Jboggs
Mechanical
- Apr 27, 2012
- 1,058
Can any of you recommend a fairly simple and easy-to-use project management software? In particular, this software will be used to help plan and track the progress of a $2 million industrial project that will involve numerous trades, suppliers, contractors, utilities, etc. as they climb all over each other in the process of refurbishing a steel mill production line that was shut down years ago and is scheduled for restart in a few months, all while fully supporting the existing production processes surrounding it. The project manager is a fresh, young engineering graduate that is jumping in with both feet but, as the saying goes, "he doesn't know what he doesn't know". A slight further complication is that we are an American division of a large Japanese corporation. Many of you will understand the complications that introduces.
I personally have experience using MS Project in the past. It is an amazing tool with fascinating capabilities, but in this case I think it's "too much". Like most of the high-end software tools, one could spend more time learning the tool than managing the project. This young man will not have that kind of time available. Our management is perfectly happy with a simple Excel spreadsheet with a few colors and symbols. I was hoping to give this young man a slightly more intelligent and useful tool though, one that might actually allow him to avoid some of the land mines without requiring his full attention nursing it. So, maybe something halfway between Excel and MS Project.
Any suggestions? Thanks to all!
I personally have experience using MS Project in the past. It is an amazing tool with fascinating capabilities, but in this case I think it's "too much". Like most of the high-end software tools, one could spend more time learning the tool than managing the project. This young man will not have that kind of time available. Our management is perfectly happy with a simple Excel spreadsheet with a few colors and symbols. I was hoping to give this young man a slightly more intelligent and useful tool though, one that might actually allow him to avoid some of the land mines without requiring his full attention nursing it. So, maybe something halfway between Excel and MS Project.
Any suggestions? Thanks to all!