milestones, dependency relationships, schedules, people, costs, deliverables and progress toward interim and final goals.
Until the 1980s, these tasks were often performed by hand with a calculator and a hand-drawn Gantt (or bar) chart or by an expensive computerised project management programme requiring a mainframe system.

Manual tracking of project activities can be possible for small projects but when the size of the project increases it becomes difficult and at times even impossible to plan, schedule, budget and control project activities through manual techniques.
The increasing complexity in the projects with pressures of time and costs has led to the introduction of high quality software and low cost PCs.

Most project management software offers such features as network scheduling, resource management, cost control and performance analysis.
The project manager of today must have the requisite skills to manipulate project management software in his or her daily project errands.

There was a National Project Management Workshop in Harare last week, organised by Proctor & Associates Advisory Services, the Project Management Institute of Zimbabwe (PMIZ) and the South African-based company Grantfin Emporium. Delegates were given the opportunity to manipulate project management software and test some of the capabilities of the computer tools and techniques during the workshop.

Speaking at the workshop, Cameroon-born project management training consultant Milton Taka indicated that ” . . . technology is increasingly becoming the tenth requisite PMBOK® knowledge area besides, scope, cost, time, quality, risk, human resources, communication, procurement and project integration”
Like any issue related to a software purchase, the most relevant question is “What do I need and what do I want it to do?”

Buying a powerful software programme costing several thousand dollars that can handle a US$200 million construction project may be just what is needed if your project is that complex.
On the other hand, for less complex projects with budgets of say up to US$10 million, a project management software programme costing around US$500 might be more appropriate and for lower project budgets, a spreadsheet programme with simple graphics may be your best tool.

The key concept to remember is to find and use a programme that fits your project, not one that is either so elementary that you waste time and money performing a number of project control tasks outside the programme. Or one that is so complicated that you spend more time figuring out how to use the programme than letting it help you manage the project.
As choosing the right software were not enough of a problem, the project manager must determine the right combination of computer and peripheral devices – processors, monitors, printers, plotters, modems and database and web servers.

Software Available
Some of the popular project management software packages available on the market are Microsoft Project, Harvard total project manager, Project schedule, Project planner, PRISM, INSTAPLAN, ACTION LIST, C – COST, Artemis, Primavera, Trakker and Welcom. Though many project management software packages are available today which promise to do everything yet only few are comprehensive in their coverage.

Some of the key issues that separate the low-end, inexpensive programmes from full-powered project management software programmes are how well they perform in the following; Initial setup – creating the project plan, Tracking progress, Reports, Ease of use versus power and sophistication.

By looking at a programme with respect to these areas, you can determine if the programme will meet your project management requirements.
In addition to these features, you will also want to go to the Internet and look at unbiased reviews of the project management software programmes and talk to users of the software programmes you are considering, to obtain firsthand, unbiased input about the programmes you are considering.

The project management software packages should be as far as possible compatible with the software currently being used in the organisation. It should have the capacity to handle multiple projects together involving a wide range of problems. Graphs and reports in various formats should suitably support it.
It should be easy to learn and implement. As far as possible it should have the facility to operate on the existing network environment. Microsoft Project usually comes with other Microsoft Office packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc) and allows importation and exportation of data across the packages.

The need for training
A project manager can shape the destiny of a project and consequently the education, training and development of a project manager becomes as important to all those concerned with the successful implementation of the project.

It must be realised that project management is not possible only by tools and techniques ignoring the element of human wisdom and leadership. Project management is art (leadership and innovation) informed by science (tools and techniques).

The growth of computer-based project management systems has made things easier for the project manager, yet the majority of project managers in Zimbabwe are not using these tools (project management software).

Out of a group of 13 project management students at Masvingo Polytechnic where I conducted weekend schools lecture this last Saturday, only one student actively uses Microsoft Project 2007 software in his project work.
It was also evident that the majority of delegates to the National Project Management Workshop held in Harare are not using project management software at their work places, hence the need for training in Microsoft Project.

Web Technology
Most of the project management software products include the capability to take advantage of web-based technology. A project website and web based project software are extremely helpful when team members are located at different sites.

The project manager can communicate with them, send instructions, collect feedback and aggregate the provided information to create an overview of the entire project.
Programme or portfolio managers who manage a group or a number of projects can have dashboard views of these projects and make decisions at a faster pace. The major benefits of web-based project management include immediate availability of project information, efficiency and accessibility for communicating with workers, easy of learning and usage, real time communication.

A project team meeting held between members who are geographically dispersed via video-conferencing, voice mail, chatting is no longer a distant dream anymore.
The information conveyed over a network can be a spreadsheet, word document, Powerpoint presentation, charts, graphics, engineering design or video files. As long as team members have access to a computer and a browser they can participate in a meeting and contribute with inputs.

Words of caution
It must be noted that the quality of information emerging (reports) from the use of project management software depends entirely on the frequency with which project information is updated; you must enter actual schedule information in order to compare planned and actual progress.

Make use of clerks of works or project officers to update information. Many people misuse project management software because they do not understand important concepts and have not had training.

It becomes a clicking affair rather than project management, the saying that, “Garbage In, Garbage Out” will be applicable.

  • Robert Taruwona is the president of the Project Management Institute of Zimbabwe (PMIZ). Send your views and comments via email; [email protected] or [email protected] website link www.pmiz.org.zw

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey