and write things out 2-3 months after the fact. That doesn’t work. You’ll sit down and stare at a blank piece of paper for 30 minutes before you scribble out a meager 1 or 2 accomplishments. The best thing to do is set up a file in your web based project management software where you can write yourself a quick note as to what was just accomplished. Or, you can send yourself an email with a code in the subject line like WIN: [project success] that automatically gets filed in a folder for later review.

2. Discover as Many ROI Numbers as Possible Throughout your conversations with the client, try and uncover as many ROI numbers as possible that are a direct result of the projects that have been implemented. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

For example, was there an increase in sales as a result of the project that was implemented? How much faster was a particular task or activity able to be accomplished as a result of your project? What types of savings were realized from your project coming to completion at your client’s site? You may have to dig for these numbers a bit. Sometimes the client doesn’t even think about projects this way. They just know it was something that needed to get done. However, you should always wear your business hat and look for the value that was derived from the implementation of your projects. Record these findings in your web project management software or send yourself an email similar to the success emails from above.

3. Create a Sequence of Success Timeline Now that you’ve collected all the successes (no matter how small) and discovered as many ROI numbers as possible, start putting them into a timeline. For example, map out 6 months of activity that started in January and ended in June. Put a note on the timeline (in January) of the project that was completed. Next to it, include the business result in the form of an ROI. Do this for success after success and spread it across the entire 6 months on the timeline. NOTE: There doesn’t have to be and ROI for everything. Perhaps one of the successes was that the two teams were able to meet together for 2 days and hash out a great many details for the next project. This is an important activity to record, as it feeds into the success and result of what followed. There’s not a direct ROI from this event, but the fruition of the ROI was realized as a result of a subsequent project. If you’ve recorded these successes and ROIs in your web project management software program you can pull this list together quickly and easily.

4. Take a Walk Through the Forest The final thing you need to do then is request a meeting with your client and walk through the forest with them. What does that mean? This is your opportunity to walk away from the minutiae and day-to-day grind of the ongoing projects (aka “the trees”) and take a look at the big picture (aka “the forest”). This is an excellent opportunity to reflect on all those things that have been accomplished over the past 3 – 6 months. NOTE: Longer than 3-6 months is not recommended as some of the “trees” may have died during that time and the forest may not look quite as lush. You need to make sure the right people are walking through the forest with you. You want to ensure the people you work with on a daily basis are present. But, you also want to invite their bosses and go up the corporate ladder to the highest possible executive that it makes sense to have in attendance. They’ll be able to get a good feeling for the direction, momentum, and successes that have occurred over the recent time period that is being covered. This preemptive type of meeting does a couple of things… Whenever someone internally brings up the question “what have you done for me lately?” their peers from the same company can be the ones that give them the answer on your behalf. It also affords the opportunity to review and revise any current projects that are underway, to ensure they still make sense to pursue. Finally, the goodwill that this type of proactive meeting creates is priceless.

5 Things to do Before Selecting an Online Project Management Program Before you make a final decision about purchasing an online project management program tick off the following five boxes…

1. Know Your Stuff The first thing you need to know is something about project management in general. It will be hard to make a good decision if this is your first day on the job as a project manager. You need to have some experience to understand the ins and outs of project management. What are the challenges that surface on a regular basis that an online project management program will help you conquer? You need to have a clear idea in your head of what you are looking to accomplish and how this will fit within your organization. Don’t fret if you are new to project management you can expedite the learning process by reading and networking with other project managers that have ‘been there, done that’. The insight you gain from other professionals will prove to be invaluable in your decision making process.

2. Know Your Organization Take a poll around your company and see what other departments are using as an online project management program. It’s no surprise that many companies are silo-ed in their approach to project management. One group may have realized they need to have a small group of project managers and another group may have realized a similar thing. You end up with two departments, two online project management programs both doing different things. You may find that there is a program that one group is already using that fits your needs.

