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Project Management Software: Capabilities and Key Features, Slides of Project Management

Alliance University Project Management

The capabilities and key features of project management software, including its ability to perform calculations, allow scenario testing, sort and extract data, and portray actuals compared to plans. It also covers features such as number of activities, total resources, direct costs, resource availability and allocation, on-screen network diagram, on-screen schedule/gantt chart, on-screen resource utilization, resource leveling within float, work breakdown levels, tracking schedule progress, tracking budget expenditures, calendar flexibility, number of subprojects, multiproject resource allocation, cost and budget documentation, report generator, graphics/plotter, data export, windows, micro/mainframe connection, and vendor support.

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2011/2012

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What a Software Can Do

•Perform calculations such as early start,

early finish, late start, late finish, float,

critical path, resource loading, and labor

budget extrapolations, to name but a few.

•Allow you to try various scenarios to

determine the impact of changes.

•Sort and extract data to produce a variety of

reports.

•Perform some of the calculations to level

your overloaded resources or to meet a

mandated target date.

•Portray the actuals compared to the plan

from data you have entered.

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What a Software Can Do

Perform calculations such as early start, early finish, late start, late finish, float, critical path, resource loading, and labor budget extrapolations, to name but a few.
Allow you to try various scenarios to determine the impact of changes.
Sort and extract data to produce a variety of reports.
Perform some of the calculations to level your overloaded resources or to meet a mandated target date.
Portray the actuals compared to the plan from data you have entered.

What a Software Can Not Do

• Define the project objectives.

• Develop the work breakdown structure.

• Determine the logical dependencies of tasks

one to another.

• Choose who should be working on which

tasks.

• Estimate the duration of tasks.

• Fix all the problems of resource overloading

or attempt to meet a mandated target date by

• compressing the critical path.

• Design the correct reports for different

people on your distribution list.

Defining Key Software Features-

Direct Costs
- How does the software package handle direct costs (material, equipment,

supplies) that may be assigned to each activity?

If you want a detailed accounting, confirm that the categories may be both

listed and accumulated by specific item rather than by a generic title such

as “Fixed Costs” or “Other Costs.”

Resource Availability and Allocation
- It is not realistic to expect that any one resource will be made available 100

percent of its time to a specific project.

On-Screen Network Diagram
- An on-screen network representation of the activities and milestones in a

project is an integral tool for successful project management.

Systems that provide on-screen networks may permit activities to be

moved on the screen to achieve an optimum presentation for report

purposes.

On-Screen Schedule/Gantt Chart
- Planners require graphic schedule information, and most

packages use the Gantt or bar chart format, which shows the

activities on a time-scale orientation.

Gantt charts display start, end, and durations of tasks within the

project.

On-Screen Resource Utilization
On-screen presentation of how and when resources are utilized throughout the duration of the project is
helpful to project managers. Presentation in some cases is displayed not only in tabular form but also in a
graphic form, such as histograms.
Resource Leveling Within Float
When one or more resources is overloaded or overutilized, some effort must be made to relieve the situation.
This is called leveling. Through an automatic option or manual intervention, this feature allows two options:
(1) movement of noncritical tasks within float to resolve overloading or (2) the addition of qualified personnel
or other resources.
Work Breakdown Levels
This is the number of levels to which project work can be broken down and reflected by the project
management package. Generally detailed planning for task and resource assignment is done at the lowest level
of detail and then rolled up to selected intermediate or top levels.
Tracking Schedule Progress
Recording the actual start time and duration for each activity, as well as the finish date, permits the planner to
track the project. An additional feature is the ability to forecast the revised completion date based on the
slippage during the earlier activities of the project.

Number of Subprojects
This capability allows you to create two or more subprojects linked to tasks in the main project.

The details of

the subprojects may be rolled up and summarized in the main project. Any change in network

scheduling

affecting the parent task will be reflected in the subproject, and vice versa.
Multiproject Resource Allocation
This feature is critical in an environment where individual and group resources are assigned to

several

concurrent projects. Projects sharing common resources need to be reviewed as a group in order

to examine

the aggregate resource utilization and costs over particular time periods.
Cost and Budget Documentation
A comprehensive project management software package must be able to create or accept

baseline budget data

and actual costs and create comparative reports. The reports should be available in tabular and

graph format

identifying variances for specific resources, activities, or categories of costs. Although planners

may not place

a lot of weight on this feature, most managers will.

Report Generator
A good software package will provide you with the capability to prepare standard and special reports. Many
standard report formats do not meet specific needs. The addition of a report generator to customize output
allows timely creation of meaningful output and greatly expands the utility of a program.
Graphics/Plotter
Newer programs support an increasing number of attractively priced plotters. Some programs, however,
require the purchase of a supplemental piece of software to accomplish this end. The
Data Export
A common means of performing detailed analysis on project data not available within a project management
package is to export data to other programs. A project management software program should accomplish all
of the primary and essential planning activities.
Windows
Windows permit the simultaneous presentation of two or more program displays on screen, such as Gantt
charts and resource histograms.
Micro/Mainframe Connection
The availability of software to accommodate transfer of data between the micro-based software and the
mainframe environments can be invaluable.