EPM, Microsoft Project and You
Enterprise Project Management, Microsoft Project Professional and Microsoft Project Server
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- Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
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- Judge and Jury
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By: Collin Quiring
Just a quick muse.
The saying “Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery” has been around a long time and I have been thinking about it the last few days quite a bit. I am getting ready to do a massive SharePoint Server 2010 installation and a Project Server 2010 installation. In so doing, I have been doing quite a bit of research lately to make sure that I have an understanding of how these tools are installed and the steps for setting them up and then maintaining them for the users.
In my research, I do some generic Google and Bing searches for SharePoint and Project to see what has been done by others already. And, I keep running into tools that claim to be “as good as” Microsoft Project or Project Server. But when I look at these tools that claim they are “as good as” Project or Project Server I have found that they mean that their tool does one thing and one thing only – and they think it is the same as Project. I have found this to be quite disappointing.
One tool that claimed to be great at Resource Management had a very efficient interface and did one or two things really well but as soon as I tried to do something that I normally can do in Project, I found that “as good as” didn’t mean “as comprehensive as” the Project tool. There are also add-on tools that are available for Project - some of those are great and some are useless, but at least they claim to be “add-on” and NOT a replacement that works “as good as” like these other tools claim to be.
Project might not be perfect, but it amuses me about how many tools want to be “as good as” Project and are doing their best to imitate it. In fact, some tools even give the same look and feel of Microsoft Project. It just makes me think that Project must be doing some things right if so many other companies want to imitate it!
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BY: Collin Quiring
I know that I haven’t blogged as much lately. The reason is simple – I have been busy getting ready for a few different large presetnations. One of them is for Microsoft Project User Group – MPUG – that is a public event on April 28. Just go to www.mpug.com and look for the “Upcoming MPUG WebNLearns” section on the right hand side. Here are the details about the upcoming presentation.
Join us for an introduction and demonstration of Enterprise Resource Management using Microsoft Project Server. Many organizations have Microsoft Project or Microsoft Project Server and yet don’t fully utilize the functionality of them. Our presenter will introduce the concept, review the set up and overall process, then demonstrate the tools.Some of the questions to be addressed are:How does an organization know they have the capacity to complete an existing project?How does an organization know that they have the capacity to take on a new project?What are my Resources working on?Who is currently over-scheduled?When are they over-scheduled?How timely is my information about my Resources?How are my Resources affecting my schedules’ timing?How easy is it for my Resources and Project Managers to keep the system updated?Speaker:Collin Quiring, Managing Partner, PMP Specialists (www.PMPSpecialists.com)Collin Quiring has over 15 years of experience in several industries in Project Management, Resource Management, Product Development, Systems Administration, and Training. He has implemented Project Management Offices in two separate companies. Collin is an expert in Microsoft’s Enterprise Project Management tools. He has worked with Microsoft Project versions 98 through 2010 and with Microsoft Portfolio Server. During that time, he has developed a passion for helping organizations better understand their Resource Management needs and the methodologies to obtain and maintain that information. Combined with that experience, Collin demonstrates how Microsoft Project Server can be used to help an organization better manage their resources.Collin holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Colorado, is a Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist, a Microsoft Certified Professional and a Project Management Professional.