Project Management Systems

WHAT IS A PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?

Project management software has the capacity to help plan, organize, and manage resource tools and develop resource estimates. Depending on the sophistication of the software, it can manage estimation and planning, scheduling, cost control and budget management, resource allocation, collaboration software, communication, decision-making, quality management and documentation or administration systems. Today, numerous PC & browser based project management software solutions exist and they are finding their way into almost every type of business.

Scheduling
One of the most common project management software tool types is scheduling tools. Scheduling tools are used to sequence project activities and assign dates and resources to them. The detail and sophistication of a schedule produced by a scheduling tool can vary considerably with the project management methodology used, the features provided and the scheduling methods supported. Scheduling tools may include support for: Multiple dependency relationship types between activities, Resource assignment and leveling, Critical path, Activity duration estimation and probability-based simulation, Activity cost accounting.

Providing information
Project planning software can be expected to provide information to various people or stakeholders, and can be used to measure and justify the level of effort required to complete the project(s). Typical requirements might include:

- Overview information on how long tasks will take to complete.
- Early warning of any risks to the project, Evidence and cost maintenance.
- Historical information on how projects have progressed, how actual and planned performance are related.
- Optimum utilization of available resource.
- Collaboration with each teammates and customers.
- Instant communication to collaborators and customers.