3. Find Out What Others Think One of the things that is great about the Amazon App when you are shopping in a store, are all the online reviews. It’s hard to know how a product will perform when all the packages look so professional and enticing. It can be a different story when you read the products online reviews. What at first seemed to be exactly what you were looking for may rate only 2 / 5 stars. Thus informed you can look into your other options. Be aware when you are shopping for an online project management program as everyone’s websites will tout how revolutionary their product is for project management, so verify these claims with actual users of the online project management program. Start by asking your colleagues about their experience with online software programs. What do they like? What don’t they like? What can and can’t they do? Then

expand your research online and see what the larger user group is saying about the products as well.

4. Start Small I have a friend who goes “all in” when he starts a new hobby. He goes out and buys anything and everything available to immerse himself in this new distraction. A couple of weeks go by and all of that stuff ends up in a closet next to the last distraction. I always recommend to him to start out small and see if he likes something before he spends all that money and the same advice applies to purchasing an online project management program. Start small and see if you like the application. Most companies will offer a trial period where you can test drive a small project with a handful of people and closely monitor and follow how the project moves through its lifecycle. Does it do what you expect? Did it save time? Is it easy to understand and train others? Begin working with a handful of the features and functions and run through the entire process. Dig into the dependencies of the system. For example, if you change one thing…does it cascade to all other areas of the application? Do the reports reflect the changes that have been made? Really run the online project management program through its paces before you make a decision to buy.

5. Get Further Training This step actually occurs after you’ve made the decision to buy based upon all your research above. You will want to obtain further training depending upon the complexity of the application. Some online project management programs are easy to use and require minimal effort to learn. Yet, they are powerful in what they offer as a set of features. This is the ideal scenario. Other programs are much more complicated and require a greater learning curve in order to maximize their potential. Determine what you need to accomplish with the program and then find training that is commensurate to your needs. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

Buying an online project management program is really just like anything else. You need to know your stuff, understand your needs, do your research, and then make a decision to buy. Once you’ve been through this process you’ll have a much better user experience and reap the full benefits from the package you have selected.

Benefits and Drawbacks of using Microsoft Project Microsoft Project has been around for around two decades now (can you believe that?) and arguably has a pretty large slice of the project management software market share. Thousands upon thousands of project managers have used this powerful tool to quickly get a handle on their projects and keep everyone on the same page. Just like every other software company, Microsoft is constantly looking for ways to improve this software based upon user feedback. It has made great strides in recent years in making MS project easier and more intuitive to use as well as reduce the learning curve that new users would experience when they fired it up for the first time on their machines. What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of using Microsoft Project? Rather than focus on a particular version, this article will concentrate on the big picture of using MS Project and can help you determine if this is popular project management software package is right for you.

The Benefits of Using Microsoft Project The following are some benefits for you to consider when it comes to using Microsoft Project: 

Familiar Look and Feel – If you have used other Microsoft products over the years you will feel right at home when you open your first Project file. The look and feel is very similar to the other suite of Microsoft products. This is great when it comes to not having to spend a lot of time learning a new interface, operating system, or new ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

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way of doing things. There’s a lot to be said for having a familiar look and feel if you’ve ever flipped back and forth between operating systems or even application families. While you may not be in the exact “house” as Excel, Word, or PowerPoint when you open your first project file, you are at least in the same “town” and can know enough to get around. If you’ve used another project management solution besides Microsoft Project you can almost relate the experience to being in an entirely different town or even State in the way they have things set up. Integrates Well with Other Microsoft Products – One thing Microsoft has done very well in recent years is integrating their individual applications with each other. Rather than feeling as if you are just working with Word, Excel, or other Microsoft application you now feel as if you are working within a Microsoft application that allows you to do word processing, spreadsheet analysis, email, and yes, even project management. The ability to send information from one application to the next, open one application from within another application, and toggle back and forth between them all has created a positive user experience and one that translates well when using Microsoft Project. Powerful and Flexible User Interface – You can get as complicated or keep things as simple as you would like using Microsoft Project. If you have a simple project with a half-dozen resources that you need to get off the ground quickly you can make that happen with this application. Jump into a new Project file, create some resources and high level activities and get things moving. On the other hand, if you have a project that spans multiple departments and has a lot of moving parts you can still use Microsoft Project to help manage such a project.

