Running Head: Project Management 1

Project Management Software and Solutions

Katherine E. Burnam

Melody A. Candia

Dr. Matthew D. Gonzalez, PMP

University of the Incarnate Word

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Project Management Software and Solutions

Problem Statement

A good project management software package should be cross-functional throughout an organization and

have the ability to provide the users with the necessary tools to accomplish their given tasks. The wrong

software has been known as one to the top reasons for project failures. With the limitless number of Web-

based project management software packages available to consumers, many companies are faced with

choosing the program that best suits their needs.

Current Project Management Software

Today’s market is saturated with many competing Web-based software applications. Some of the current

top online project management software leaders are Clarizen, @task, Tenrox, Daptiv PPM, Easy

Projects.net, Genius Project for Web, Project Manager.com, Project Insight, Celoxis, Wrike, Basecamphq,

Project Drive, Comindwork and Intervals (Online Project Management Reviews). Of the top applications,

six are proprietary or are licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder of the software. Two

of the applications are SaaS, which is software that is deployed over the Internet. With SaaS software,

the organizaton would actually purchase a user’s license from the provider. Benefits of SaaS include:

• Accessibility from anywhere with an internet connection

• No local server installation

• Pay-per-use or subsciption-based payments

• System maintenance with includes backup, updates and security

• Reliability

A key disadvantage with an SaaS software application is that it is not designed exclusively for an

organization’s needs and functions and cannot be easily customized.

Project management software should provide for collaboration, issue tracking, project portfolio

management, resource management, document management and archiving, task & time record

management, project scheduling, financial forecasting and be a Web-based system.

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There is a considerable expense in purchasing a project management software package, therefore it is

imperative for the users to consider the problem they are trying to solve and to determine what their

expectations are for the software package. It is possible the your particular organization will not need to

utilize certain functions that the software offers, such as issue tracking. When brainstorming with the key

stakeholders of the software, a clear vision should be formalized similar to a mission statement. The

vision should include business need, functionality, flexibilty, technical structure, expectations, deliverables

and overall goals for the software package. The stakeholders should also consider the investment that is

being made for the organization and determine the resources available.

Clarizen

Clarizen is a smaller company that provides on-demand software for project management. Since

Microsoft Project is the largest competitor and is used by many large corporations, Clarizen is attempting

to lure some of Microsoft’s customers to its side. Clarizen understands the widespread use of Project and

has the ability to import Project data into itself for future use within Clarizen.

There are many functions such as planning budgets, collecting notes for public viewing, project progress

views and e-mail alerts for approaching deadlines. Although most project management software has

different bells and whistles that are beneficial to users, Clarizen prides itself on being the alternative

rather than a direct competitor of Project.

A case study of the Atom group shows how Clarizen can be the first robust project management program

that is used by a small business of 25 employees that grows quickly. The Atom group is a Web

development firm that specializes in Web and mobile applications. They soon outgrew the simple online

project management program they were using as business began booming. Co-founder Tom Herer

stated, “The firm needed to look for a new solution mostly because of performance needs. The solution

we were using was built in such a way that it would take a lot of time to complete pretty basic tasks, so

that just killed our adoption of it. We wanted to find something that was more responsive, offered more

features and was easier to use."

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The first thing Tom noticed about Clarizen versus the alternatives was the modern technology,

development and feel of the program. The Atom group’s sales and marketing team is now able to close

on a project and brief the development area on needs, timelines and budgets. The development team

then moves forward within Clarizen to make it happen. The Atom group intends on broadening their

usage of Clarizen although it understands the process takes time due to the high number of features.

Another case study focuses on a larger company that partnered with major corporations such as USAA.

Convergys is a global customer and human resource management solution company. Convergys

employs nearly 75,000 people and supports customers in 70 different countries. It is a stark contrast from

the size of the Atom group.

Convergys’ brand marketing group was serving four other groups within their corporate marketing

department. They were providing creative support, Web services and lead management services as well

as other maintenance of databases. The team director wanted to track how her group was supporting

other areas of the corporation, but she had no way to capture the project volumes or resource utilization.

She wanted to report volume and quality of work to senior management but did not have a system to do

so with.

Interviews with staff members revealed that the most important aspect of the projects that they needed to

capture were the lifecycles. Convergys implemented Clarizen in April of 2009 and realized that the

software offered more than just an easy way of tracking project cycles. Through Clarizen, the Convergys

director stated they cut two weeks off the lifecycle of frequently produced webinars. They were able to

remove 50 percent of the steps in the projects after introducing Clarizen.

