Microsoft Project vs. Slack

Microsoft Project is the perfect platform for medium and large companies. I do not recommend this software for small businesses, because all its functions in the work plans are high cost and this would cause the small business to not perform well in the use of MS Project in the long term. It is very easy to use software, it allows adding, modifying and eliminating all kinds of assignments and tasks for all employees, it allows monitoring the progress of all projects in real time and it also shows the gaps in the planned project. It has a very good performance, it does not take up many computer resources and all the information is stored in sync with the Office 365 service. It occasionally has crashing problems, but this is something that does not affect users as much.

Incentivized

We tried a different team communication software (Discord), but it didn't work as consistently well as Slack. We really like Slack for our internal team communication, and even for communication with outside organizations we work with. It's pretty easy to set up a Slack channel and invite others to it for easy back and forth. Huddles, even with video and sharing work pretty well now, though there are still a few hiccups every now and again.

Incentivized

• It is part of Office365 subscription. The look and feel is similar to other tools like excel. Helps in creating project plans, Gantt charts, work break down structures etc.
• Helps in resource allocation and tracking the projects. There is an option to use it to capture timesheets too.
• Helps project managers in producing weekly status reports and integrates well with other collaboration tools like Skype, sharepoint etc.

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• Real-time discussions between team members like a chat application
• Direct integrations with calendar and video call applications
• Intuitive shorthand for emoji inputs and Markdown styling
• Smart copy-paste UX for media files and external links that detects the type of assets being pasted

• Seems overly complicated for users sometimes in using Project and its functionalities
• Hard to share files for those folks who do not have MS Project, and then have to print out for them
• Can be confusing since it looks and feels like MS Excel

Incentivized

• I'd like to see further ways to organize my chats. Right now, it's very linear. Maybe folders inside folders.
• Being able to transfer any videos recorded in Slack between slack conversations without downloading and uploading. Aka, a Slack link for the video (like loom).
• A cheat sheet of available commands (like starting a zoom chat) --I'd love to know what all my company has enabled.

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I like using Microsoft Project. It simplifies building a schedule

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As useful as Slack has become within our company, I feel fairly confident we will continue to use Slack as a communication tool. They continue to improve their software and add value to its use within our office. Customer service delivers, which is an absolute must. Looking forward to how they improve.

Incentivized

Microsoft Project was for many years the reference tool when you were talking about project management software, even if it has some gaps. However, in the last several years, other tools emerged and covered those gaps and are getting more and more users. Microsoft needs to keep up with the trends as they did with adding Project Server. However, that needs a significant rework.

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As long as you use the basic chat features and nothing more, it really is super easy to understand and use. Once you want to take advantage of some of the more advanced features and capabilities, that's when things get complicated. Anyone who has use SMS or a chat program before will be able to figure out the basics though, so rolling this out should be relatively straightforward and not required exhaustive training. Teaching chat etiquette is something else though.

I’m giving MS Project an 8 because in general this is a solid scheduling program. It’s definitely designed with the professional in mind, and they have done well preparing the program to integrate with their other Microsoft products. The program is a workhorse so if you have serious scheduling needs then I would highly recommend MS Project.

Incentivized

I've never had to contact support for Slack which is a great testament to its ease and use. Adding people outside of the organization takes a little getting used to, but ultimately allows for greater collaboration between FTE and contractors. There is no clear alternative to this software, so it's the best we can do for now.

I wasn't part of it so I don't know

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It always helps if you communicate to everyone in the organization how important it is to drop whatever other chat tools they are using and jump quickly to Slack. They will all fall in love with it.

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While many of the above tools are extremely well-versed, Microsoft Project's largest advantage comes from it being related to the largest business productivity company in the world. Project does have its sharing limitations - but regardless, offers one of the most robust tools in the market today. Microsoft Project is built with large-scale projects in mind but is more than up to the task for smaller projects as well. However, there are options available (especially cloud-based options) that may be more fitting for higher-level projects that do not require going into the weeds.

Incentivized

It depends on the company size, if the company is small its better to use other messengers which are more lean and simple, slack in my opinion is very useful once you can use all of it's benefits as an integration with the other services which are very strong, we have integration with Google, Automation, our internal services as Okta

Incentivized

• Project saved me, as the project manager, countless hours of digging through tickets and schedules to plan everything out. It also saved me time in adjusting the project triangle as needed, since it does so much automatically.
• It is costly, and since it requires extensive training to master, it's not just the high licensing cost that you need to take into account.
• The reporting features - even just printing out Gantt charts - makes it far easier to communicate with stakeholders. That means less time for PMs doing all of this manually, and it means less follow-up questions and delays moving forward.

Incentivized

• It has saved us a lot of time that would have been spent sending emails back and forth.
• Search option adds accountability to our team conversations.
• Integrations with Google Drive and Gmail are another great time saver.
• Sharing files allows us to collaborate faster and better.

Incentivized