While not exhaustive, the author highlighted some of the most project management problems. But the solutions, while sensible, does not provide any real problems. Each prescription is likely only suitable for one problem, and the article ends with the same big problem – what is a good comprehensive project management tool that is easy to use, covers these main areas, and relative inexpensive so most of us can afford it. There is no suggestion. Also, while a lot of blame is placed on Excel (interestingly not Microsoft Project), in an absurd way, it is a demonstration of the power, utility, and flexibility of Excel. In fact, I believe aside from your email box, Excel is the most common project management tool. In an imperfect world with imperfect tools, the pursuit of a perfect PM tool goes on…
Te Wu’s comments on the below article:
5 Major Roadblocks to Successful Project Management (and How to Solve for Them)
Meghan Mclain for the Huffington Post writes: The list of qualities the perfect project manager absolutely must have is getting more intense every day. But you can’t be expected to demonstrate consistent leadership, empathy, pragmatism, and organization if you’re working with terrible tools. The problem is, many of the project management tools and apps available are more complex or time-consuming than the projects themselves. Most PM software is designed for mass-marketability; that means it hasn’t been customized for your exact needs. The chances that a ready-made tool will be able to do precisely what you need it to do are slim.
Let’s take a look at the top challenges facing PMs, and explore some ways of solving each issue.
1. You’re spending too much time searching for project assets and documents.
Time lost is probably the most common and troubling problem. But where is all that time going? Project management involves generating a massive amount of files (emails, lists, reports, deliverables, proposals, etc.) Keeping all your information in the same place isn’t worth it if you can’t find anything.
Solution: use an app that will allow you to perform powerful searches. If you’re using an application that allows storing information in a structured form, defined in fields and properties, you’re allowed to perform searches with multiple filters. You can drill down and filter through all of your assets including action item lists, issues, deliverables, and documents attached. You should not be wasting time trying to search with a keyword. Something else that will be important here is the ability to collaborate on your key documents, which leads us to your second challenge…Snip, the article continues @ theHuffington Post , click here to continue reading….