| |
Title: |
Project Management Software
|
|
| |
Description: |
project management software has the power to store detail, and tends not to encourage essential project planning
|
|
| |
Tags: |
project management software, gantt chart, scheduling software, critical path method, scheduling, pert chart, construction project management software, critical path
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
• Project Management Software
(Wiki definition)
Project management software has evolved over 50 years into the sophisticated
packages available today. Project management software first ran on
mainframe computers, then mini-computers, and now our desk-top computers.
Additionally, project management software is available for collaborative use via
the internet. Today's project management software is very powerful, and can store
immense amounts of detail. This software is now recognized as one of the
primary project management tools available to the project manager.
It is to be remembered that along with its daunting power, project management
software can be daunting to learn to use. Additionally, because great detail
exists principally in the project execution phase, project management software
evolved to store that detail, and to help the project manager maintain understanding
and control of the project's progress. Consequently, the very important
and often difficult phase of project planning tends to be over-looked, and the project
tends to 'get underway' before the project scope has been thoroughly defined,
and the project analyzed for risks, resource availability, etc. See our related page
on project planning.
It is also to be remembered that project management software does not by itself make
decisions for project managers. It does not resolve resource shortages, or
solve project problems. This powerful software is one of the project management
tools that can make such decision situations noticeable however; by reminding and
assisting the project manager in noting the decisions that need to be made, and
in facilitating the collaboration needed to solve difficult problems.
• Scheduling
What we now call project management software has in the past been known as scheduling
software, because one of its principal capabilities is to store and display a
network of tasks (sometimes called activities) and milestones
(or events) which comprise the schedule for successfully executing the project
plan. For further discussion of the relationship between scheduling, planning,
and strategy, see our related
information page.
The network of tasks is commonly presented in a graphic (see Gantt Chart
- below), which can serve both the management needs of the
project manager, and the oversight needs of senior management, or
Board of Directors.
The network of tasks derives from the Work Breakdown Structure (see below) for the
project, which is normally roughed out in the project planning phase,
and then modified and detailed as necessary in the beginning of the project execution
phase. The project schedule, with task status kept up-to-date
(see Progress/Tracking, below), keeps the
project manager current, and can also provide effective graphical communication
about project status to senior management.
• Work Breakdown Structure
Project management software depends on a human-defined work breakdown structure
(or work breakdown schedule), as basis for the network of tasks and
milestones. This network identifies the dependency relationships between these
items (tasks and milestones) relative to a timescale. Consequently, by
printing a graphic of the network, a picture of the organization of work for
the project is portrayed. By also storing data about progress on individual
tasks, graphics illustrating the present status of the project can then be
printed at any time. This feature makes a complex project much simpler to
successfully visualize and manage, and illustrates the power of today's
project management software.
It is of the highest importance that the work breakdown structure be well done.
In information technology projects, separate tasks are often assigned to different
teams. Consequently, it is important that these tasks be as independent
as possible (loosely-coupled) so that variations in completion time,
etc can be accommodated, and that the programming modules resulting from each
identified task can be modified in the future without excessively affecting the other
associated modules. Sometimes this desired independence cannot be achieved.
For example, in the construction industry house walls cannot go up until the
foundation has been completed. There is complete dependency here between
tasks. And the foundation had better be level, square, and of the
correct dimensions. Else the task of building the wall is already in trouble.
In creating the work breakdown structure, so much experience has already been
gained with similar projects in the construction industry, that this breakdown
is fairly easy. Much of the time, sub-contractor work
(which is independently identifiable) defines separate tasks. This
situation makes the identification of needed resources and work responsibility
simple compared to developing a good work breakdown structure for a project in
a different industry.
In a software rescue project, for example, the separation of tasks and
milestones may be a complete invention. The project manager responsible may have
never done such a project before. Yet in laying out a network of tasks and
milestones (the work breakdown structure) to store in the project management
software's database, the project manager normally tries to design the network such
that tasks are 'loosely coupled' (independent from one another). This
aspect of relative independence permits the software project manager to manage each task
as an independent sub-project, increasing the resources assigned to a task, if
necessary, to keep the task on schedule.
• Critical Path
The concept of progress/tracking, and the capability of computer-based project
management software to maintain vast amounts of data accurately, has led to the
development and use of the concept of the critical path for a
project. The critical path includes those individual tasks that must be done
on schedule (within the time forecast) for the project to be completed on
time. These specific tasks are then given particular attention by the project
manager, and can be shown in graphical charts like the Gantt Chart as being the
critical path of activity for the project (critical tasks typically shown in
red). This approach in project management software has become known as the
critical path method.
Persons who are responsible for completion of tasks on the critical path can then see
at a glance on the Gantt Chart the importance of their own work. This can be a
very important vehicle for communicating with participants, and comes via the
capability for recording and showing detail that is provided by today's project
management software which supports the critical path method.
