Not All Project Management Software is Created Equal

The purpose of Project Management Software is to provide an environment in which a group of people can work together on joint projects. Most projects involve the development and implementation of new ideas, and these ideas have to be presented, evaluated, and revised.

The role of Project Management Software is to help this collaborative effort along. Collaboration happens at various levels and it is up to the Project Management Software to facilitate all these levels.

A typical Project Management scenario

Consider a creative agency developing a marketing campaign for one of its major clients. The project team includes a number of individuals within the agency -- the creative director, the copywriter, the illustrator, the graphic designer, etc. But it also includes personnel on the client's staff: the product manager, the advertising manager, even the general manager if it is an important enough project.

And the team will usually include outside agents who have been hired specifically to deliver some component of the project: illustrators, photographers, voice over specialists, audio and video studio personnel...the list goes on.

All of these people have to be kept in the loop as the project proceeds.

Traditionally, coordination of this sort was done by the project manager. But Project Management Software puts this job into the hands of individual team members. If it is working correctly, it gives each member of the team an accurate picture of how the project stands at any given moment.

Once a team member becomes familiar with the Project Management System, there is no reason not to be fully aware of developments, timelines and delivery dates, to submit assignments for approval in a timely manner, and to make revisions as they are necessary.

What to Look for in your Project Management Software

Usability - Perhaps the most important feature a useful Project Management System must have is ease of use. If using the software takes more time and effort than it is worth, team members will quickly stop using it. The point of Project Management Software is to complete the project more efficiently, and if the software is not user friendly it can end up doing exactly the opposite.

Set up and Maintenance - Your Project Management Software must be easy to set up and run trouble free. The last thing you want is a new level of technical problems, or a system that requires a dedicated technical person to run.

Accessibility - Team members will need access 24/7 from a variety of locations - from within your office, from client locations, from team members' homes. That means that web access using a standard web browser is mandatory.

Simple User Management System - Be sure your Project Management Software has a simple and easy-to-use system for creating users and assigning privileges, as well as creating, storing, and retrieving passwords.

Powerful Document Management - The heart of any Project Management System is the way it handles documents. It should provide a variety of tools and features to make it quick and easy to control how you share files with your clients and team members. Some features to look for in the document management of your system are:

- Easy uploading of files so they become available to all team members with appropriate privileges.

- Ability to attach notes, comments and suggested revisions to each document.

- Ability to retain different versions of documents with their accompanying notes and author information.

Flexible Task Management - Your system should allow you to break down your project into tasks, assign tasks to your team, track task progress, view the task history and measure how much time has been used on a task.

It should also allow clients to log issues and questions through the web interface which can then be directed to the project manager for incorporation into the workflow.

Project Archiving - Once a project is finished, team members should be able to delete old versions and download the latest and approved versions of files along with a list of all project tasks in a single compressed ZIP archive.

To see an online demo of the powerful Project Management System called Hot Project, visit the Hot Project Demo. Hot Project has had many years experience working with some of the biggest brands in the world - with some of the best agencies in the world for advertising, design and communication.

Rick Hendershot is a writer, online publisher, and creator of the Linknet Publishing Network. To learn how you can promote your product or service with online articles, see the Linknet Article Promotion Program.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


The End of Spyware?

The US House of Representatives has recently passed the "Spy... Read More

An Introduction to .NET Framework

.Net Framework is a platform or development environment to seamlessly... Read More

RFID: Strengthen the Position for SAP; United States

SAP Inc., a global leader in client/server enterprise application software... Read More

15 Questions to Ask Your Software Vendor

When making a decision to buy any piece of software... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation: Verticals - Wholesale Order Entry center ? overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has substantial market share and... Read More

Looking for an Alternative to Microsoft Office? You Should Be!

Now is the time to look at an alternative to... Read More

Linux Vs. Windows

This article will not attempt to advocate the use of... Read More

Is Your Computer Sick?

Viruses and spyware usually show up on your computer one... Read More

Interactive Mapping Brings Information to Life

What is Interactive Mapping?Interactive mapping is a visual display medium... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Logistics & Warehouse Management ? Implementation & Customization Highlights

Logistics automation is often considered as barcoding extension to Sales... Read More

Not All Project Management Software is Created Equal

The purpose of Project Management Software is to provide an... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Customization Recovery & Upgrade for Large Corporation

At the end of XX century, in the late 1990th... Read More

Microsoft CRM for Large Corporation ? Security

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM proved to be reliable solution in... Read More

How to Tell You Have Spyware, Ad-ware or Viruses

Usually, the easiest way to tell you have spyware is... Read More

Software Tools To Help Your Business Sell More

Sales are all about leverage, because there is only so... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains implementation: Restaurants Supply Chain Management Example

Microsoft Great Plains serves majority of US based horizontal and... Read More

SSH (SCP) Send Files from Windows to Your Linux Box

Not all of us have the luxury of working both... Read More

Microsoft CRM and Great Plains Implementation: Freight Forwarding Business Automation Example

Microsoft Business Solutions offers several ERP applications: Great Plains, Navision,... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Partner Selection: Overview

Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Solomon and Axapta are Microsoft Business... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation in Russia ? Overview for Consultant

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very popular ERP platform... Read More

Collaboration Software: Index of Collaboration Software Technologies

Collaboration SoftwareCollaboration Software, also known as group collaboration software or... Read More

Vlans

In order to implement VLANs in a network environment, you'll... Read More

Who?s Watching What You Type?

If someone entered your home, uninvited and installed numerous cameras... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains eCommerce ? Stored Procedures Approach

Since Version 8.0 Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains & Great... Read More

How to Get The Best Accounting Software For Your Small Business

Buying accounting software is a major investment. It's an important... Read More

Call Alert Notifications - Free Answering Machine Software for PCs

If you're online using a dialup Internet connection, you'll probably... Read More

Windows Screensavers Explained

In this article you will find some background information about... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains POP: Purchase Order Processing ? Overview For Consultants

Great Plains Purchase Order Processing (POP) module makes up one-third... Read More

Five Steps to Rapid Development with TierDeveloper 4.0

Follow the steps below to quickly design, generate, and deploy... Read More

Review of TikiWiki Content Management System

TikiWiki is open source software - it is written in... Read More

Recent Studies Show that 9 out of 10 PCs Are Infected with Spyware

Spyware and malware are large problems for Internet users today... Read More

MSN Messenger Is A Sweet Way To Communicate

MSN messenger is a pretty cool invention. I mean I'm... Read More

Alien Intruders!

You probably didn't casually invite, or extend a formal attendance... Read More