Microsoft project has really made my life easier
April 18, 2018

Microsoft project has really made my life easier

Josh Rice, MBA, ACSP | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Project

I am the IT project manager for the company I work for and I live and breathe Microsoft Project. Before using this software, I was stuck with using Excel spreadsheets to track project statuses and milestones. As the projects got more complex, Excel just wasn't doing the job anymore. I presented Project to Exec. management and we made the purchase and tracking my projects have gotten so much easier once you get past the steep learning curve.

Pros

  • Ability to track Milestones
  • Ability to track Resources
  • Has a really good Gantt chart

Cons

  • Steep learning curve
  • To get the full suite with the Project server, it is very expensive
  • Printing the project plan is a bit challenging
  • Project has helped keep my project from being derailed by scope creep.
  • While Project isn't a money making tool, it does help keep your projects on-budget
  • MS Project is a pretty hefty expense. Integration is supported, if you have MS project Server.
Project is much more robust compared to other products on the market. I haven't evaluated them all, but I'm pretty happy with what project has been able to do for me and a Project manager. There is a lot of functionality if you don't many paying for it. Overall, I think Project would go toe to toe with any other PM software out there.
Microsoft Project is a very good tool for tracking project progress. If the project is a quick 2 - 3-day project, using MS Project probably wouldn't be viable, but if you are working on a long-term, complex project that will span numerous months and/or departments, MS Project is the way to go.

Microsoft Project Feature Ratings

Project Management
7.9
Task Management
8
Resource Management
9
Gantt Charts
10
Scheduling
10
Workflow Automation
8
Team Collaboration
5
Support for Agile Methodology
8
Support for Waterfall Methodology
8
Document Management
9
Email integration
5
Mobile Access
Not Rated
Timesheet Tracking
6
Change request and Case Management
8
Budget and Expense Management
9
Professional Services Automation
7.3
Quotes/estimates
8
Invoicing
7
Project & financial reporting
8
Integration with accounting software
6

Using Microsoft Project

1 - Project Managment
1 - If they have never used MS Project, you will want someone who isn't afraid of a challenge
  • Project schedule tracking
  • Project budget tracking
  • Project resource tracking
  • Invoicing was an interesting feature that I've started looking at.
  • As we grow, we may looking into buying project server.
I am very happy with the software and am definitely get use out of it.

Evaluating Microsoft Project and Competitors

Yes - Excel
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
  • Prior Experience with the Product
The most important factor what that it could do everything I needed a project software to do.
Maybe looking at more options, but there are a lot of PM software out there and I only evaluated 2 other aside MS Project

Comments

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