Time Management In Project Management

Time management is the act of planning, controlling and finally executing specific activities, especially to increase efficiency or productivity. It applies to a wide usage area starting from personal time organization and up to business related management. For the best results and the biggest efficiency dedicated time management software should be used.

A management system is a combination of processes, tools, techniques, and methods. There are many books and case studies focusing on these notions.

Personal Time Management

The notion of time management was initially used in business related area but in time the term started to also be used for personal activities. People started to be interested on it when they felt the need to be more organized and more productive. It all happens when you start working all day long and at the end you wonder why you haven't accomplished much.

Time management methodologies consist of a series of habits and good practices which help you to get more organized. The most used and well known time management methodologies are GTD and ZTD. Getting Things Done (GTD) was created by David Allen and it is based on the following principles:

• do not use your memory to collect your ideas, tasks and arrangements
• do not delay decisions on what to do next
• if you can complete a certain task in less than 2 minutes, do it now
• Zen To Done (ZTD) is a methodology based on some GTD principles, but with the focus on deciding which reaction must be taken for an action as soon as possible, and never letting gather up.

However these skills are especially important for small business people, who often find themselves performing many different jobs during the day.

Project Time Management

Time management is an essential subset for project management and it describes the processes required to ensure timely completion of the project. More exactly according to PMBOK it consists of five main phases:

• activity definition - establish the activities necessary to produce the deliverables of the project
• activity sequencing - establish the dependencies between these activities
• activity duration estimating - estimate the effort of work necessary to complete the tasks on the necessary resources
• schedule control - control the changes made to the project schedule

The most important phase is project planning when the project plan is established. A well defined project plan can significantly contribute to the success of the project. Once established the project plan is used to create the project schedule. All it remains now is for the schedule to be respected as much as possible over time and the deadlines to be met.

Time management software is ideal to have your personal life organized. However when it comes to managing projects a better choice is to use a dedicated project management software.

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Project Management Software

Project management software exists in many different levels of sofistication and variety of prices. This article aims to help project managers realize what kind of project management software tools they need and find out how computers can help them in everyday routine.

Before choosing some particular tool you should have a look at the different kinds of projects to manage and corresponding PM skills. It is very important to pick a project management software tool appropriate for you and your organization. The following types of projects and project management software should cover the field broadly, though any categorization is very relative.

Project management software for small projects, usually in single functional area

At this level project managers usually plan and schedule only durations of project subtasks rather than resource capacity or work estimates. They do not need to track a project budget and their project status reports contain only completion date tracking.

Project management software in this situation helps project managers to automate such basic routines like

* planning project flow
* occasional status reports preparing
* producing Gantt charts

If your project management tasks are not intended to grow and such functionality is enough, you should not spend a lot of money nor waste your time on long learning curve about features you’ll never use.

Project management software for managing larger projects

Project budget is very important now, therefore we need a project management tool to give us the capability to estimate resources and money at every stage of the project. As more people are getting involved in the project, software should provide the ability to create numerous status reports - from simple total project cost to more sophisticated ones.

As the size of the project grows, the number of project management techniques increases. Requirements for project management software change accordingly. At this level project management software must be able to work not only with the static representation of start and finish dates for each project subroutines, but it needs to be powerful enough to simulate the project and reschedule it every time something changes in project flow.

Project management software for huge multi-project environment

At this high-end level we need project management software that meets a lot of additional requirements. Now we need to roll-up multiple projects and require consistent information for decision-makers. Among the features they need are:

* material resources allocating (including finances)
* scheduling and tracking a pool of human resources
* sharing resources between multiple projects
* sophisticated risk assessment tools
* detailed project performance tracking
* creating a detailed project budget. This brings project management software closer to the company’s accounting system

If you need a lot, you have to spend a lot. Project management software for this purpose costs from $400 up to $3000 and even more. Such packages usually have network versions and team communication capabilities.

Categorization above was rather comprehensive over the last years. But modern project management reality changes constantly, therefore we can talk about one more project management software category.

