Top 5 Benefits of Using Project Management Software Tool

Many people believe that a Project Management software tool does not have much utility as spreadsheets work much better and provide a cheaper option.

Before we debate this, let me ask you a question. Which tool would you use if you have to put a nail in a wall – a hammer or a screwdriver?

Most probably your answer would be hammer. It does not mean that a screwdriver is a useless tool. It only means that a hammer is a more appropriate tool for putting a nail.

Similarly, when it comes to project management activities like planning and tracking, you should use a proper tool. A spreadsheet software is a general tool that is good for performing calculations and maintaining records but it should not be used for managing projects.

A proper tool helps in automating activities like estimating, scheduling, budgeting, organizing, tracking, and reporting. A spreadsheet software can never do all these things.

Let’s take a look at the top benefits of using a project management software.

Benefits of Using Project Management Software Tool

1. Scheduling

Scheduling involves the following steps:

  1. Identification of activities
  2. Estimating duration, cost, and resources
  3. Identifying dependencies and sequencing the activities
  4. Assigning resources and developing schedule
  5. Adjusting schedule to meet deadline

All these steps can be easily performed by using a specialized project management software. By using it, you can establish a proper workflow so that project staff members know what are they supposed to do and when.

Furthermore, by using a proper tool, you can easily adjust the schedule when there are any delays or changes as the project progresses. (more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:19:57+00:00January 28th, 2020|Project Management Software|0 Comments

7 Reasons Why A Scheduling Tool Scores Over Excel Spreadsheet

Which tool would you use for project scheduling – a tool specifically designed for managing projects or Excel spreadsheet?

The answer is quite simple – a scheduling software is specifically designed for project management. It has many inherent advantages over spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets.

I guess you agree with me. But let me provide my reasons for my preference for a scheduling software like RationalPlan.

Appropriate Tool For Appropriate Jobs

excel scheduling tool pills-3111992_640

Which of the above picture suggests the right usage of fork & knife? The first picture. You would agree that fork and knife should be used for eating food and not medicine.

A hammer is no good for fixing screws and a screw-driver is not the right tool cutting wood. Similarly, PMs should use appropriate tools for managing projects.

You would say that this is simplistic example and it does not work in real world. So let me explain it further.

Microsoft Excel Vs. Scheduling Tool

How would a PM assign duties to team members and ensure task completion? How would a Customer keep an eye on work progression? How would a Sponsor track project expenses?

Excel would be a great bet if you want an isolated solution as an answer to the above questions. But project management is not done in isolation. It is a group effort.

There are many things that make a proper scheduling tool stand out from Excel. I can probably think of 100 things but I have made a group of 7 features that Excel just does not provide.

  1. Task creation, assignment, & tracking
  2. Resource planning & tracking
  3. Availability of Gantt charts for presentation & reporting
  4. Network diagrams for planning analysis
  5. Project performance dashboards
  6. Detailed project reports
  7. Team & stakeholder collaboration

You should also read more about advantages of PM software and why should you upgrade from spreadsheets to PM software. (more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:19:57+00:00April 29th, 2018|Project Management Software|2 Comments

Want to get project disciplines into your organization fast? Here’s how

 Introducing Project Disciplines is hard work

Lots of companies find introducing project disciplines slow, difficult and not very exciting.  Staff often show resistance and it can be hard to get buy in and commitment at executive level where other stuff is seen as more important or pressing.

Well here’s some good news.  The best way to get some project disciplines in fast is to buy a project management package.

But before you get too excited and start reaching for the cheque book, you need to make sure that you chose the right package.

Choose the right project management software

Choose the right software and accompany it with a process for running projects and some training and you’re cooking on gas.

If you choose well, your project management package will do all of the following:

  • Provide the means for project managers to produce plans and keep them up to date
  • Capture time worked and optimise staff utilisation
  • Capture and track financials
  • Monitor project status and publish project status reports
  • Facilitate executive level reporting on all of the above

(more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:20:01+00:00April 21st, 2016|Project Management, Project Management Software|0 Comments

How Does RationalPlan Position Against its Competitors?

While publishing our products over a specialized reviews directory we were asked: “How do you position yourself against your competitors?“. To summarize it the answer would be: “RationalPlan puts the accent on productivity and tries to be as easy to use as possible: straightforward and intuitive“.

