How project-management
software can help you
stay on track
By
Jeff Wuorio
Not very
long ago, project management
meant three things — a
pencil, pad of paper, and
the space between your ears.
Now, however, there's
project-management software
such as Microsoft Office
Project and Microsoft Office
Visio — programs that, among
other functions, help you
organize your business
better, collaborate more
effectively, and plan and
track projects
comprehensively.
Still, some businesspeople
may wonder what
project-management software
offer that the old tried and
true can cannot. Here are
seven benefits of the
software that may boost your
appreciation for it.
It makes anyone a quick
study. Starting on a new
project — or checking in or
helping out with an existing
one — often means
substantial time in coming
up to speed as to what's
going on and why. But
project-management software
such as Project and Visio
can provide a consistent
framework that offers a
clear picture of precisely
what to do and what's going
on — time after time. "A lot
of people starting a new
project wonder 'How can I
get this done?'" says Ed
Boyce, vice president of
Nimbus Partners North
America, a software
development concern in
Stamford, Conn. "With
project-management software,
you just go right to the
software. It also gives you
a way to look at projects
you really know nothing
about."
It may be more thorough than
you. Every businessperson
worth his or her salt tries
to be as comprehensive as
possible in his thinking. A
great goal, but not the one
which is always realistic.
Project-management software
can provide the fail-safe to
help ensure that no
essential piece — be it a
particular element of a
project or a person who
should be involved — is
overlooked. "The software
often brings your attention
to things that you forgot or
left out entirely," says
Eric Spanitz, president of
Synergest, a Chicago
consulting and training
company. "They're a terrific
way to organize both data
and your thoughts."
It's great for training. If,
as most businesses hope,
your operation grows and
expands, project-management
software offers a consistent
means of training new
personnel on how things get
done and the methodology to
follow. But that emphasis on
training is also critical
for experienced employees
who, however well-versed
they may be in some areas,
aren't top-notch project
planners and coordinators.
"They [software programs]
help you optimize the time
involved in projects,"
Spanitz says. "You may be
able to get certain things
done more quickly with fewer
steps or with fewer people
than you thought you
needed."
It offers objective
tracking. Many elements of
running a business are
highly subjective. Nowhere
can that be more the case
than in monitoring project
progress, where one person's
on-time performance comes
off as dawdling to others.
By using project-management
software to delineate
reasonable, cost-effective
deadlines and progress
benchmarks, subjective
interpretation is held to a
minimum. That makes it
easier to see what's really
moving forward as it should
and what may warrant
in-course corrections to be
brought back up to speed.
It keeps great ideas
in-house. More than one
business has taken a
significant hit when an
employee leaves, taking with
her the methodology that
made a particular project
sing. It's never good news
when talented personnel go
elsewhere, but
project-management software
at least keeps elements of
what made that person so
special under your roof.
"It's a great way to capture
information and keep it so
it just doesn't walk out the
door with someone else,"
says Spanitz.
It provides valuable
marketing muscle.. Business
success is a hybrid of two
primary ingredients: doing
what you do well and, in
turn, convincing prospective
clients of that competence
so new work flows in on a
consistent basis. Here,
project-management software
can prove of invaluable help
with its capacity for
detailed planning and
project tracking. That's
information that you can
compile and use to
illustrate precisely how you
will tackle any new job. "It
helps you show exactly what
you're going to do and how
you're going to do it," says
Boyce.
No, it's not a panacea — and
it's not meant to be. For
all the varied advantages
project-management software
can bring to businesses of
all sorts, it's equally
critical to remember that it
is not designed to be all
things to all people. For
one thing, if you invest in
project-management software,
it's also essential to
obtain sufficient training
so you're able to get the
most out of it. "That's like
buying word-processing
software and suddenly
thinking you're a novelist,"
Spanitz says.
Moreover, it's just as
important not to use
project-management software
as a sort of intellectual
crutch. Although it can be
exceedingly helpful in
organizing your thoughts and
ideas, don't sacrifice your
own acumen in hopes that you
can always defer to what you
think the software is
telling you. "The software
just helps you focus," Boyce
says. "Never let it outlaw
your own intuition."
We hope this article
provided you with valuable
information, which will help
you to make more informed
decisions. Please get in
touch with us at
sales@webesolution.com
if you are interested in our
service, or even if you
would just like to find out
more.
