Recommended Project Management Tools
There are many project management tools that can be used for this particular project. But to start from the basic, there are various software suites and packages that could make the daunting life of a project manager easier. One particular example would be the Creative Pro Office. Creative Pro Office is “a complete set of online project management tools and software generally designed for project managers, regardless of their field of operation” .
It features the capability to estimate an invoice and then turn that estimate into an invoice in just one click; ledger and various views that easily exposes the current income and expense values, and other types of financial variables in the project; with various customized filters that can appear and disappear according to the needs and preferences of the client; links to other web-based billing and payment processing services such as PayPal, Moneybookers, etc. But perhaps the most outstanding characteristic of this project management tool is its comprehensiveness. It features a dashboard that provides a brief overview of all project management variables; a good listing of projects; tasks per projects; timesheets for employees; project milestones; invoices; project calendar; the collection of files and reports; and other applications.
It is an all in one package that helps a project manager in just about anything. But then again, there are a lot of other project management software and tools available out there and what type of tool to use would also largely depend on the preferences of the manager himself and perhaps, his and the project’s needs as well.
Microsoft Excel and other Spreadsheet Software and how it can be used in Project Management Processes
Microsoft excel can be of great help to any project manager. Firstly, with all the formulas that a user can use, hiring a professional statistician would not be necessary because Microsoft Excel, and perhaps other spreadsheet software solutions could easily address the computing needs. Spreadsheet software solutions such as Microsoft Excel also feature various templates that can be easily downloaded from various sites. Templates for schedules, invoices, lists of project milestones, calendar of activities, and basically anything that has tables and figures could be done in spreadsheets.
How can you use Scheduling Tools such as Microsoft Project within the various project management processes?
Microsoft project is one of the few premium Microsoft products that have been intentionally designed to serve as an aid for project managers. Its features are generally focused on developing a plan, on the process of assigning personnel and resources to various tasks, tracking the progress of projects, monitoring and managing project budget, scheduling, and basically all the major work descriptions involved in project management.
Tips and Recommendations for using these products
As someone who is experienced in project management, I would advise the project management team to focus on using a single or as few project management complementary tools as possible. This is because in most cases, project managers try to control everything, which is a virtually impossible goal. As long as the project milestones are met in a timely manner and the finances remain at stable and expected levels, there should be no problem. Sometimes, project managers use as many tools as they can without knowing that they could have been more efficient had they relied on their own ability to lead and regulate without the use of such tools. The success of a project does not entirely depend on the quality of the complementary tools being used but on the collective ability of the entire team.
Briefly describe two other types of project management tools
Another project management tool that in this case, would be very necessary is Soap UI developed by Smart Bear. It is a web testing service that packs a lot of features, considering its relatively low price. It basically tests the functionality of a particular web service for bugs, errors, and overall functionality. Knowing that the IRTC manufacturing enterprise is launching a new web service project, it would be vital for them to use such or this software.
Another is Lighthouse. This tool searches for bugs and other issues present on project timelines, milestones, and other project management files. The most outstanding feature of this tool however is its email integration system that enables the manager to do just about anything that is related to his projects through his email client.
How do these two types of tools differ from the tools you have previously used?
Soap UI is not really intended for project managers but for information technology related projects. Its only purpose is to test for functionality and other types of errors present in a web service, which is what IRTC manufacturing enterprise is trying to launch in this very moment. Lighthouse on the other hand is simply one of the many project management suits designed to make a project manager’s life easier. Unfortunately, it differs in a lot of ways from Creative Pro Office. It has some unique features such as the email integration that CPO does not; the same is actually true for CPO because Lighthouse is not as complete as CPO in a lot of aspects.
References
Ballmer, S. (2007). Microsoft Office Project Conference 2007. Microsoft News Center.
Jeff et al. (2012). Some Big Changes Are Coming to CPO. Creative Pro Office Product Blog.
Spolsky, J. (2007). Developing Spreadsheet-based decision support Systems using Excel and VBA. Dynamic Ideas.
