Project schedule management is a very important piece to project management. Project scheduling, as defined by Kathy Schwalbe, involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of the project (243). Project schedule management allows you, as a project manager, to plan out certain parts of the project, based on things such as necessity, in order to have the most continuous flow of development possible. It also allows you to break down the project so that you can estimate the amount of time certain parts of the development could take. That being said having to schedule out the development of a project can be a taxing endeavor, especially if it’s a large project. Many companies tend to use project management software nowadays, in order to help control the scheduling process throughout project. Scheduling software helps to oversee team member availability, assign work, and manage resources in the best way possible to keep project development moving forward. In this post, we will talk about the benefits of using scheduling software, some potential obstacles to lookout for when using the software and we will also be looking at a few commonly used types of project scheduling software to compare the pros and cons of each.
Benefits and Obstacles
As you can imagine there are many different types of agile scheduling software. You’re probably familiar with some of the larger ones such as Trello, Hive, Monday, and Microsoft Project just to name a few. These software brands provide a project manager with ample tools to help set their team on the right path within the development of a project. When it comes to picking a scheduling software to use, you should make a list of criteria of things that you would like the software to able to do. Some good criteria that you should look for when choosing an agile scheduling software are:
Time and Scheduling management: Obviously this is #1!!! This is the main purpose of the software. Having a user-friendly scheduling system makes staying on task easier for everyone in the project.
Is the software user-friendly?: Nothing is more annoying than using software that you don’t know how to operate it and it doesn’t provide much information to learn it. Having a user-friendly platform allows for easier transitions through the project and better collaboration
Communication avenues: have a software set up that allows everyone on the team to communicate with whoever they need is essential. Communication is key in development.
File and Doc Storage: You should look for scheduling software that stores documentation as it allows you and your team to look up any information that is needed within the project.
Can it allocate resources?: As a project manager, can you deviate your resources where they need to be through this software?
Looking for things such as these when searching for scheduling software can help to narrow your decision when trying to find the best option. However, once your team starts using scheduling software, you should take it upon yourself to make sure that everyone in your team knows how to operate the software in order to prevent any unwanted problems or extra work. For instance, you wouldn’t want to have a team member get behind on their task because another team member didn’t know how to upload their files to the software. That small thing could throw off the completion time of the project for the team just because someone didn’t understand how to do one thing correctly. Another example is if you have a new manager come into a project and they aren’t familiar with the scheduling software that your team uses. Let’s say this manager is trying to allocate team resources to certain tasks however, they don’t submit these tasks to the system because the were under the impression that all they had to do is drag the resource to the task and it would automatically submit. This scenario could cause a massive backup in work progress because no one took the time out to show them how to operate the software. Making sure that everyone from the top of the project management team all the way down to the newest developer should know the basic features and functions of the scheduling software they will be using to reduce the chance of having mishaps throughout the project.
Comparison
Last but not least, we will be look at a few different types of project scheduling software to see some of the features, pro and cons that they may have. The 3 scheduling software systems we will look at are Microsoft Project, Trello and Teamwork. (Links to each one will be provided):
Microsoft Project (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/project/project-management-software)
Features:
Communication platform
Resource allocation platform
Timesheets
Grid, broad and timeline views
Pros:
Although it’s not a part of Microsoft 365 it does integrate with all Microsoft products
Due to it being Microsoft, it is a dependable software system
Provides users with templates
It has a similar interface to other Microsoft products
Cons:
It can be difficult to learn at first and requires a decent amount of training
It’s expensive. Whether you choose the cloud-based option (min. $10/ month) or the desktop option (min. $600) it cost a pretty penny
There have been some issues with file compatibility
Features:
Budget management
Timesheets
Project management
Pros:
User-friendly system that’s simple to use
Base version is free and unlimited access is $25/ month
Mobile friendly
Follows the Kanban system
Updates in real time
Cons:
This software relies on data
It has limited storage
Doesn’t work well with larger projects
Teamwork (https://www.teamwork.com/)
Features:
Messaging system
Hours Tracker
Scheduling
Task History
Document management
Pros:
Provides a free version and the most expensive version cost $18/ month per user
Good communication system
Tracks customer satisfaction
Simple design
Cons:
Doesn’t have the best pricing for small companies
Some small issues with the calendar
Works Cited
Schwalbe, Kathy. Information Technology Project Management. Boston, MA: Course Technology, 2019. Print.
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