Spreadsheets are the king of project management support tools because they are the most convenient tools and the most commonly used tools. How do they compare with project management software? What are the benefits for everyone and when do you switch to project management software? Although only you can determine when you should switch, this article will cover the advantages of each method and provide some guidance.
Based on the research you rely on, the market value of project management software is between $1.5 billion and $3.5 billion. This applies to software designed to support project management. Most organizations that have made significant efforts for effective project management have recognized that it is difficult to manage more projects and people, or larger projects, without technical support.
However, there are no more popular or broader project management tools than spreadsheets because spreadsheets are not designed to be project support tools. Spreadsheets are used even in organizations that have established project management tools. There are obvious reasons for this. Spreadsheet programs exist on almost every computer in every organization, people are familiar with spreadsheets and how to use them, and people use these "office" type software tools to solve problems in advance. I am with them. I like to use spreadsheets to track a variety of data. It's simple and convenient, I admit to self-improvement to show what I can do in a spreadsheet.
With this in mind, let's take a look at some of the differences between the two different types of tools. For the purposes of this article, I have chosen six criteria for comparison. These are selected from feedback from customers and prospects, as well as the importance of successfully adopting and implementing project tools within the organization.
Data mining
Data mining is an important part of project management tools. The whole reason for owning tools is collecting data so you can view it intelligently, ensuring that your processes are executed in a advertised manner and making the right decisions. You need to know which projects and tasks are slipping from the crack so that you can react again. You need to know when you don't have enough resources to meet your needs so that you can assign them or manage your requirements correctly. You need to know which issues are lurking so that you can resolve them before losing the favor of your key customers. You need to understand how the process works so that you can continue to improve the process.
In today's economy, competitive landscape and accountability standards, you must master the data. The managers became stupid because they didn't know what was going to happen and what happened. This is where the right project management software tools shine and the spreadsheet disappears. A good project management tool will be oriented to the database and should allow for different types of interim reports across multiple projects. This enables mining of various data. You can't do this at all in the same level of spreadsheet. If you really know what you are doing, you can tie the spreadsheet together and generate some integration data. But that is not the same thing. You can't just view the data displayed in multiple spreadsheets at all. This is crucial in today's environment. The days without the right data are gone.
advantage : Project Management Software
Easy to use
There are some easy to use project management software systems. However, spreadsheets clearly have an advantage here. Most people are familiar with how to use spreadsheets; they are very happy with them and even like to use them. An important reason is because the spreadsheet has no structure. People are usually not "forced" to use them. They can use them at will. Of course, this has a disadvantage. When the tool itself has no structure, it is difficult to standardize the process or have any type of standard data structure. However, from the perspective of strict ease of use, spreadsheets cannot be defeated.
You can solve problems in your project management software by using good, relevant, and regular training, keeping your implementation simple, and using templates. But we will bring this advantage to the spreadsheet.
advantage :Spreadsheets
Centralized access
One of the things that organizations do today is to increase their competitiveness and efficiency by giving everyone access to the project information they need. The marketing organization provides all the information about each customer project online. The engineering organization is tracking all plans and immediately discovering the problem. Government agencies are linking all the required data to their projects. So be it. The value of getting information right now is great. Engineers can view a system and immediately find the specifications he needs. Account managers can track the status of customer projects and identify issues early. Before answering a question, a professional services manager can find contract information and scope of work for key projects.
Productivity means producing results, bringing things or making things happen. This type of centralized access enables the person who produces the result on the front line to know when to take action.
Project management software, especially online project management software, has won this. Spreadsheets are not suitable for multiple people to access from multiple locations. They are designed with a single file/single-user approach in mind.
advantage : Project Management Software
Maintenance and management
I talk to organizations that spend a lot of time maintaining spreadsheets time and time again. It took a lot of time to spend on the use of spreadsheets:
- Track the correct spreadsheet
- Track the correct version of the correct spreadsheet
- Track email with the correct spreadsheet version
- Email the correct spreadsheet to people without it
- Track people who have the information they need to update their spreadsheets
- Actually update the spreadsheet
- Maintain spreadsheet formulas and formats
- Update the standard format of all spreadsheets to accommodate "process enhancements"
- Create a new spreadsheet
And such examples are too numerous to mention. The key is that while any tool takes time to maintain, spreadsheets take a lot of time because they are single-user concerns. Only one person can update them at a time. They also take time because they are file based, which means you have to maintain separate files. If there is no process in which an organization really manages these files very well [exceptions rather than rules], files are often stored in hodgepods with non-standardized file names and even non-standardized layouts. You will be amazed if you take the time to study the time people spend on maintaining these spreadsheets.
On the other hand, project management software also takes time to maintain. I can't help but say that. Ensuring that the data in the system is correct, that it takes time to follow the process correctly and to simply obtain the information in the system. One of the disadvantages is that many project management software systems allow everyone to enter information so that one does not have to find and enter information at the same time. In this case, maintenance is more realistic than continuous, uninterrupted data entry.
There are ways to minimize the time spent on maintenance and spent on project management software systems, primarily focusing on initial setup. If the system is set up, the maintenance time can be shortened. Using items such as templates and pre-set reports does help to minimize the time spent in the tool.
While both types of tools take time, a sophisticated project management software system is completely superior to spreadsheets.
advantage : Project Management Software
flexibility
The flexibility in this case reflects the ability of the tool to adapt to your process. In fact, this refers to things like any type of data that can track your company [ie add fields] or implement new project templates.
This is a difficult to measure attribute, especially for project management software tools. Many tools are very stiff, which means what you see is what you get. Some tools become more flexible and adaptable - for example, to adapt to screens and data structures. This is becoming more and more important.
It's hard to make a direct comparison because it really depends on the project management software system you are evaluating, but in reality many systems are not as flexible as spreadsheets. In a spreadsheet, you can create new columns or rows as you like, or create a brand new spreadsheet to track new information. Obviously, this flexibility has drawbacks, especially the difficulty of standardizing processes. However, from the perspective of strict scrutiny, we must nod the spreadsheet. But I remind you to test the flexibility of your project management software system and make your own comparisons.
advantage :Spreadsheets
Resource allocation and forecasting
This is similar to data mining, but it is very important to get its own billing. It is vital to manage which resources are assigned to which projects and tasks...
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