RationalPlan 5.6 – Common Theme Across all Browsers and Improved Web Interface

RationalPlan 5.6

RationalPlan 5.6 comes with a common theme for all browsers. Further more, the web interface added roll over actions for the Kanban board and task dependency management by direct typing within the Gantt table.

RationalPlan is a project management software suite that is available either as stand alone products or as a cloud service. It is used by individuals and companies that need a solution to manage their work in an efficient way.

Features added for RationalPlan 5.6

  • Use a common theme across all browsers
  • Added roll over actions on Kanban board
  • Add task dependencies by direct typing them within the Gantt table
  • Updated Mac OS X distributions to satisfy Apple security restrictions

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By |2022-11-18T10:19:57+00:00October 28th, 2020|News, RationalPlan|0 Comments

RationalPlan 5.5 Adds Kanban Board for Agile Project Management Needs

RationalPlan 5.5

RationalPlan 5.5 brings a major change to its way of managing projects. Although the product is best suited for the traditional waterfall project management methodology it can also be used for agile projects. Further more, starting with current version, it improves the support for agile project management with the newly added Kanban board.

RationalPlan is a project management software suite that is available either as stand alone products or as a cloud service. It is used by individuals and by companies that need a solution to manage their work in an efficient way.

Features added for RationalPlan 5.5

  • Added Kanban view for agile project management
  • Added color settings for tasks
  • Added Info column within Gantt view
  • Added roll over icon in Portfolio view
  • Improved support for importing MS Project .xml files
  • Added “Go to Start” action for tasks on the contextual menu of Gantt grid

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By |2022-11-18T10:19:57+00:00May 5th, 2020|News, RationalPlan|0 Comments

Project Management Software for Traditional vs. Agile Environments

Agile vs. Traditional project managementHow much does an agile project management software differ from a traditional project management software? On short: pretty much. But on the other side both types of products have many things in common.

Many say that agile is not a project management methodology but rather a product development methodology. But in many cases the companies prefer to treat the development as a project and hence the notion of agile project management. Now the agile and traditional approaches are totally different so the first thought would be that the software used to manage each type of projects to be different. The idea is that agile PM is not a method per se, but rather an umbrella term for different processes. In turn, agile processes are very different among them.

In Scrum there are small teams, usually collocated, no project manager, and very often there is no need for a software for the managing the project. The team is self organizing, team members are doing daily meetings, and the project is split in iterations that take maximum one month. At the end of each iteration it is decided the next one and so on… No one wants to loose time by updating a plan that keeps changing or to monitor the daily progress of the team with a project scheduling tool.

In other agile processes the iterations take longer but the main idea is that the project plan, the requirements and the product specifications are subject to change. So a traditional project management software does not solve these needs. Indeed it is necessary to have a monitoring process for the project and the team, a system for client communication etc. but due to the dynamic nature of the processes there is no needs to have fancy or complicated features. An agile product should be light in functionality, easy to use, easy to access and highly portable. (more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:20:08+00:00May 7th, 2013|Project Management Methodology, Project Management Software|Comments Off on Project Management Software for Traditional vs. Agile Environments

Scrum – Quick and Easy

Scrum is an agile project movement process. Agile project management, as opposed to traditional project management, is an iterative approach, suitable for projects where there is a high level of uncertainty. The project progresses in iterations, the team works closely with the customer to define the deliverables of each iteration, and the entire project team shares responsibilities of a traditional project manager. Scrum is a popular process for software development projects, and distinguishes itself from the other agile processes in many aspects.

Project Iterations

Generally, in Scrum, the project iterations are up to one month long, and there is a partial deliverable completed at the end of each iteration. As in other agile processes, the customer’s feedback is needed in each iteration, and the emphasis is on collaboration among the team members and between the team and the customer. The teams are cross-functional, work together, and are accountable for the failure or success of each iteration and of the project in general. The project team has daily meetings, which means that Scrum requires collocated teams. Importantly, in Scrum, planning, controlling, creating schedules, and establishing responsibilities are decided by the team members.

Key Roles – Scrum Master and Product Owner

There are two key roles, the Scrum master and the product owner. The Scrum master is sort of a coach or mentor, helping the team apply the Scrum process to the project in the best way possible. The Scrum master should not be mistaken for the project manager or the team leader. This is because the role of the Scrum master is not to lead the team, since the team is empowered to make decisions, but to act as a mediator if there are issues, and a counselor for Scrum process, when needed. The product owner should not be mistaken for the customer, who is the owner of the deliverable created at the end of the project. In Scrum, the product owner’s role is to assist the project team in the creation of the project deliverables, according to the customer’s specifications. The product owner can also be seen as a mediator between the customer and the project team, or as a representative of the customer. (more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:20:08+00:00April 30th, 2013|Project Management Methodology|1 Comment

Traditional and Agile Project Management in a Nutshell

Project Management in a NutshellThere is no standard project management approach that works for all projects. The choice of the right approach for managing a project depends on various factors, ranging from the complexity and type of project to the experience in conducting projects of the organization, the customer’s willingness to be involved in the project, and the norm in the industry.

Traditional vs. Agile Projects

Essentially, there are two approaches: traditional and agile. Typically, traditional project management works for most construction projects, for example, where the whole project can be completed in one sequence, and the success is defined by completion of the deliverables in time and below budget. Agile project management is better suited to volatile and innovative projects, such as software development, where there are many risks, where the scope of the project is likely to change, and where an iterative methodology is needed so that risks are mitigated and opportunities fully exploited.

Traditional Project Management

Traditional project management is an established methodology for running projects in a sequential cycle: initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. For each of these five project steps, there are tools and techniques, such as the ones defined by the PMBOK®, the standard methodology for traditional project management. Traditional project management approaches include other methodologies, for example PRINCE2, adopted by the UK government organizations, but also by private organizations, such as Vodafone or Siemens.

Be Agile to Adapt to Changes

More and more projects have requirements that are subject to change as the project progresses, sometimes to keep up with the market conditions. In these cases, a traditional project management approach, in a single sequence of five processes, is not possible in order to take full advantage of the opportunities that may arise. Any projects associated with a high level of uncertainty (such as research and development, software development), or in highly volatile industries (such as IT or oil and gas industry), can benefit from an agile approach. (more…)

By |2022-11-18T10:20:08+00:00March 20th, 2013|Project Management Methodology|2 Comments
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