Project Management System
Loosely speaking, a project management system is any organized method of managing a project from start to finish. A project management system may be a paper notebook, a whiteboard, a crude Excel spreadsheet or Microsoft Access database, a bunch of tasks noted in Microsoft Outlook with start and end dates plus reminder times, and so on. But here we will consider dedicated software project management systems.
A number of feature sets comprise a comprehensive project management system. You may or may not need all of them. You can save money by buying a less expensive software project management system that does only the functions you need. The general feature sets found in project management systems are:
Collaborative software -- allows participants in a project to share information in real time and asynchronously. Chat, whiteboarding, Web videoconferencing, and instant messaging are examples of real-time collaboration. Calendars, status updates, and progress report blogs are examples of asynchronous collaboration.
Issue tracking systems document "issues" -- problems, glitches, delays, shortages, etc. -- that inevitably crop up in any project; who is responsible for monitoring and fixing issues, what's being done, and when the issues are expected to be resolved.
Scheduling -- few project managers can get by without this module, and few software project management systems lack it. Allows scheduling of tasks and tracking of times to complete them, interdependencies between tasks, PERT and critical-path diagrams, and so on.
Project Portfolio Management -- the big filing system into which every single document of a change, issue, schedule, meeting, etc., goes. The PPM allows you to find all documents related to an issue, organize things neatly for reporting, and ensure that everyone documents every single thing they do.
Resource Management -- resources include laborers, professional expertise, materials and their suppliers, consultants and employees involved in a project.
Document Management -- sounds like the Project Portfolio Management module, but it's document management at a lower level. Where are those blueprints and bills of lading? When was that change order faxed and to whom?
A Web-based project management system is de rigueur these days. You cannot buy a project management system that doesn't work on the Web.
The licensing scheme of software project management systems is important. Some software project management systems are proprietary, like Assembla, AtTask, Basecamp, and Central Desktop. Generally, you will pay by the user, in bundles of user licenses. This can be wasteful if you have 400 users but have to buy a 500-user license bundle. Other systems are licensed under open-source licensing agreements such as the GPL. Using the software is free no matter how many users you have. It's the support and professional customization that costs money.