Microsoft Project Scheduling Software
Microsoft Project is the largest and most well-known project management tool available. It was released in 1984 when any type of desktop software was a novelty. But because of that history, it can definitely seem outdated.
Microsoft Project Scheduling Software
Supports multiple PM methodologies: Many project management tools on the market only support simple, linear, and basic projects. But MS Project allows you to manage projects in whichever way that you see fit. The software supports Scrum, Kanban, and custom workflows. You can use it for agile project management, waterfall project management, or even hybrid methodologies.
For example, a user might fill a timesheet for a specific project task and classify it as research and development. This is particularly useful for invoicing, payroll, and job costing. Not every project management software includes time tracking tools, so the fact that you can get this feature built into MS Project is a huge advantage.
Compared to other project management tools on the market, the structure is unique. The vast majority of project management software is only offered as a cloud-based tool. So, the fact that Microsoft Project can be deployed on-site makes it stand out from the crowd.
If your impetus for reading about alternatives to Microsoft Project is to find something made specifically for the construction industry, Bridgit Bench is for you. It plays nicely with other industry-standard software (namely, Procore), offers an Open API, and comes with tools that simplify your workforce management and project scheduling flow.
Microsoft Project software comes with familiar scheduling tools where users can list tasks, assign them to team members, and set details such as duration and due date. It includes different views like grid view, board view, and timeline/Gantt chart view where project managers can oversee schedules. Built ready for collaboration, it allows co-authoring so project teams can work together with other stakeholders to edit and update task lists, project schedules, task dependencies, and priorities. Teams can also use MS Project for timesheet submission as it captures project and non-project time and links it to payroll or invoicing.
MS Project allows users to manage multiple projects and programs of a company and provide information as to which initiatives should have priority. Modern features such as business intelligence can model different scenarios and help organizations determine the best path and the higher value. It has features to help evaluate and weigh project proposals against business goals and drivers. Companies can also use Microsoft Project management software for demand management as a tool to capture ideas across departments and check them against a standard process.
Microsoft Project software is a pioneer among project management tools. Commercially released in 1984, its stable code base and software continually get enhanced for more relevant features that suit the emerging needs of its users.
monday.com Work OS is an award-winning no-code work management platform that helps teams manage projects and workflows more efficiently.Used by 152,000+ customers worldwide, this fully customizable software lets you plan, manage, and track every project in one place. monday.com offers time-saving and easy-to-use features such as automations, time tracking, document sharing, and real-time collaboration. Multiple board views such as Gantt and Kanban help you structure and navigate tasks and projects the way you prefer, and dashboards give a high-level overview of your progress.In addition, integrations with apps such as Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, and Excel, allow you to easily continue working with your favorite tools from within the platform. monday.com also offers dedicated solutions, such as monday dev and monday sales CRM, designed to answer the needs of specific industries.
While there have been challenges to its rule, and many who have surpassed it, Microsoft remains a giant in this industry. No discussion of project management software would be complete without including Microsoft Project.
Microsoft Project is a project management software product, developed and sold by Microsoft. It is designed to assist a project manager in developing a schedule, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing the budget, and analyzing workloads.
'Project' was an MS-DOS software application originally written in C (and some assembly) language for the IBM PC. The idea originated from the vision of Ron Bredehoeft, a former IBM S/E and PC enthusiast in the early 1980s, to express the recipe and all preparation for a breakfast of eggs Benedict in project management terms. Mr. Bredehoeft formed Microsoft Application Services (MAS) during the birth of the application and the company later entered an OEM agreement with Microsoft Corporation. Alan M. Boyd, Microsoft's Manager of Product Development, introduced the application as an internal tool to help manage the huge number of software projects that were in development at any time inside the company. Boyd wrote the specification and engaged a local Seattle company to develop the prototype.
Microsoft Project 98 was fully 32-bit, and the first to use Tahoma font in the menu bars, to contain Office Assistant, like all Office 97 applications, introduced view bar, AutoFilter, task splitting, Assignment Information dialog, resource availability dates, project status date, user-entered actual costs, new task types, multiple critical paths, in-sheet controls, ability to rename custom fields, Web publishing features, new database format, Task Usage, Tracking Gantt and Resource Usage views, Web features, Web toolbar, PERT analysis features, resource contouring, cost rate tables, effort-driven scheduling, cross-project linking, indicators, progress lines, ability to save project files in HTML format, ability to analyze time-scaled data in Excel, improved limits for the number of tasks, resources, outline levels etc., IntelliMouse and Microsoft Office Binder support, Microsoft Outlook timeline integration, selective data import and export, ability to save as Microsoft Excel pivot tables, Microsoft Project Map, Project menu and allowed user to consolidate 1,000 projects. It was the last version to run on Windows NT 3.51, the last to open Project 4.0/95 files and save in .mpx (Microsoft Project Exchange) file format, the last to use Acme setup program and the last to be available on floppy disks. Project 98 SR-1 was a major service release addressing several issues in Project 98.[4]
Microsoft Project 2010 was the first to contain ribbon and Backstage view, like all Office 2010 applications, contextual guidance, ability to zoom in/out quickly, user-controlled scheduling, top down summary tasks, placeholder text in project fields, timeline view, ability to add columns dynamically, text wrap, expanded color palette and formatting, task inspector, schedule warnings, ability to save as PDF or XPS and to synchronize with SharePoint, enhanced copy/pase and the last to open Microsoft Project 98 and .mpx files and to run on Windows XP and Vista. Additionally it was the first 64-bit version. Volume licensing activation was introduced in this version.
The project creates budgets based on assignment work and resource rates. As resources are assigned to tasks and assignment work estimated, the program calculates the cost, equal to the work times the rate, which rolls up to the task level and then to any summary tasks and finally to the project level. Resource definitions (people, equipment and materials) can be shared between projects using a shared resource pool. Each resource can have its own calendar, which defines what days and shifts a resource is available. Resource rates are used to calculate resource assignment costs which are rolled up and summarized at the resource level. Each resource can be assigned to multiple tasks in multiple plans and each task can be assigned multiple resources, and the application schedules task work based on the resource availability as defined in the resource calendars. All resources can be defined in label without limit. Therefore, it cannot determine how many finished products can be produced with a given amount of raw materials. This makes Microsoft Project unsuitable for solving problems of available materials constrained production. Additional software is necessary to manage a complex facility that produces physical goods.
Hydra is cloud-based. It gives you visibility and deep understanding of your projects in real-time, is quick to roll-out and offers fast results. Hydra is extremely easy to use and learn, no matter what your level of experience with project management software. It utilises Gantt charts, work breakdown structures and intuitive drag and drop editing to create and change project milestones or tasks. It offers free training and no steep learning curves!
The software is extremely agile, enabling tasks to be grouped into "deliverables" that can be replicated as many times as required (e.g. a piece of equipment that needs to be installed in multiple locations), allowing for reassessment and adaptation of project plans to promote continuous learning and innovation.
Clarizen is another cloud-based, collaborative, work management software best suited for enterprise-level project managers, IT organisations and professional services teams which is a step up from Microsoft Project's solution for project and portfolio management. Clarizens typical customers are mid-size and enterprise businesses.
Clarizen integrates with Box, Google Drive, Salesforce Sales Cloud, and other platforms. Its list of features is very large, almost too many choices as one reviewer states but the ones that stand out compared to Microsoft Project are those covering project budgeting, budget control, financial management and analysis, so if you are looking for a tool which can give you this level of detail then Clarizen could be the software for you. 041b061a72