Whether you are a small start-up business such as the Atom group or a large company that is traded on

the stock exchange like Convergys, Clarizen is able to fit the needs of companies who need an upgrade

or that need to start from the bottom up. Both companies found that there were many things they could do

with the help of Clarizen that they did not know were possible, much less possible via the software they

purchased.
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Microsoft Project

On the other side of the project software spectrum is Microsoft Project, a very resourceful tool that is

perfect for a number of different tasks. However, it has been described as too big for some solutions.

Project has been compared to using a sledgehammer to swat a fly or a jackhammer to drive a nail.

Although the amount of power in Project is not always needed, there are companies who can harness

and successfully utilize it.

The Volvo Group is most popularly known for the automobiles it manufactures worldwide. Volvo wanted

to increase efficiencies through a number of different methods such as time reporting, process

management, portfolio management and other means. Volvo IT is responsible for managing many

different projects throughout the different companies of Volvo Group that reside in countries across the

world. Volvo has been a longtime customer of Project and utilized past versions successfully. In Volvo’s

quest to improve efficiency, it realized the version of Project it had was not able to support its time-

reporting processes.

Volvo IT decided to fully implement Project 2010 and immediately noticed the tool’s ability to help with

resource management via time reporting. Project was able to project resources needs and determine

where flexibility could occur. A Director at Volvo stated, “We were better able to anticipate whether a

project will be delayed. This gives us the opportunity to shape future contracting and distribution

strategies.” Volvo also mentioned that Project provided them with a simple user interface that was easy to

navigate and worked with the older versions that some users still had. The magnitude of Volvo Group’s

business was easily handled by Project.

Solution

Ideal packages should include attributes such as flexibility, adaptability and the ability to be modified if

necessary (they should not be a cookie-cutter model). It must fit with the organizations specific needs and

the following items are also important:

• Task and time record management

• Issue management
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• Team collaboration

• Budget and resource management

• Time tracking

• Document management and archiving

• Project scheduling

• Financial forecasting

• Reporting

Each invidiviual company or project will require its own solution. We have recommended two of the best

project management software programs to help companies achieve their goals. For a smaller company

that does not have much inventory or many employees, we are suggesting Clarizen. The beauty of

Clarizen is that it is not only for small businesses. This is a project management software that is easy to

use and has the ability to adapt to fit most companies’ needs. For a larger, more established company we

are recommending Microsoft Project. This software has the power to peform the most complictated tasks

necessary for a large company. Microsoft Project has so many features and options that it can be to

cumbersome for a small company. Each indiviual company needs to begin by taking a look at what it

needs before it begins to even enter the market of shopping for project management software.
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References

A quick guide on choosing PMO software. (n.d.). In Visitask. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from

http://www.visitask.com/PMO-software.asp

Convergys marketing team tracks projectsí value and reduces meeting time with Clarizen . (n.d.). In

Clarizen work management solutions. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from

http://www.clarizen.com/Resources/CaseStudies/Convergys.aspx

GanttHead discusses project management user adoption and ESRI's implementation of Clarizen (2009,

December 30). In Work management solutions-Clarizen. Retrieved February 23, 2011, from

http://community.clarizen.com/Blog/PostID/22.aspx

Kanaracus, C. (2008, April 30). Clarizen going after Microsoft Project users. In CIO. Retrieved February

22, 2011, from http://www.cio.com/article/343966/Clarizen_Going_After_Microsoft_Project_Users

Online project management review. (n.d.). In Top ten reviews. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from

http://online-project-management-review.toptenreviews.com/

SaaS. (n.d.). In TopBits. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.tech-faq.com/saas.html

Selecting the right project management software. (n.d.). In Visitask. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from

http://www.visitask.com/project-management-software.asp

Volvo Group increases project visibility and control while saving employees time. (n.d.). In Microsoft.

Retrieved February 23, 2011, from http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Microsoft-Visual-Studio-

Team-System-2008-Team-Foundation-Server/Volvo-Group/Volvo-Group-Increases-Project-

Visibility-and-Control-While-Saving-Employees-Time/400000

Web development firm The Atom Group chooses Clarizen for its usability, ìcutting-edge developmentî.

(n.d.). In The atom group. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from

http://www.clarizen.com/Resources/CaseStudies/TheAtomGroup.aspx