The Pareto principle (the 80/20 rule)

Compared to other products it has the same power but it is more affordable to the users. If you compare for example RationalPlan Single product with Microsoft Project standard version you get 80% of the functionality at 20% of the price. There was a customer – whose name I can not mention without his approval – that after buying RationalPlan he wanted a refund because he was not finding certain features available in MS Project. After explaining him where he can find that functionality we also recommended to keep the product. A few days later we received this answer: “Now that I get to know RationalPlan better, I wouldn’t want to miss it anymore. You helped me save a lot of money by “preventing” me from buying MS-Project 🙂”

Embedded project guide

Project management applications tend to be a little bit more complicated and require some training for users to understand how to use them. There are special terms and notions that need additional explanations to understand them. RationalPlan offers an embedded project guide that takes users step by step through the whole process of initiating, planning and controling a project. It is great for a novice or accidental project manager but has the power and the tools to assist an experienced one. Once users get used to the software they can hide the project guide, increase the workspace area and create their own pattern in using the product.

Works everywhere

RationalPlan was developed to work on any operating system: Windows, Mac OS X, different Linux flavors. Even more with the cloud service module it can run directly within the browser no matter what the underlying operating system is.

Great support

One of the main aspects that RationalPlan believes in is the client satisfaction. That is why customer support is a priority. RationalPlan is not a big brand and people do not know it that much but anyone that gets to work with it prefers it over the competitors. Here are just a few testimonials to confirm the customer satisfaction.

However the final verdict is what the users say about RationalPlan products!

By |2022-11-18T10:20:02+00:00May 27th, 2015|Microsoft Project, Project Management Software, RationalPlan, Reviews|1 Comment

Top 10 Most Popular Project Management Articles of 2014

When it comes to project management related topics year 2014 was no more special than any other year. Readers from all over the world visited our blog searching for answers and advices to their questions and problems. Here is a list with the top 10 most read articles starting with the one with the most visits:

  1. Creating Budget Or Cost Baselines For Projects
  2. CAPM® Exam – How to Pass It and Is it Worth It?
  3. Advantages and Benefits of Project Management Software
  4. Work Breakdown Structure Made Easy
  5. Traditional and Agile Project Management in a Nutshell
  6. Time Management In Project Management
  7. Managing Projects Using Project Baselines
  8. Which Set of Skills Is Crucial for a Project Manager: Soft Skills or Hard Skills?
  9. Is There a Project Management Methodology for One-Person Projects?
  10. How Important is Domain Knowledge for the Project Manager?

It can easily be seen that there is no particular topic that visitors are especially looking for. However it seems many of them are interested to know more regarding the work with baselines. Otherwise several blog posts are related to improving the skills required to better plan and manage projects – on short users want to become better as project managers.

Of course readers feedback is welcomed for the new 2015 year.

By |2022-11-18T10:20:03+00:00December 30th, 2014|Project Management Software, Time Management|0 Comments

RationalPlan 4.10 – Project Management Software Now Also Online

RationalPlan Project Management SoftwareStand By Soft is pleased to announce the release of RationalPlan 4.10. Current version comes with a web-based project management module for the Server product, more reports, better support for opening Microsoft© Project files and many other features. Plus starting with this version all RationalPlan products are available for Mac OS X users within the App Store.

RationalPlan suite started as a desktop application designed to run on all major operating systems – Windows, Linux and Mac OS X – but it evolved into an embedded management system that is now available even as a project management cloud service both for individuals and for companies that need a distributed solution with concurrent access from multiple users.

Important changes for this version:

  • Added web-based project management module
  • RationalPlan products are available on App Store on Mac OS X
  • Added filters in Timesheet view
  • Added more reports
  • Improved integration with MS© Project 2013 files
  • Added Notes column for tasks and projects
  • Added possibility to display a special color for 100% complete tasks
  • Better rendering for exported Excel spreadsheets
  • Added support for special characters in Windows installer

