Project Management Tool

Chris,

As per your request I did some research for a good project management tool for our company. Again to support out cost saving initiatives I did comparison among free and licensed tools. Based on our requirement I was able to short list two tools, OpenProj (available free of cost) and MS Project ($ 849/user; Source-Amazon).

Things in Common

Microsoft Project and OpenProj both are very powerful desktop project management applications and have following capabilities:

•Gantt chart: It is a bar chart which is used for project scheduling. It breaks down the task into several subtasks and shows their relations, start and end dates.

•Project Network: It shows the “before” “after” and “intermediate” tasks in graphical manner. Its also called PERT chart.

•Resources Chart: Details of available recourses are listed here. Once listed, the resources can be assigned in Gantt chart.

•WBS: Work Breakdown Structure or WBS shows systematic break down of tasks into subtasks.

•RBS: Resource Breakdown Structure or RBS is categorizing the available resources according to different functions.

•Output generation: Microsoft Project and OpenProj both provide several tracking methods such as consolidated reports and usage of tasks/resources.

Besides above mentioned common capabilities, MS Project will give us a powerful, visually enhanced way to effectively manage a wide range of projects and programs. From meeting crucial deadlines to selecting the right resources and empowering your teams, Project Professional 2010 delivers new and intuitive experiences to simply plan, manage and collaborate with individuals, teams and the enterprise.

Additionally it brings following value added flexibility in management;

•Newly expanded colour palettes and text effects help you make every timeline and plan looks its best, allowing you to see and share important dates and deliverables

•Delivers more with at-a-glance resource management and team collaboration tools using Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010

•Insert new columns on the fly; data types are readily identified so you can quickly organize and analyze details effectively

•Brings together the flexibility and ease of a tool like Microsoft Excel 2010 with the power of the Project Professional 2010 scheduling engine

•Completely new and visually enhanced timeline view gives you a clearer view of tasks, milestones and phases

•Find and use your favorite tools easily with new graphical menus and a familiar interface so you can create and manage projects easily

•The new team planner lets you visually select the right mix of people and resources with drag-and-drop ease

•Save time and effort with familiar and essential functions like text wrapping, filtering, auto-complete, scroll and zoom, and more

•Connect your teams with Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 synchronization or add Microsoft Project Server 2010 with Project Professional 2010 to realize the results of unified project and portfolio management

To summarize, Microsoft Project is a great desktop project management tool. While OpenProj has almost all the features of MS Project, learning OpenProj, without having any previous knowledge of Microsoft project is bit difficult since OpenProj has very little help documents available. Finally, OpenProj is written in .NET, which is a Microsoft program.

Let me know if you want me to bring any further information on the table regarding the tools.

Tejas Ray

Bombardier Case Reflection

Bombardier is a very interesting case study which provided detailed knowledge about ERP. The consultants from Dynamic Consulting created an informational and interactive discussion on the depth and breadth of the implementation of ERP. Bombardier is a very huge organization in the transportation industry which has its functions ranging in procurement, manufacturing, production, finance and human resources. With this scope of the functions, ERP was the obvious solution to integrate the enormous information. With the vision of Bombardier of heading towards a “one company” platform, ERP has proved to be a rigorous tool of making it a reality.

The presentation made by the consultants was very thought provoking and informative which focused on minute details and evaluating Bombardier with the best practices. This assessment would help to identify the loop holes existing in the system and allow making appropriate decisions to improve the efficiency of the system. The problem facing Bombardier was fragmented IT infrastructure due to expansion policy though acquisitions. The ERP system had enormous advantages of effective inventory management, reduction of manual tasks, and supporting new programs.

After unsuccessful implementation of ERP in the first rollout, Bombardier obtained rigorous feedback and implemented corrective actions in the second rollout resulting in successful implementation of ERP in the organization. The evaluation of the first and second roll out by the consultants showed a dramatic improvement in the executive management. I was quite impressed by the dynamics of transformation that integrated the levels of best practices. I agree to the areas of improvement recommended by the consultants that included project management, knowledge transfer and adoption.

The executives also expressed concerns over various issues related to evaluation of the rollouts. The consultants explained the reason behind giving the scores for respective components of the scorecard. I agree with the recommendations made by the consultants that Bombardier would definitely raise to perfection if it adopts these suggestions and implement ERP to the optimal level.