Project management software for managing multiple projects in small and mid-size businesses

It often happens that project managers face the need to manage multiple projects simultaneously, using resources that can be shared between them. But they do not need a huge and extremely expensive project management software tool with thousands of not really needed features. What should they choose? ConceptDraw Project can be the answer. It is a cross-platform (Mac OS X and Windows) project management software tool that allows the project manager to automate project routines - from planning and assigning resources to powerful report generating capabilities

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Franklincovey Projectsplus For Microsoft Outlook

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PERFECTION FOR EVERYONE

Each day, professionals at every level perform key duties as part of a group effort to complete an important project. That's why equipping yourself with robust resources that increase your efficiency and help you meet deadlines is a surefire way to career longevity and prosperity. To that end, the brilliant new Franklincovey Projectsplus For Microsoft Outlook offers simple, intuitive project management for everyday professionals-and it runs inside your existing Microsoft Outlook application. Franklincovey Projectsplus For Microsoft Outlook makes it a cinch to set up a project and its associated subtasks, and its simple outline-style interface lets you nest tasks in multiple levels. Project management has never been easier, simpler, or more integrated with proven solutions.

Key functional features:

• Familiar outline format uses drag-and-drop functionality and enables easy definition of milestones and tasks
  
• Project tasks automatically appear in Outlook's TaskPad
  
• Progress view lets you track accountability by showing the status of individual elements or the entire project
  
• Facilitates easy creation and e-mailing of detail and summary reports
  
• Allows you to save projects as templates for future use
  
• Microsoft Exchange Server compatibility lets you delegate to team task lists and see automatic progress updates

Quantum Project Manager

Quantum Project Manager produces estimates, completes contract documents, generate payment applications, prints certified payroll reports and tracks all of your communications. You can purchase one or more of the 5 integrated programs included as needed. The price listed for this item is for all 5 programs. The Contractor Billing program completes the application for payment, continuation page, schedule of values, remaining balance worksheet, and other project reports and forms. Print to our plain paper formats or to pre-printed forms.

The Certified Payroll program collects weekly hourly time card information, does all your taxes and deductions automatically and then prints the certified payroll reports. It can generate the U.S. Department of Labor WH-347 and WH-348 formats as well as many state formats. The Communications program will allow you to enter basic company contact information and track project communications including RFIs, Notices, Transmittals, Submittals, Proposals, Letters, Waivers and Releases, Insurance and Insurance Notices, Punch Lists, Meeting Minutes, Schedules and Gantt charts, Daily Reports, Telephone Log, Correspondence Sent Log, and Correspondence Received Log. There is also a program for estimating and one for contract documents.

EasyProjectPlan (Excel Project Plan)

EasyProjectPlan tasks can be synchronized with Microsoft Project and Outlook. EasyProjectPlan simulates an enterprise task management system using a low cost Excel template that requires no installation program or add-ins. EasyProjectPlan is designed to distribute, share and collect project task information using a user-friendly and intuitive Excel template. Version 11.8 is compatible with all versions of Excel including Excel 2007.

• Are you having problems distributing and communicating tasks to your project team?
• Are your team members having problems updating their tasks?
• Are you having problems collecting and merging tasks?
• Are you having problems managing project information with teams in remote locations?
  

EasyProjectPlan solves all of the above issues with an easy-to-use Excel Project Plan with the following powerful features:

• NO INSTALLATION PROGRAM – Implement EasyProjectPlan in any company immediately.
• Distribute to anyone using Excel.
• Easy-to-use: Team members can immediately open, understand and edit the Excel file.
• Sync with Microsoft Project
• Sync with Outlook Tasks
• Sync with Outlook CalendarSync with Outlook Email
• Create and Print Gantt Charts directly from Excel – Microsoft Project NOT required.
• Compatible with SharePoint
• Compatible with Microsoft WorkspaceCompatible with Seavus Project Viewer.
• EasyProjectPlan file is only 2MB - the entire project plan can be emailed as a single 2MB file attachment.
  

TurboProject 4.0 Standard

TurboProject 4.0 Standard is the feature-rich project management software that rivals Microsoft Project, but for a fraction of the cost. TurboProject 4.0 Standard has the ability to create project schedules and resource plans that can be used on projects as complex as launching a satellite to projects as small as organizing an office move. Its versatility is unparalleled. Sharing information is made simple with TurboProject 4.0 Standard's reports and web publish feature. Hi-quality graphics allow you to present your project with professional flair.

A solid, cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Project. Anybody who needs to produce project schedules, Gantt charts, resource calendars and progress reports will find this program quick to learn, easy to use and incredibly versatile. Project work breakdown structures (WBS) are easy to create with the outline tools. Activities can be duration or resource driven depending on whether you want to create a top-down, or bottom-up project schedule.


