Get in the Driver’s Seat with Microsoft Project

The Need for Project Management Expertise

The biggest competitor to Project, says Hirschmann, is Excel, because a lot of project managers don’t have the training and discipline required to use the tool. The greatest challenge with using Project, according to Hirschmann, is having people available who have the discipline and training required as project management experts.

Larry Lacombe, president of Michigan-based L2 Consulting and a certified project management professional, believes understanding how Microsoft Project is supposed to work goes a long way. He agrees that individuals using Project need training in project management processes, the fundamentals of project management, and how it works. One important term to learn is critical path method scheduling (CPM), which Lacombe calls the engine behind Microsoft Project.

Companies must also create consistency across the organization, Lacombe says, on how to plan, maintain and report using Microsoft Project. Having more than two employees managing projects requires the need for a company process to ensure project consistency.

Microsoft Project provides a compelling and powerful scheduling tool for software development companies and their clients. The time/budget tracking and level of task details ensure projects remain on schedule to please the customer. This ultimately provides lasting value to the client providing greater competitiveness and improved corporate profitability.

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