Software for Project Management
Software for project management makes a big class of applications, which can be either standalone (desktop) or web-based. Project management is a complicated task, so the software programmed to schedule, track, control, allocate resources and otherwise support the project on the various stages of its imprementation has to include diverse and sophisticated functionality.
There are currently a lot of project management solutions available on the market; Wikipedia has a comprehensive comparison table. As you can see, most of those solutions are proprietary, and of those few available under the open source lisence still fewer have the complete set of functionality you might expect to find in a high-quality project management program. The chances are, even with the most advanced proprietaty system you’ll still find certain necessary features lacking, which will suggest ordering a bespoke system.
Some of the project management solutions that exist focum mainly on project planning and scheduling and don’t provide enough functionality for the tracking stage. Others, on the contrary, concentrate mainly on project tracking. There are standalone and web-based solutions available. Of course, the web-based option presents usual benefits as well as drawbacks of web software: there’s no need to install any special software to access the data, and it’s possible to work with the application from any computer anywhere in the world, but on the other hand, the Internet connection is essential, and security considerations become more critical.
The tasks that full-scale project management application should be available to solve are as follows:
- Scheduling
- Issue tracking
- Project portfolio management
- Resource management
- Document management
Not all existing solutions have all the features presented - so any business could make choices and definte priorities. But as mentioned above, certain kinds of businesses - e.g. medicine related - might find it necessary to order bespoke solutions for managing their projects, due to specific requirements existing in some industries.
Investing in the wrong kind of project management software (either too simplistic or too sophisticated) can become a total loss to your budget; investing in the right kind will save thousands for you in the long run. That’s why it’s important that you make a thorough research of existing solutions, as well as into the feasibility of ordering a bespoke application, before you actually buy. We are planning on a series of articles covering various types of project management software in detail.
February 9th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
In web based project management tools scheduling, tracking, calendar and functions like reporting are important which then can be accessed by any team member, no matter where they are positioned. Finding the best web based project management tools is not a tough task if you are having the Internet with you.