• Progress/Tracking
Almost all recognizable project management software packages offer the capability
for showing current status of the project. This current status is known both
as 'tracking', and as 'progress'. In all known cases with project
management software, progress/tracking can be recorded and shown (in
graphics such as the Gantt Chart) at the individual task level by variations in
color. Normally, project management software provides the capability for
showing all tasks to be 'on schedule', and also the capability for assigning
separate levels of progress to individual tasks, should this be desired.
This capability in project management software helps automate the process of keeping
a record of the overall status of the project, and of its individual tasks and
milestones.
• Status Reports
One of the main services of project management software is to provide status
reports, both to the project manager, and to other interested
persons. These reports can be in either a graphical or a tabular/text-based
format. The graphical format is most useful for conquering the massive amounts
of detail contained in the database. A simple graphic can illustrate the overall
status of the project, and be comprehended in a very short time. Reports
in the format of text or numbers typically require more analysis time, though
these reports are also powerful.
Two separate graphical views of data are commonly available to the project manager to
illustrate project status. These graphical alternatives are the Gantt chart,
and the PERT chart.
• Gantt Chart
(see our Gantt Chart Templates
page for examples)
The Gantt Chart is the most common graphical view of data produced by project
management software, since it is the best communicator to those less familiar
with the data. The Gantt Chart typically shows the following items.
The Gantt Chart presents separate symbols for milestones (events), tasks
(time-consuming activities), and links (relationships) between these
items. These symbols are presented against a left-to-right timescale.
Consequently, a Gantt Chart illustrates the beginning of a project at the upper
left of the graphic, and ends the project at the lower right. This
upper-left to lower-right progression is called a 'waterfall' effect. An
interesting aspect of the Gantt Chart is that it permits breakup of a task into
different work efforts, if a specific task has components which need to be done
at different times.
For example, in construction projects, the
plumbing task (done by a single sub-contractor for example) would likely
be broken into 'rough plumbing' and 'finish plumbing'. Rough
plumbing would be done early in the project, and finish plumbing near the end.
For a more thorough description of the Gantt Chart, and its comparison to the
PERT chart, see our Gantt Chart page.
• Pert Chart
The PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) Chart is often the
project management software view of data preferred by detail-oriented project
managers, as it presents more data (such as contact information) about
each task than does the Gantt Chart, and presents it all in one location on the
chart, as opposed to breaking the task up into time-based components as does
the Gantt Chart.
For example, in the construction remodel project given above, the Gantt
Chart shows the plumbing task as 2 sub-tasks done at different times during the
project. The PERT chart would show the plumbing as a single node on the
chart, with perhaps a note indicating that the activity will consist of both
rough plumbing and finish plumbing.
Consequently, the PERT Chart does not show graphically the flow of activities
from left to right against an arrow of time. A little more study is therefore
required by those less familiar with the data, such as upper-level managers or
board members to whom the project manager is responsible. For a more thorough
description of the PERT Chart, and its comparison to the Gantt chart, see
our Gantt Chart page.
• Text/Numbers-based Reports
One of the significant benefits of sophisticated project management software is its
ability to generate reports providing detail not shown in graphical charts alone.
Text-based reports, in support of graphical charts, can provide
justification and reasons why a project is behind schedule, or why it will
become behind schedule if something isn't adjusted. A great deal of detail can
be stored in databases, and drawn upon to create ad hoc reports. These
text-based reports can provide the explanation that is required and expected by
high-level decision-makers. Many high-level situation reports are entirely
text-based. From the standpoint of effective communication, this may often
be a mistake. But it is what is commonly seen, and what many are used to.
Less sophisticated project management software packages often do not provide an easy
way to generate such detailed, ad hoc text-based reports of status.
• Construction Project
Management Software
Construction project management software has been around for many years, and
offers some valuable lessons for other industries such as information technology.
For example, the construction industry has developed a set of codes to
identify different types of materials and their related activities which are common
to construction projects. These codes are known as CSI codes, which
include both a description and a number for each code.
Examples include concrete (value = 3200), rough carpentry (value =
6000), and ceramic tile (value = 9200). Connecting a single value to
the description allows quick retrieval from a database by number when producing a
status report.
This approach makes it more convenient to store and retrieve historical
information on jobs, which permits more accurate bidding on prospective
jobs. Since this conceptualization of work has widely become accepted,
definition of the important work breakdown structure begins in the project planning
phase as the project architect identifies the project scope. The work breakdown
structure can then be expanded and detailed in the beginning of the project execution
phase. A comprehensive and widely comprehended project schedule is the result.
• Project Management
Software (Wikipedia - 6/15/07)
"Project management software is a term covering many types of software, including
scheduling, cost control and budget management, resource allocation,
collaboration software, communication, quality management and documentation
or administration systems, which are used to deal with the complexity of large
projects."
|
|
|
|
|
