Software for Project Management

Author: brooke14 | Posted: 07.03.2012

It is not so difficult to find the right software for project management if you are clear on your requirements. There is an array of products, each with a specific set of features, advantages and disadvantages. The prices also vary from one software product to another and from one manufacturer to another. Looking at the present market of software for project management, one may get quite overwhelmed seeing the variety of products and price ranges. It is however not so if you know the different categories and how the products under one category are different from the products under another category.

There are basically six categories of software for project management. These are Desktop, Web Based, Single User, Collaborative, Proprietary and Open Source. If you know which product comes under which category you can easily compare their salient features and choose the one that is more likely to suit your business needs.

For example, a desktop-based project software management solution can work much faster than a web-based solution. However, it cannot support multi users or multiple computers, which is the core of the web-based project management software. For a large project, which requires many people to work and access the system simultaneously, a desktop software solution will not be a prudent idea.

Collaborative software for project management is more like a web-based solution, but offers more functionality. This is why it is regarded as the best kind of software for a large organization. The idea is to make the software accessible to each and every individual working on a project. These team members can view data as well modify those that come under their work portfolio. It thus allows a company to subdivide a large project into several tasks and distribute these tasks to individual team members. Each person in the team is responsible for the work that is assigned to them.

In contrast to the collaborative approach, there exists a single user approach, which allows only one user at a time to make changes in the system. This single user software for project management may work fine for a small project. Moreover, these solutions come at a price that a small organization can easily afford.

Another distinction exists between proprietary and open source categories of project management software. These are two license systems under which the software products are made available to users. A product with a proprietary license may come expensively, but it may offer better functionality over the one that you find under an open license system.

The reason is simple. The products of the first kinds are owned by their manufacturers and they provide after sale services and regular updates to their customers in order to retain their confidence and stay as a brand in the market. The second kinds of products, on the other hand, become your own property once you buy them. Though you have complete freedom to use the software and modify its coding as you like, it is practically not possible for every buyer. As a result, your software for project management gets worn down too fast and its functionality becomes obsolete.



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