Project Management Software, PMIS and Alternative Project Lifecycle Models

Modern project management methods, such as network planning and critical path analysis, largely owe their genesis and proliferation to the advent of computers and the rapid development of information technology.

For all practical intents and purposes, contemporary project management is inexorably linked to computer software implementation of its basic premises and principles. This has been brought about by the sheer amount of activities, interdependencies, and factors involved in today’s projects that quickly exceed the capacity and practicality of handling them manually.

This Topic begins with a brief consideration of the evolution of project management software, and examines the various phases of development that have seen computing applications of project management move from a collection of disparate systems to integrated software suites.

Subsequently, the Topic presents a number of the key functions widely performed by contemporary project management software, together with a thorough and structured approach to their critical evaluation when considering acquisitions and purchases.

Consideration of how planning and programming is developed using project management software is undertaken, including outlining key data entry requirements, together with the procedures to identify and correct commonly encountered errors. Finally, the Topic discusses a number of organisational issues that often hamper the effective implementation of project management software to projects