Project management is a very complicated process, and all managers need good tools. Software with vital information tracking ability is only one part of the picture. Good project managers back up their software with other tools.
Project management software
One of a project manager’s most essential tools is a good software program that is integrated with team communications. Ideally, your project management program should generate GANTT charts, project timelines, schedules and messaging, and progress reports. It should also help support shared documentation and other team tasks.
PDAs for project management
One of the greatest tools for many types of projects is the PDA. It’s a convenient, portable way to handle information, and it makes it easy to both enter new information and to remember all the tasks you’re supposed to do. The best thing about them is that many project management software systems today have PDA interfaces that can interact and synchronize with the main program on your server, saving you the labor of entering data into the computer after you’ve already recorded it on paper.
Today, you can find PDAs that also double as phones, walkie-talkies, and email devices. PDAs can shoot information to one another via infrared interfacing and have a multitude of really excellent options and add-ons like folding keyboards and Bluetooth capabilities. PDAs can prove to be your best tool.
Charts, checklists, and publications
With every modern project, information is the lifeline. Without freely-shared accurate information, a project is doomed to failure. In your team room, you should have printed charts from your software displayed throughout. Printed communication, like a newsletter updating everyone on the latest developments in the project, should be distributed throughout the team at least weekly. Everyone should have a binder for their part of the project, and they should keep all project communication in the binder.
Why printed instead of electronic? Simple – though you are using up a lot of paper, you’re saving a lot of time too by having information easily accessible to your team members. It’s the difference between trying to remember exactly where you stored the information and then scrolling up and down to read it – and picking up a labeled binder and flipping to the page. The same information should be stored online as well, but it is not redundant to have at least fixed information printed and distributed to everyone. Unfortunately, the paperless office still has a long way to go before it catches up with the traditional printed reference office.
