What is the best project management software out there for a novice and considering that financial/budgeting tracking is not important?
Good Answers (2)
Rob G
Fixed Network Transformation Programme Manager at Telecom New Zealand
Best Answers in: Project Management (3), Telecommunications (1)
Anja, to be honest I often find that I can do all the basics of Project Management by just using MSExcel.
Please bear in mind that 'back in the day' our forefathers built dams, skyscrapers, railways, managing these projects using... paper!
So I have upgraded from Paper 1.0 to MSExcel and find that for the sake of putting a simple schedule down and ensuring that a small number of resources are correctly allocated; it does it all nicely. I have can and do use MSProject to a relatively advanced level quite regularly and have also used Primavera as well.
But to be honest, by the time you set up all the parameters, unpick the things that the software wants to do automatically for you and then find that not everyone on the project has the right software to read it - you could have actually spent all that time working on delivering the project. This type of software is a classic time waster for a novice and my advice if you do go down the specialist software route, is to start out whiteboarding/writing down the project plan before you enter it into the software.
I have only really witnessed the power of PM software come into its own on typically multi-million dollar programmes running over 12 months with teams of over 70 personnel. What I also observed with these types of programmes is that there are few people who need that powerful overview and computational capabilities, so everyone else breaks the programme down into little manageable chunks that can be easily run on... a Excel spreadsheet!
Hope this helps.
Adrian H
Senior Developer at Chillifish
Best Answers in: Software Development (3), Web Development (2), Planning (1), Project Management (1), Interface Design (1), Product Design (1), Computers and Software (1)
I'd say the best software for a novice with a small team is - none at all.
The heart of a good project manager is working with people - not programs. Talking to people. Removing obstacles from the critical path.
The best project managers I've worked with use almost no software. The worst spend most of their time messing around with MS Project or something similar.
Try index cards. Try Excel. See if that's enough to make progress. Remember as a project manager you're job is to help the team produce the project successfully. Software is almost always the smallest part of getting that to happen.
More Answers (5)
Anshuman T
Change Management and Business Excellence Professional
Best Answers in: Quality Management and Standards (6), Certification and Licenses (2), Business Analytics (1), Change Management (1), Organizational Development (1), Professional Books and Resources (1)
Hi Anja,
Microsoft Project is a good one. If you are looking for free stuff, please try www.zoho.com or www.basecamphq.com. Both are good.
Regards,
Anshuman
Hi Anja, I would try BaseCamp at www.37Signals.com ; Good company, innovative, lightweight projects that get the job done! (No I'm not affiliated with them!)
Links:
Daniel F
Sr. Consultant at Capgemini U.S. LLC
Best Answers in: Project Management (3), Offshoring and Outsourcing (1), Career Management (1)
My assumption is this will be smaller in scale, with less collaboration, and more basic project planning.
Microsoft Project, as noted, is good, and would leave you some room to grow.
If you're really just playing around, and don't want to plunk down the money for Microsoft Project - GanttProject is less full-featured - but free, and though it is LESS full-featured than MSP - you are still getting a lot for the money! It's great for basic schedule management.
Links:
Bob D
CFO at Network for Good
Best Answers in: Project Management (1), Small Business (1), Starting Up (1)
My company sells (as a reseller) a couple of project management packages that lie between some of the freeware packages and Microsoft Project (we sell Microsoft Project too, which is a great tool, it's just on the expensive side).
Project KickStart has most of the project management tools one would need for basic projects (up to 1000 tasks and 100 resources) at a much lower price point than Microsoft Project.
FastTrack Schedule is a step up from that and can be used for larger projects. It gives you much of what you get in Microsoft Project, but is less expensive and for many users it is easier to use.
If you will be doing a lot of projects or complex ones, you may still want to consider Microsoft Project as it is a great tool. But if project management is only a side part of your job and you just need the basics, then you're probably better served with one of the other options.
Links:
Hi Anja;
Our company works with Joint Contact with good results. As a hosted solution it supports online project management, document management and contact management. It also supports direct integration with MS Office and the comes with a free 5 user license.
