On PM Software: Actually, the sheer number of “project management” tools are surely even greater once you consider related areas such as “collaboration”, “knowledge management”, “communication”. This is in addition to the more traditional tools in scheduling, risk, issues, portfolio, and other management tools. With this proliferation of tools, how can PMs or business professionals choose? How can these tool makers differentiate themselves? These are interesting questions without clear answers. I like Dipti’s selections, a few I never heard of… Live and learn!
Te Wu’s comments on the article “Project Management Software: So Many Choices, So Little Time” by Dipti Parmar for Social Barrel. See below
Dipti Parmar for SocialBarrel.com writes: Project management is a multi-faceted undertaking. By definition, project management lies outside the scope of a business’ day-to-day operations. In fact, even small projects can be disruptive to normal business operations.
Project management has undergone a series of evolutions since the establishment of the Project Management Institute in 1969. As you might expect, the sea change in the industry has occurred in the digital age.
Project management, once a cacophony of charts, paperwork, notes, specs, and flow charts, has been tamed and is almost always controlled by modern software applications. That said, the project manager remains the person responsible for meeting the stated goals, defining the project requirements, and managing the constraints of cost, time and money.
If events in your business or personal life have compelled you to go on the hunt for project management software, you will be stunned at the sheer number of choices available. You may begin to feel that you need project management software for the purpose of making a selection!
Happily (for you), I have run the gauntlet and, I am prepared to offer for your consideration, some of my top software choices.
Allow Me to Take You through the Gauntlet
I’ll preface this by acknowledging that my experience may differ from your own. My methodology and personal preferences are in play. Logically, your preferences may not mirror my own.
My initial search for project management software on Google yielded 374 “probable” results. I’m not joking! (When I dig, I like to dig deep.) To narrow the search, I filtered for software packages that offered a free trial period or free limited use option. I don’t like the idea of buying a pig-in-a-poke. This brought the number of choices to a tidy 278. Still insurmountable! Then I realized that I would need something accessible from my smartphone, which prompted me to filter for Android and iPhone compatibility. This brought my options to less than 100 – 92 to be precise. Imagine my excitement!
However, even this remains a troubling number of choices. Recognizing that something which functioned well for a small to mid-size business would meet my needs, I applied that filter and reduced the pile to 82. While this was an improvement, naturally it wasn’t enough. Just as I was going to let go and try out any five, I realized that Google likes to order results by what they think is best for users. So I went back and saw which ones were in the top 100. I saw the field shrink to 55. Now we’ve arrived at a number that is “somewhat” manageable! SNIP, the article continues @ Social Barrel, click here to continue reading….