What are the common project management tools?
Question:
Answer:
Depends on whether you mean software tools, or process tools.
MS Project is the most common s/w tool, but there's a link to many others below. The last link below is to a survey that you can filter by industry - not sure how scientific it is though.
Process tools include :
Project charter
Work Breakdown Structure
Precedence Network
Schedule (Gantt Chart)
among many others. I recommend the Project Management for Dummies book for novice project managers. The PMBOK from PMI is a useful collection of best practices, but isn't a how-to book.
MS Project, Rational Portfolio manager (RPM) from IBM. Every big company has its own home grown tool. And then we have the Microsoft Excel!
First off it all depend on who you work for. Different projects require different management.
I recently attended a class at Red Rocks Community College (http://www.rrcc.edu). It was a construction project management course. The tools i heard most in that class are as follows
1.project evaluation (what's in this project for me fame, money(profit), convenience? Can I afford it? do i have enough expertise..etc)
2.project delivery method (Who funds, and controls the project)
3.Subcontracting-people usually can't perform all the work necessary so sometimes they use other companys to help complete the project. There are many sub-contractor catagories I cant get into right now because I don't have time and It personally chaffs me ( I am a subcontractor usually working for a main contractor or GC)
4.Project procurement- developing schedules budgets etc...
5. Purchasing logs
6. Change/orders
7. Schedules
8. Becoming a profit center
a.Control cost, schedule, coordinate, qualtity, and safty
If I think of anymore or some more web sites I'll post them later
Anyways I've got tons of work to do so if you would like to discus this more email me at sethdpe@yahoo.com
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