profiting with online courses & virtual education
TRANSCRIPT
Evaluating !Online Project Management !
Software
How Do You Choose?
Popular on-line project management software:!
• There are lots of tools • Each tool has raving fans & passionate
adversaries • There is no one right answer for everyone
The real question is !What’s best for you, in your situation?
Q: How do I know what is the right tool for me?
!
A: It depends. !
Let’s go through some questions
Why are you looking at !project management !
software?
Why are you looking at !project management software?
• Want to get organized • Too much going on to keep up with • Don’t know who is assigned what • People missing deadlines • Changing priorities • Other reasons
How many projects are !happening at once?
How many projects are !happening at once?
• Only one project • Many projects • Too many projects
How many people !are on your team and !what are their roles?
How many people are on your team !and what are their roles?
• List the name of each team member • List every role that each person performs • List each of your vendors and partners • List each of their team members
It gets complicated, because one person !may fill more than one role.
In which time zone !does each team !
member operate?
• If everyone is in the same time zone, you are very fortunate. • Most teams span the globe, and scheduling is challenging. • For meetings, be considerate of who is awake before dawn
and who is awake after sunset. • Be conscious of the time lag for email. If you send an email
when someone is sleeping, they are not going to respond until they are awake.
• When communicating deadlines, be clear which time zone is being used.
In which time zone does each !team member operate?
What level of detail do !you need to manage inside !
the software?
How much detail do you need to go into?• As you organize your project, you will have phases,
deliverables, and task lists. • Does the team need detailed instructions on what to do
or are they managing their workflow somewhere else. • How are handoffs being handled? How does someone
know when they are ready to start a task? • How much detail do you need to put into a status
report? Do you need to report that a task is in progress, or do you need the percentage complete?
• What makes your boss happiest?
What is your !working style?
What is your working style?
• Visual or verbal • Lists or post-its • Office, cube or coffee shop • Formal or casual culture • Proactive or reactive • Simple or complex • Micro-manage or hands-off
What does it take to !be successful? !
(at project management)
What does it take to be successful? !(at project management)
• Setup the system as it makes sense for your situation • Assigning tasks, due dates, and responsibilities • Teaching everyone how to use the system • Manage project changes and update the plan • Consistently reminding everyone to use the system • Create status report templates and set calendar
reminders for when they are due. • Accountability and actually using the system • Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up • Communication, communication, communication
Comparing Project !Management Software
Other project management software products:
Genius Project On-Demand
AtTask Liquid Planner
www.robohead.netRobohead
Workzone
Wrike
Jira
Sharepoint
dotProject
Huddle
AceProject
Zoho Projects
www.workzone.com
www.wrike.com
www.attask.com
www.attask.com
www.microsoft.com/sharepoint
www.dotproject.net
www.huddle.com
www.aceproject.com
www.zoho.com
www.liquidplanner.com
www.geniusproject.com
Summary: Remember these things
• Your team has to use it. • Communication and follow-up are key. • It takes time to adapt to new processes. • The end result will be worthwhile
Experience Your Business, Transformed.
Rachel Kersten, [email protected]
Presented by
For more information: www.quantifying.com