Resources can be assigned based upon skill types, fixed work, fixed duration, or fixed units. Resource allocations can even be distributed unevenly as in front-loading or back-loading work effort. Table columns can be customized to support any view of project data. Schedule updates and progress posting are made easy with the tracking tools. Work can be baselined and then compared to a current or proposed plan to determine specific areas of concern. Full support of critical path method and earned value. Projects can export to MS-Project.

Full-featured project control with superior resource management

For anyone who spends time scheduling work, TurboProject 4.0 Standard cuts scheduling time in half. Create project calendars in minutes, then assign resources and tasks, and check them off as they get completed. Import from Microsoft Project, Word, Excel and more.

PlanBee Pro Project Management

Do you ever need to create a schedule or a project management plan? Do you need to ensure that your projects stay on track and on time? Do you need to calculate and include time line information in a business plan? Do you need graphical, as well as text, output in bar (Gantt) chart or PERT format output for your CPM (Critical Path Method) plan? Do you find most PERT chart software hard to use? Do you want to avoid spending hundreds of dollars for one of the "big name/big buck" project management software like Microsoft Project, full of features that 99% of people will never use?

If you are looking for a simple project management software, then you come to the right place.

PlanBee Pro Project Management is a critical Path project management planning tool, an inexpensive alternative to Microsoft Project. Calculates Early Start, Late Start, Early Finish, Late Finish, Float (Slack) and identifies Critical Path activities. Calculates and summarizes resource costs. Shows all project data in a "spreadsheet" pattern for ease of understanding. Data may be manually entered or imported from a file or the clipboard. Independent re-sizeable and hideable windows show PERT views and Gantt (bar chart) views of the project in addition to the "spreadsheet" view. Activities and links may be set up and edited in either spreadsheet or PERT views or both at once, since all views are kept synchronized. Up to 1,000 activities. No limit on links per activity (within total of 2,000 links). Links may be Finish-to-Start, Start-to-Start or Finish-to-Finish to handle overlapping activities. Links may have minimum time lags specified. Individual activities may have their dates "fixed".

Pop up "working day" calendar with 200 year range. Easy to change working/non-working days. Activity durations and lags may be specified as either "working days" or "calendar days" - both types may be used in the same plan. Scale of PERT and Gantt charts are adjustable both on-screen and for printing (to make best use of pages). Reports, PERT charts and Gantt charts may be either printed, or copied to the clipboard for pasting into other programs. Each project may have its own resources list, or master resource lists may be maintained for use across projects. Activities may be grouped into up to three levels, with resource cost summaries available at each level.

On a network other users may have read-only access while one user has a file open for exclusive update. Includes features for use with larger plans and in a corporate environment, including resource leveling, costing, administrative detail and enhanced export facilities including the generation of HTML (web page) reports.


PlanBee Pro Project Management is easy to use because it's intuitive. If you can use a computer, you can set up a project in PlanBee Pro Project Management. It's even easier than most spreadsheet applications, yet with a similar interface. All you have to do is enter the task names, task durations and linkages in the grid and the project is created for you - with the program assuming the most prevalent values about task and linkage characteristics. By following the Quick Start Guide beginners can set up simple project plans in no time at all, yet skilled users can create plans of great complexity by using the advanced features available.

Primavera SureTrak Project Manager 3.0

Aimed at those who won't put up with limits in their project management software, Primavera SureTrak Project Manager 3.0 provides an excellent all-around package for getting control of time, resources, and budget. With excellent built-in Web and collaborative capabilities, this is a program that can simplify any busy manager's life.

To get started, Primavera SureTrak Project Manager 3.0 bundles the KickStart tool, which lets even those new to project management software get going productively. In testing, this wizard asked us a series of questions about project phases, goals, people, potential obstacles, and the like, with extensive help from a built-in library of sample entries for many different industries. (If you have been using Microsoft Project, Primavera SureTrak Project Manager 3.0 supports importing and exporting to .MPJ files, which is another way to start.)

Communicate with professional-quality reports and graphics. Primavera SureTrak Project Manager 3.0 combines ease of use, power, and affordability. With Primavera SureTrak Project Manager 3.0, you can create schedules graphically, as well as point and click to create relationships between activities. It is ideal for resource planning and control on small- to medium-sized projects.

