Project Management Information
Business projects involve many tasks -- often thousands. Each task has numerous bits of information associated with it: task description, date to be completed, who is doing it, materials requirements, suppliers, etc. All of this project management information must be recorded, organized, integrated, and accessible to the project manager in meaningful ways. Information on project management is handled by project management information systems.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project management information system (PMIS) as a standardized set of automated project management tools available within an organization and integrated into a system.
Collaboration is a critical part of managing any large project. A reliable PMIS must be able to handle communication and collaboration on an adequate scale. Here are the PMI's minimum requirements for a PMIS:
- Supports generation of a project charter, schedule, and budget
- Facilitates communication and feedback
- Controls project changes
- Analyzes and forecasts project performance
- Disseminates project status to relevant stakeholders
- Provides real-time information essential for initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing a project.
A PMIS is important not only to those involved directly in working on a project, but also to upper management, sponsors, and others who have a vested interest in the project. Such bystanders are constantly asking, "How are things coming along?" Project managers need to answer such questions fully and satisfactorily to keep their money coming. On the other hand, digging up answers takes up a project manager's time. It makes sense to provide the answers in a self-service format such as a PMIS project status report.
Information on project management can be kept in various software programs. Some of them are expensive and designed for large enterprise projects such as construction or transportation systems. Others are relatively cheap and cater to the simpler needs of non-professional users. There are some standard office productivity tools that can be used for project information management.
Microsoft Sharepoint is a well-known collaboration tool among office workers. Basically, it lets multiple team members set up a web site through which they can share information about their activities in various ways. Sharepoint fulfills the PMI's requirements for a PMIS, including the ability to generate status reports for participants and stakeholders in a project.
Daptiv.com provides on-demand project management information in a semi-customized framework delivered over the Web. Daptiv has defined many of the details of a PMIS, saving much of the work of designing a PMIS from scratch. Yet its reports and other features can be customized to meet a particular project manager's preferences. Customers pay by the user for Daptiv.com's service.