Project Management Tools Essay

There are a wide variety of project administration and organizing tools available to help manage tasks and track giveaways. Two of the most popular tools will be Microsoft Job from Microsoft and SmartDraw from SmartDraw. com. These software packages enables the user to make a project and graph this in various platforms, such as calendars, Gantt chart, flow charts, etc . To be able to evaluate these applications, a test job was created to allow a comparison from the features.

MS Project is considered to be one of criteria for job management; so that as a part of the Microsoft Office package, it provides level of the usage that is useful in Project Management (Microsoft Project 2003). The MS Project the year 2003 application offers an approach that may be primarily focused toward Gantt chart monitoring, with other viewing options in a calendar formatting, network diagram, and activity usage structure (Microsoft Office, 2008). The item has a lots of features and options which usually allow a user to track jobs and solutions, along with reporting features to provide specifics and help control the task. This program was a tiny difficult to discover without a teaching manual.

Some fundamental knowledge of other Microsoft items helps when attempting to produce a project initially. A sample from the demonstration test out in MS Project can be provided in Appendix A. SmartDraw boasts itself because the world’s most well-known business design software’ (SmartDraw. com Company Profile, 2008). Providing pre-designed templates in more than 100 formats, this kind of application gives a wide variety of choices for task managers to their tasks (SmartDraw v. 2009-08).

Over and above Gantt graphs and calendars, there are also various formats intended for flowcharts, timelines, floor strategies, and organization charts. When the application can be initiated, it gives the user the opportunity to select from a list of possible formats before beginning the project create. A sample of the demonstration test out in SmartDraw is provided in Appendix B. Depending on the tests performed for this project, the SmartDraw program is more user friendly, especially for a new user that is interested in many different tracking options without intensive training.

The MS Project application includes a big advantage in regards to integration to applications inside the Microsoft selection of products, but it seems to require quite a bit of training to be experienced in the use of the features. Both items are well-known in the world of job management, but this demonstration shows that SmartDraw is easier to navigate for a novice consumer and offers a greater variety of demonstration formats. Even though knowledge of MS Project is almost required in the world of project managing, the advice from this check would have to go to SmartDraw for students interested in a powerful, easy-to-use remedy.