Project management software
Project management software ( PMS ) is software that assists in the implementation of project management tasks.
Use of project management software
In principle, project management is also possible without using special software. Project management software can, however, provide valuable services, particularly in the case of a high project complexity, many participants or integration in company-wide systems ( ERP , cost accounting , document management system, etc.). A number of providers of project management software have established themselves on the market. Some software solutions are industry-specific .
Different categories of software that are used in project management can be distinguished according to their scope of functions and their objectives . Functionally, corresponding applications are often only used for certain sub-disciplines of project management, e.g. B. scheduling. Other solutions cover several or all aspects of project management in an integrated manner. In-house developments are usually only used for isolated partial aspects, otherwise solutions from the software market are used.
PM tools support U. simultaneously the tasks of project management and operational project work: e.g. the project manager defines the planned activities, the project team documents the results in the same tool. Larger solutions also take on functions such as personnel planning, time recording and billing. Working from home is also made possible. There are also CRM systems with integrated project management. The line between project management software, CRM and ERP is becoming increasingly blurred.
Types of project management software
As with company processes in general, the processes in projects including project management are now largely supported by software solutions (according to WHITE and FORTUNE in Ahlemann, more than 75%).
According to Ahlemann, PMS systems can be categorized as follows:
- Single Project Management Systems , only used for a single project
- Multi Project Management Systems , distinguishable between planning-oriented, process-oriented, resource-oriented, service-oriented
- Enterprise Project Management Systems , for company-wide use
- Project Collaboration Platforms , e.g. B. Communication solutions
There are also numerous programs that are actually not specific to project management , but which can be used for specific purposes, e.g. B. Office applications , database systems , creativity tools (e.g. mind mapping ) or issue tracking systems .
From a technological point of view, today's PMS systems can be differentiated along the following dimensions:
- Standard software vs. Comprehensively configurable
- On-premise vs. Cloud
- Java vs. HTML5 vs. .net
- Integration via middleware vs. Web services vs. API
- Widget vs. Applet vs. classic window technology
Project management software requirements
Ahlemann chooses a conceptual software architecture that contains all project management tasks (he called the M-model ). It summarizes the tasks according to the following groups based on the project life cycle : generating ideas, evaluating ideas , portfolio planning , program planning, project planning, project controlling, program controlling, portfolio controlling, program completion, project completion.
It supplements them with the general project management tasks: personal information management , team collaboration, administration and configuration, interfaces, miscellaneous.
Within these groups, the architecture itself describes the functional requirements. Examples (from 49 criteria) are:
- Resource management , risk management , cost management , scheduling and scheduling , task management , quality management , issue management , status reporting, knowledge management , project metrics, test management, etc.
- The M-Model also takes into account organizational and architectural criteria such as project templates, project calendars, databases, file import / export, online help, etc.
Ahlemann used these criteria to compare (not to 'evaluate') 28 multi-user project management systems.
In addition, it should be taken into account that there are often three system worlds to be found across companies (CRM, ERP, PPM), which are often equally important and increasingly need to be integrated technically and process-wise.
For other authors and in their evaluations, the criteria for evaluating project management software are structurally i. d. R. others; In terms of content, however, they should consider similar facts, namely everything that is necessary to support efficient project management processes.
Universal tool versus tool mix
In the Ahlemann study, the systems examined achieve an average of 36 percent of the total achievable 'stars'. This shows that the tools either completely lack functionality or that requirements are only partially fulfilled - which i. d. Usually results from the product positioning of the manufacturer. There are therefore no fully supporting systems.
As a result, companies i. d. Usually several tools of different categories and manufacturers are used in addition - for example according to the following example:
- Standard tools for spreadsheets, word processing or graphics are often used for project definition, project reporting, goal and risk management, task management, etc.
- The PM can be supported by task-specific templates that have to be filled out individually (e.g. for open issues). Such templates are also available for operational project work, e.g. B. for entire preliminary studies, specialist concepts, etc.
- The use of specialized PM applications i. Z. with appointments, resources, costs - with different functional scope (e.g. planning only or including control / reporting). The use of multifunctional solutions makes sense here. Cloud-based tools such as Asana , Zenkit or Trello allow the user to precisely view project progress using various data views ( Kanban board , calendar, Gantt chart ...).
- Software solutions with a high level of functional integration control e.g. B. process-oriented editing (according to a procedural model, possibly personalized), support change and task management, depict the system to be created as a model and save the current status of the work results in it - up to automatically generated status controls (via dashboards ) and project status reports Etc.
- Mail systems are practically always used for communication . Web conference systems are often used for virtual project teams or distributed stakeholders .
- Enterprise wikis are used, among other things, for knowledge management in PM.
- Further differences in the use of software result from the architectural features of IT solutions, e.g. B. Multi-user capability, multi-project capability, Internet / browser capability, versioning of results, authorization concept, etc. It also means that the PMS fits the technical IT platform in the company. However, these are not PM-specific criteria.
The tools not only largely determine the content and form of work documents and results, but also the quality of the PM processes: There should be no gaps and no excessive redundancies (risk of inconsistency) so that processing is as efficient as possible , e.g. B. also via import / export interfaces between different tools.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Annette Speck: Project Management in Corona Times and After. Springer professional , May 7, 2020, accessed on May 12, 2020 .
- ↑ ERP tools - companies have to pay attention to this
- ^ A b Frederik Ahlemann : Comparative Market Analysis of Project Management Systems . EiS, University of Osnabrück , 2004, ISBN 3-936475-14-8
- ↑ a b Martin Rudolph: The time of the lemmings is over . (February 11, 2016).
- ↑ The 7 best project management software in comparison. STERN Online, April 2020, accessed on April 22, 2020 .