RationalPlan Server can be used in two flavors: On Premise – installed on the clients hardware with a one time payment – and as a Cloud service – hosted on RationalPlan’s servers with a monthly payment. Starting with this version a web-based project management module was added such that users can start managing their products directly from a browser. Although the module is in beta version and is under heavy development it is stable and can be used even in production. (more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:20:05+00:00October 5th, 2014|News, Project Management Software, RationalPlan|Comments Off on RationalPlan 4.10 – Project Management Software Now Also Online

RationalPlan 4.6 – Project Reschedule, Invoice Generation and SkyDrive Storage Integration

Stand By Soft is pleased to announce the release of RationalPlan version 4.6. RationalPlan is a project management software that puts the accent on productivity, ease of use and fast learning. Current version comes to support this ideology by offering the possibility to easily reschedule the project. More than that the integration with SkyDrive storage service offers increased collaboration and productivity.

RationalPlan is a project management software that was designed to help different types of users starting with newbie project managers, continuing with users that need an environment to handle multiple projects and up to companies that need a distributed solution with concurrent access.

Important changes for this version:

  • Added the possibility to generate project invoices
  • Automatically reschedule uncompleted tasks
  • SkyDrive storage service integration
  • Added the possibility to roll up tasks
  • Documents management module
  • Added the option to remember usernames and passwords when working with RationalPlan Server product
  • Better integration with Microsoft Project
  • Improved administration area within the RationalPlan Cloud solution

At users request it was added the possibility to generate project invoices. Hence it became a must to have the possibility to manage company’s financial details like tax ID and tax rate. And since RationalPlan customers come from different locations on the globe with world-wide clients it was also added the possibility to apply the tax rate only for certain clients.

Sometimes a project can be put on hold for various reasons. But when it resumes the initial plan is not valid anymore except for the already executed tasks. In this situation a reschedule is required starting from a new reference date. This is now possible in RationalPlan. Already completed tasks will remain at the initial location, while partially completed tasks will get splitted and rescheduled along with the uncompleted ones.

After Google Drive and Dropbox storage integration in version 4.4, RationalPlan continued with SkyDrive storage integration. Users can now manage their projects without worrying if their data is safe on their local hard-drives. All they need to do is to keep their files stored on any of the above three storage hosting solutions. (more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:20:07+00:00September 27th, 2013|Cloud Project Management, Microsoft Project, News, Project Management Software, RationalPlan|Comments Off on RationalPlan 4.6 – Project Reschedule, Invoice Generation and SkyDrive Storage Integration

Dynamic Project Planning For Increased Productivity and Flexibility

Every project starts with a well-defined plan and schedule. But the reality offers a lot of uncertainty so the project may very well not evolve according to the initial plan. The result is that measures are required to adjust the state of the project to reflect the new reality.

Planning a project is not an easy job. It requires some knowledge and an amount of experience. The steps are simple… Create the list of activities that need to be performed, structure them accordingly in phases and sub-phases and establish durations (or amount of work depending on the types of tasks). Next create the project flow by adding dependencies between tasks. This way it is established the order in which tasks are executed.

Up to this point there is nothing related to time and this is the biggest hint to keep in mind: avoid hard constraints. As long as tasks are scheduled to start as soon as possible then every task will depend only on its predecessors and on the project estimated start. This is the perfect project template that can be easily shifted in time by just changing the project estimated start.

It is unlikely that a novice project manager will be able to produce such a scalable project plan… There are situations when it is just impossible to keep a project flexible even for a senior project managers. But this is due to the nature, the requirements and the constrains of the project.

How To Adjust The Schedule

So the schedule is done and the project is ready to go. But it may take no more than one week for the project plan to stop corresponding to the reality: some tasks take longer than estimated, others are executed faster or even worse the project is put on hold for various reasons (lack of funds or personnel, a financial crisis period, bad weather conditions and the list can continue). What now? Synchronizing the old plan with the reality takes some effort and attention.

It is obvious that the already completed or started tasks will remain at their location. The only discussion is about moving the uncompleted ones and/or splitting the tasks that are partially completed. This adjusting process is similar to planning the project but done on a smaller scale. If the initial plan was not time flexible then each particular conflict needs to be manually solved.

As mentioned above the best case is the one when the plan was created with as few as possible hard constraints. This allows an increased flexibility when it comes to shifting the activities in time. (more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:20:07+00:00August 15th, 2013|Project Management, Project Management Software|Comments Off on Dynamic Project Planning For Increased Productivity and Flexibility

PM 1.0 versus PM 2.0. What Is Next – Project Management 3.0?

