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This Project Management Software provides a comprehensive, easy to learn, and inexpensive way to rapidly manage your projects. Use this software to manage large or small projects with up to 1,000 tasks.
There are three views for entering and viewing the schedule. In addition, a Resource Tracking view shows people's assignments and identifies overloads. Follow the links below to see a detailed description of each view.
Outline View |
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The Outline View is the primary data entry screen. A
spreadsheet-like approach to entering tasks allows the easy
definition of relationships between tasks, and shows "the whole
picture" in one view. On the left-hand side you create an outline
of your work (also referred to as a "Work Breakdown Structure").
In the area on the right you enter detail sub-tasks (the red and
blue-boxes). The top of the screen lists detail information
(dates, costs, etc.) for the currently highlighted task. The
"flow" of work is typically entered from left to right. Tasks can
be moved around, and links created between tasks, using
drag-and-drop techniques. The work-flow can be viewed in further
detail by switching to the PERT View. |
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Workflow (PERT) Chart View |
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The PERT
Chart
provides an industry-standard view of the project. Key
information for each task or milestone is displayed in a box.
Dependency lines, or "links", are drawn between dependent tasks.
Complete editing capabilities are provided in this view: adding/deleting/moving tasks, changing any task's data, editing links, etc.
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Timeline (Gantt) Chart View |
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A Timeline (or
Gantt Chart) view of the project plots activities against a
calendar. Durations for each task are shown graphically on a
timescale ranging from hours to a year. Views can be provided of
tasks, resources, or resource usage by task.
Timelines for resources highlight any resources which are over-committed. |
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Resource Tracking |
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Graphical display
and/or text reports on assignments of people by name or job
category.
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Generate Reports |
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A
versatile Report Generator is included. Reports may be previewed on-screen,
printed, or sent to a text file to be included in a
word-processing document. Additionally, the overall Project Schedule may be exported to a spreadsheet-compatible file; any standard spreadsheet can then be used to create further schedule reports, or be rolled up into other reports. A special spread-sheet file format can be specified for direct import to Microsoft project. Reports may be configured to include, at the task, subproject, and overall-project level;
A Task Filter allows reporting on selected groups of tasks based on criteria such as;
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Assign Resources |
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In
addition to scheduling, you can assign costs to tasks and
provide a graphical display of their usage. Two types of costs are
supported; People-costs and Expenditures.
People-costs can be assigned using individuals (Bill, Martha, etc.) or job categories (Technician, Carpenter, Department Manager, etc). Per-hour labor costs can be assigned for each. A maximum limit can be set on the quantity available of each resource; over usage is tracked and highlighted. Expenditures can be used to identify major cash outlays ("license fee", "tooling charge", etc) or to track use of key materials or components (need 50 Brochures in May, 500 in June, etc.). This provides an overall project cost or budget, as well as identifying the when costs will occur.
Resource usage can be included in text reports using the Report Generator, and can also be displayed graphically using the TimeLine. Overall Usage is shown at left. Another view breaks out usage on a per-task basis.
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Customize the Calendar |
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The objective is to provide ease-of-use. A simple calendar system (in
units of 15-minute intervals) is
presented by default
However, if you have more demanding needs, you can easily edit the Calendar to accommodate them;
Similarly, "As Soon As Possible" ("ASAP") calculations are used by default. However, you can select any tasks as being handled on an "As Late As Possible" basis (often used for expenditures).
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Use on a Network |
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| The program can be used in a networked environment by making use of file-sharing. Put the commonly used project files on a central file-server location in your network. Users must each have a copy of the program on their PC or laptop. They can then access the project files and work on them. Make sure your network administration has periodic centralized backup procedures. | |
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Print Charts Easily |
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Project
Management Software has some unique printing requirements - some
of the charts can get quite large! To minimize the need for
taping many "standard" size sheets of paper to represent one
larger drawing;
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