MS Project too much? Find the right fit, in the middle, with SmartSheet
January 09, 2020

MS Project too much? Find the right fit, in the middle, with SmartSheet

Jesse Bickel | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Smartsheet

Currently, Smartsheet is being as an alternative to Microsoft Project. We use this as a simple tool to create workflows and timelines. We often find that this product is easier to teach and share across the organization then MS Project. We use this across the whole organization but its deployment is limited to those who are task managers. This fills the gap between Excel spreadsheets and MS Project.
  • Smartsheet is simple to use! The learning curve is small.
  • Smartsheet is cloud-based so the flexibility is very suitable for mobile management.
  • Add to its toolset and take a few more features from MS Project to help with making dependencies more formula driven.
  • Smoother import and export to and from MS Excel.
  • Our positive ROI has decreased the overall cost in project management as it reduced the amount of MS Project licenses we needed.
  • We have also seen a positive ROI on using the cloud storage and it automatically supports proper version control.
We selected Smartsheet because we needed something between Excel and MS Project. We have a group of staff members who were not Project Managers by trade, but yet managed teams and staff who are supporting smaller efforts with task management. They were looking for a simple tool to deploy, that relies upon Active Directory and had proactive notification with reports. Smartsheet fits the bill right there in the middle.
I give this rating because it fills a niche in the market. MS Project scares many away from proper task management but there are limited tools our there, especially cloud-based that are mobile-friendly. Smartsheet fills this market gap, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. IT is not fair to compare it to MS Project, but fairer to see what gaps it fills.

Do you think Smartsheet delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Smartsheet's feature set?

Yes

Did Smartsheet live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Smartsheet go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Smartsheet again?

Yes

If you live in project management every day I still believe MS Project is the proper tool that gives you the most options. However, if you are team lead and lead smaller projects and project management is just one of many functions of your job, this tool is for you. It far and away surpasses MS Planner but is not as complex as MS Project.

Smartsheet Feature Ratings

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