There are certain individuals nowadays, mostly “project managers”, that decided to add version numbers to the notion of Project Management… And they created PM 1.0 and PM 2.0. More than probably the numbering idea came from the software domain: different tools and different versions for various needs.

A Little History Background

Since ancient times man created spectacular structures. The Great Pyramid of Giza around 2550 BC and The Great Wall of China around 206 BC are just two of them. Both survived to the test of time and even now are still standing. For this to happen it required a well done preparation, knowledge and workforce. These are clear proofs of an extraordinary construction engineering. Can we talk about project management at that moment? Perhaps not under this name but in reality it was exactly that.

The notion of Project Management as we know it today began to take root around year 1950. At that time organizations started to systematically apply management tools and techniques, developed in earlier years, to complex engineering projects. A famous tool that is being heavily used even today is the Gantt chart. One way or another businesses and other organizations began to see the benefit of organizing work around projects. So it was not just management anymore but it was also about projects: Project Management.

The Software Era

Managing projects on paper, as it was done at that time, is a time consuming process, prone to errors and costly. Obviously all these are true for medium to large projects and not for the small ones where the management is a lot easier to be done. But with the technology advances between 1970 and 1980 the first few project management related software solutions were created. This was an incredible increase in the performance of managing projects: faster computation, more reliable data and all the advantages that came from using a computer.

Over the years from users feedback better and better project management tools were created. Some solutions became deprecated and died while others evolved. However there is one particular point in time that can be considered a milestone: the evolution of Internet and the appearance of Web 2.0. All the fuss around the new World Wide Web aka Web 2.0 started around year 2000. The new way of dynamically rendering pages over the Internet offered an increased flexibility in using web application as a team as opposed to desktop ones. The gate to collaboration between team members directly through project management software was opened. And starting from this people created the term of Project Management 2.0

[1][2].

How did that happen? Simple: the traditional way of managing projects (this approach was renamed into PM 1.0 at a later stage) was lacking in one regard they say – collaboration – and the new approach came with that. It is a hard thing to believe that before Web 2.0 there was no collaboration between stakeholders when managing a project… Maybe not through the use of PM tools but there were other means like email, chat, phone etc. So is it right to say that PM 2.0 = PM 1.0 + collaboration? (more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:20:07+00:00August 8th, 2013|Project Management Methodology, Project Management Software|Comments Off on PM 1.0 versus PM 2.0. What Is Next – Project Management 3.0?

Working With Project Management Software – Who Is Managing Who?

Managing projects is not an easy job and in most cases the manager would greatly benefit from the use of a dedicated software. Starting from this necessity project management tools were created. But the main problem is if these tools are a real help for those that are using them or it is just a loss of time.

It is a well-known fact that computers became a necessity in our lives by simplifying our work. Increased computational speed, huge memory and lack of fatigue are the main reasons why computers have so much success. Let’s admit it: in certain aspects robots are better that humans. So why not use them for such purposes? It is obtained an increased execution speed and accuracy. But all these come with one cost: time. Someone has to lose some time to teach computers how to do the job right.

So a project manager and his team can ease their work using specialized project management software. But is it worth it? Well… it depends if they are using the right tool: it should be easy to use and to configure and to not require to invest too much effort in using it. Time is precious and should be used to manage the projects and not the software. If one is using considerably more time to handle the software rather that working on its projects then that software is useless. In this case a replacement should be the right thing to do.

The sad truth is that for the most part, teams have absolutely no idea how to use their project management tools even months after they’ve supposedly integrated the system into their workflow. And it’s the same with other software… Some vendors just make complicated software that have far too many steps and users end up working more on their project management software to enter tasks and communicate than they do on getting the project done.

A well designed project planning system should allow users to easily create entities like projects, tasks, resources, clients and to add details – data input is a time-consuming process. Another point to keep in mind is that computed data should be always at hand and easy to follow. Navigation between any two views should not require more than a few mouse clicks. An intuitive interface is a big must: the users need to find fast what they are looking for. (more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:20:07+00:00July 9th, 2013|Project Management Software|Comments Off on Working With Project Management Software – Who Is Managing Who?
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