Basic Criteria for evaluating a project management software.

Now days Project Managers and Organizations have a plethora of Project Management Software available for managing both small and large projects. Before using a project management software, it is necessary to evaluate these tools in terms of the certain basic features and functionalities that come with the tool.


1. Hosted ( Saas) vs Desktop based - Both Desktop and Hosted Project Management tools are available for managing projects. Depending on the nature of the project team ( virtual vs under one roof) as well as cost of the ownership of the software, a decision between hosted ( SaaS) and Desktop based software can be made.


2. Project Management Features: At the heart of a project management tool are the key project management features that is required to manage projects . These are :
1. Task Management
2. Resource Management
3. Scheduling
4. Reporting
5. Budgeting


3. Collaboration Features – Project involves collaboration inside the team as well as beyond the project team. Project Management tool should allow multiple approaches to collaboration . Some of the way that information and issues can be communicated are including email, conference calls, meetings, intranets and web-based locations etc.


4. Document & Knowledge Management Features- Every project involves development of multiple document work products which needs to be properly managed for entire life cycle of the project. At the same time, the project management team should be able to leverage these documents for the current and future projects. User-friendly Document and Knowledge management features is plus point for the tool.


5. User friendly – Project management software features and instructions should be easy to find and simple enough for anyone to use, especially given the general complexity of the software.

6. Smooth Installation – The software should be easy to install and use, whether site-based or web-based.


7. Help/Support – Project management software should offer a comprehensive user guide and help system. The manufacturer should offer a customer service email address or telephone number so you can get answers directly from their technical support team.


In my future postings, I will provide more details on each of the criteria and try to evaluate some of the project management tools that is available in the market.