There are a large number of options for Project Management Software Tools, and it will often depend on the organisation as to which one is used. This is rarely standardised, and sometimes even different teams / departments in the same organisation can use different software tools, but there are a few which keep coming up again and again, so wouldn’t do any harm to know the basics of these.
Firstly the 7 common features of Project Management software tools are:
- Project Planning – plan out project timeline with overview task breakdown and who is assigned to complete
- Task Management – task detail, who assigned to complete, deadline, and status
- Share & Collaborate on Documents
- Share Calendars & Contact Lists
- Manage Issues / Risks
- Tracking / Time Management
- Communication between project team members
Project Management Software Tools
Here goes with the 5 main ones:
1. Microsoft Project – one of the first Project Management software platforms available, and still one of the dominant ones. If you’ve been around Project Management for any time you’re likely to have come across it at some stage. If not, then wouldn’t do any harm to familiarise yourself with the basics.
To help out, Microsoft have some free video tutorials on the basics here: Microsoft Project Training Courses, Videos and Tutorials
If you really want a crash course overview I found this video useful – Learn MS Project in 16 min flat
2. VersionOne – Primarily an Agile / Scrum focused software, and gaining in popularity as Agile grows. You can get a 45-minute video demo and try it for free here : Version One / Agile Video Demo
3. Basecamp – easy to use and widely popular – tends to be used in smaller organisations / less complex projects. Good for document-sharing & collaboration, diary management and inter-team communication.
4. Sharepoint – not primarily a Project Management Software tool, but something you may come across on job descriptions, so would help to know what it is. Put simply, Sharepoint is a Microsoft web-based tool used for collaboration and document management. Often used as a central location for project documentation, and can also be utilised to build web-sites.
Here is the link to the Microsoft page to give an overview: What is Sharepoint?
5. Microsoft Excel – not a Project Management software tool, but used so extensively that you’re highly likely to require a good grounding in it. Often used in organisations for project documents such as Risk & Issue Registers, Resource Lists, etc, even though they may also use a dedicated Project Management tool.
For overview videos, Microsoft Excel 2013 Training Courses, Videos and Tutorials
TIP: If you want to get into any of the above in more detail and learn some more about these tools , Lynda.com have a huge range of courses on everything from Project Management software to Photoshop and all types of IT / tech courses. They have some excellent Excel resourses, and at the above link you’ll get a free 10-day trial and then a monthly subscription if you wish to continue after that.
Lynda.com is a LinkedIn company, and is an excellent training resource with over 3,500 online / video courses
The post Project Management Software Tools appeared first on Project Management Courses HQ.