Moving from Strategy to Project Project Management Software Joseph F. McLaughlin

Agenda A. “Six Views of PM (Project Management) Software" – Techsoup.org ( B. Some considerations C. Software packages/vids 2

Agenda A. “Six Views of PM (Project Management) Software" – Techsoup.org ( B. Some considerations C. Software packages/vids 3

A. 6 views of PM software 1.Planning projects 2.Managing tasks 3.Sharing/collaborating on documents 4.Sharing calendars/contact lists 5.Managing issues/bugs 6.Tracking time 4

A. 6 views of PM software 1. Planning projects What planner must do: – define project schedule – understand critical path – assess/allocate resources 5

A. 6 views of PM software 1. Planning projects What software must do for tasks: – details – assignments – time estimate: Gantt charts – links between tasks: visual maps 6

A. 6 views of PM software 1. Planning projects Considerations: – high-level planning – probably requires dedicated staff – maybe not good for smaller orgs – TechSoup found no software that did it all Possible software : – MS (Microsoft) Project (generally true for #1-6) – DreamTeam (SalesForce) 7

A. 6 views of PM software 1. Planning projects Possible software : – MS (Microsoft) Project (generally true for #1-6) – DreamTeam (SalesForce) 8

A. 6 views of PM software 1.Planning projects 2.Managing tasks 3.Sharing/collaborating on documents 4.Sharing calendars/contact lists 5.Managing issues/bugs 6.Tracking time 9

A. 6 views of PM software 2. Managing tasks What staff must do for task: – define – assign – create deadline – track to completion Most common approach/need 10

A. 6 views of PM software 2. Managing tasks Considerations: – lower-level than 1. Planning Projects – typically a collaborative process Possible software: – Basecamp – Remember The Milk 11

A. 6 views of PM software 1.Planning projects 2.Managing tasks 3.Sharing/collaborating on documents 4.Sharing calendars/contact lists 5.Managing issues/bugs 6.Tracking time 12

A. 6 views of PM software 3&4. Sharing/collaborating What staff must do: – share/collaborate on files, calendars, contacts, etc. – keep track of revisions and attachments – possibly work from different locations collaboration  planning 13

A. 6 views of PM software 3&4. Sharing/collaborating Possible software: – MS: Office 365, Outlook, Exchange, SharePoint, etc. – Google: docs, spreadsheets, calendars, Google+, groups, sites, etc. – DropBox 14

Agenda A. “Six Views of PM (Project Management) Software" – Techsoup.org ( B. Some considerations C. Software packages/vids 15

B. Some considerations probably a poor choice for communications in planning – everything else has learning curve Spreadsheets: a poor choice for storing/manipulating info – databases- steepest learning curve of all 16

B. Some considerations Spreadsheets: often a poor choice for storing/manipulating info – databases- steepest learning curve of all 17

B. Some considerations “To cloud” or “not to cloud”: – “cloud-based”= “web/browser-based” – no installation req – otherwise on your server(s) – security issues: web companies’ reputations based on security stuff happens if you have IT staff, maybe use server- based home office/ remote login may create security threat 18

B. Some considerations “To cloud” or “not to cloud”: – security issues: web companies’ reputations based on security stuff happens if you have IT staff, maybe use server-based home office/ remote login may create security threat 19

B. Some considerations $$: – limited free (small), open-source – software for admin $$ to qualifying NPOs – even most $$ software probably affordable for most 20

Agenda A. “Six Views of PM (Project Management) Software" – Techsoup.org ( B. Some considerations C. Software packages/vids 21

C. Software packages MS Project: – MANY features/ steep learning curve – develop the plans up-front – requires dedicated planner – best if already MS-based (Office, Outlook, etc.) – probably gold-standard of planning – may be overkill for smaller orgs 22

C. Software packages Basecamp: – cloud-based – smaller teams, less complex planning – no calendars or Gantt charts, poor task management – good file management/sharing – focused on dispersed teams – “Basecamp is built first and foremost for speed.” 23

C. Software packages DreamTeam (SalesForce) – free for NPOs (10 licenses) – one notch down from MS Project 24

C. Software packages Google collaboration: 25

C. Software packages Google: – Gold standard of (free) online collaboration – Apps free for NPOs: Google services on steroids – If you don’t see what you need, check back tomorrow…… Useful for planning: – Google groups are wiki-like- use instead of – Google sites are a weak point – Gantt charts for spreadsheets – GroupCamp for Apps 26

C. Software packages Google: – Gold standard of (free) online collaboration – Apps free for NPOs: Google services on steroids – If you don’t see what you need, check back tomorrow…… Useful for planning: – Google groups are wiki-like- use instead of – Google sites are a weak point – Gantt charts for spreadsheets – GroupCamp for Apps – Google docs upgraded collaboration tools 27

C. Software package vids MS Project 7 min MS Project Basecamp: – easy participation 2 easy participation – peoples’ pages 2 peoples’ pages – calendar 2.5 calendar – drag & drop 1 drag & drop DreamTeam 2 DreamTeam Google: – Gantt chart 4.5 Gantt chart – real-time collaboration 2 real-time collaboration – GroupCamp 3 GroupCamp 28

Other Links MS Project: Basecamp: basecamp.com DreamTeam: Remember The Milk: Dropbox: Google Apps for NPOs: 29

Thanks for attending! Project Management Software Joseph F. McLaughlin