Primavera SureTrak Project Manager 3.0 features extensive support for the two traditional views for tracking a project: Gantt charts, which show a time line of various tasks, and PERT charts, which show logically connected diagrams of tasks along with dependencies. We liked the support for distributing a variety of reports over the Web using HTML. The product also allows managers to e-mail reports to other team members, plus you can add hyperlinks to any report or view.

Another notable feature included here is the ability to define custom resources (for instance, costs per employee, based on skill sets and project roles), "activity codes," and even specialized calendars. The control over costs in Primavera SureTrak Project Manager 3.0 is certainly one of the product's strengths. You can track every cost associated with a project and see exactly where you are with your budget at any point within the project cycle.

Finally, at a time when most printed manuals are being downsized in favor of online help, we appreciated the Primavera SureTrak Project Manager's 500 pages of tutorials and documentation. Overall, Primavera's product delivers a well-thought-out project management package, one that can be used effectively by beginner and expert alike to track even large projects effectively. --Richard Dragan

Anticipate obstacles:
See how rescheduling one activity affects the predecessor and successor activities in the Trace Logic window of PERT. As you encounter project delays or resource shortages, SureTrak automatically displays the downstream effects on the rest of the project, and most importantly, on the critical path.

Send it in writing:
Print out what you see on-screen as a report or save as HTML format. Choose from over 40 industrial-strength reports, or create your own. Emphasize deadlines, communicate priorities or clarify responsibilities by embellishing with graphics, vivid colors and attention getting fonts.

Send it faster:
Get the latest priorities and schedule changes to your team members quickly using e-mail. Freely distribute Primavera's easy-to-use Primavera Post Office to project team members. They'll see their assignments and update their work, indicating when activities started and how much work remains. When project updates are received, audit them for accuracy, approve them and automatically merge them into the schedule - without any dual entry.

Send it farther:
Share graphical reports and layouts in HTML format. Communicate assignments, deadlines and project status with project participants at all levels in all locations with the Primavera SureTrak Web Publishing

Microsoft Project Standard 2007

Microsoft Office Project 2007 Standard is a simple project management software that meets the management needs of today's organizations. This suite delivers robust project management tools with the right blend of usability, power and flexibility -- allowing you to manage projects more efficiently and effectively. You can stay informed and control project work, schedules, and finances; keep project teams aligned; and be more productive through integration with familiar Microsoft Office system programs, powerful reporting options, as well as guided planning, wizards, and templates. Custom metrics help you track data relevant to your project - Percent complete, budget versus actual, earned value and more Track project performance over the project lifespan by saving project snapshots in up to 11 baselines Tailor the Software to meet your needs - Choose custom display fields; modify toolbars, formulas, graphical indicators and reports; leverage XML, Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), and Component Object Model (COM) add-ins to facilitate data sharing and creation of custom solutions Get assistance when you need it - Microsoft Project Standard 2007 provides a robust Help search engine, smart tags, and wizards to aid novice and experienced users.

If you are looking for a Project Management Software, Microsoft Project Standard 2007 will be your first choice for your business.

Microsoft Project Standard 2007 helps you effectively track and analyze projects with a better understanding of the schedule and impact of changes, while also allowing you to benefit from better financial control and richer analytics. This application now offers the ability to quickly determine factors that are affecting task dates and easily trace the source of issues. Specifically, improved Task Drivers help you determine the factor (such as task dependency, calendar constraints, schedule date, or vacation time) driving the start date of the task, so you can follow a chain of factors back to find the root cause of a particular delay. Microsoft Project Standard 2007 also automatically highlights all items that shift as a result of the most recent change you make. You can even undo actions or sets of actions from macros, and that allows you to test several "what-if" scenarios in order to fully understand the implications of each choice while making scope alterations.

Microsoft Project Standard 2007 offers scheduling power and enhanced capabilities that can help improve the organization of your projects. Easily report and communicate information in various formats according to the needs of stakeholders. New leverage charts and diagrams will capture attention, thanks to the Visual Reports feature, which uses Excel and Visio Professional to produce PivotTable views, charts, graphs, and diagrams based on Project data. You can also enjoy the option of changing the background color of a cell or row with Background Cell Highlighting. Shade cells, similar to how you can in Excel, in order to convey additional meaning. In addition, any user can easily define custom report templates and share these with other Project users.