The Drawbacks of Using Microsoft Project There are also some drawbacks to consider when it comes to using Microsoft Project: 

Does Require Some Training to Fully Utilize – As mentioned above, you can get up and running relatively quickly for simple projects when it comes to using Microsoft Project. However, you will find that to truly utilize all the functionality that exists will require some time spent on training. This training could range from user groups, books, online sessions, or paid for classes that will help you dig into the details and ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

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full power of the system. It will also alert you to some “gotchas” that could occur within your project plan since everything is do inter-connected. For example, changing dependencies in one section of your plan could have downstream impacts that you are not aware of having occurred. This could send people down the wrong track without you even beware of the change. Cost Needs to be Considered – There are a number of less expensive solutions to Microsoft Project on the market today that may be able to do what you need based upon your requirements and circumstances. The best thing to do is assemble a list of what you are looking for in a project management solution and see what options exist in the marketplace. You may find that Project does exactly what you need it to do at the cost that fits your budget. Or, you may find that you need something a bit less robust than Microsoft Project that you will fit your needs.

Some Things to Keep in Mind Regardless of Whether or Not You Microsoft Project Microsoft Project is a tool. It’s just a tool like a hammer, saw, or screwdriver. It’s not the tool that makes the project or job successful, but rather it’s the people that use the tool. It’s the training and experience these people have when it comes to using the tool. Someone who knows how to properly use a tool will get considerably different and better results than somebody who does not properly know how to use the tool. It’s the same with Microsoft Project, or any project management tool for that matter. If someone isn’t experienced when it comes to using this powerful tool the results could be less than satisfactory. You need to make sure the right people and processes are in place to properly utilize this tool. If you do feel MS Project is the right tool for you and need to convince management that they need to purchase this for their company you will need to show them the efficiency gain this tool will produce within your company. For example, you can show them how it will: 

Save Time – Having a master project plan in one place and as one authoritative source will save time for the company. This reduces the back and forth of questions and misunderstandings that can quickly arise without the benefit of a project management tool in place. ProjectManager.com © 2013 All Rights Reserved

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Eliminate Overlapping Work – There is nothing more frustrating than having two people work on exactly the same deliverable. Or, worse yet, have one person NOT work on a deliverable because they thought it was being handled by somebody else. Increase Visibility –Another selling point to management is how a solution like Microsoft Project will increase project visibility. The reporting features, ability to compare the baseline project plan against actual, and make adjustments accordingly are invaluable to a busy executive who just needs a quick reality check as to where things stand.

One final thing you need to do if this is going to be a no-brainer for management is to convert the above savings into dollars. Show them how if you invest “this” much in the project management solution, you will then be able to realize “that” much in your return on investment. It’s good to see how Microsoft has made constant improvements on this powerful application. We look forward to seeing what’s coming up in the near future.

Five Reasons Not to Depend on Microsoft Excel for Projects Learn the top 5 reasons why you should not depend on Excel or Word to manage your projects, watch http://www.projectmanager.com/why-not-to-depend-on-microsoftexcel-for-projects.php

30 Day Free Software Trial There are two key differences between ProjectManager.com and its competitors. The first is that we give you all of the features you need to plan, track and report on projects efficiently. The second key difference is that our competitors charge a high upfront price as well as annual maintenance fees for new releases. Here at ProjectManager.com we offer you all of the features you need to manage projects, at a small monthly price of just $25 per user. That simple! When you sign up to ProjectManager.com, you also get for free: Unlimited Projects 3 Gigs of Document Storage Client Login Free Upgrade to New Releases

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Take a Free Trial Create your own Projects Sign up to boost your project success Any questions? Email support@ProjectManager.com and one of our friendly support staff will be happy to help. We also recommend a visit our resource library if you would like access to further: project management tips  video tutorials  project management templates