A Better Way to Plan Projects

When you are planning out your own schedule, a paper notebook may be handy, but for big team projects, you should rely on a trusted software solution like Steelray’s Microsoft Project Viewer.

It is back to school season, and little ones are marching off to meet their new teachers with backpacks full of books and new school supplies. Buses are running their new routes and parents are scrambling to make sure lunches are packed, children have brushed their teeth and washed their faces, and everyone is out the door in a timely fashion to ensure the kids are ready and at their desks before the first bell rings.

The nostalgia of returning to school can dredge up a pantheon of emotions for adults. Maybe it is the first year a little one is heading off to a classroom without them, and the separation takes some extra adjustment. Perhaps, a parent with a 17- or 18-years-old is experiencing the bittersweet realization that it is their child’s last year of high school before exploring the limitless world which so graciously lays at their feet. Or maybe it is something much simpler, and reminiscing about school days conquerors up memories of a simpler time of exploring new hallways and lockers preparing for the first day of class. Whatever the reason, the time surrounding Labor Day is when grocery and convenience stores stock their shelves with seemingly endless aisles of highlights, pens, notebooks, and planners. Everything a student needs to make it a smooth transition back to the rigors of maintaining a schedule full of reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Many adults cherish those memories of shopping for school supplies, and they find themselves in the throes of the re-enacting childhood memories by purchasing their own new office supplies. Just like their children, they get a few new items to reinvigorate the time they spend in the office. For many women, a new planner is an epitome of school and office supply paraphernalia. Now, it seems planners are all the rage. There are Instagram accounts to washi tape and YouTube accounts on bullet journals. Erin Condren is an understood household name for millennial moms across the country.

As cute and trendy as some of those planners are, when it comes down to brass tax, in the office you may need to rely on something with more adaptability and functionality, like Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management (Microsoft PPM). Microsoft PPPM is a software solution which allows project managers to streamline large-scale jobs, through multi faceted tools helping them manage portfolios, timelines, and materials. More importantly, it is the most trusted software application in corporate America for planning compounding project schedules. Project Managers have the ability to track every step of a project’s status with just a few simple clicks.  

Modern office supplies are much more technology driven than days of old. So while little ones pack up to go back to school, consider a new Project Management software solution for your next big job.

Microsoft PPM does have some functionality restraints, however, and Brian Leach the CEO of Steelray a software technology company based out of Atlanta, Georgia, recognized those shortcomings and developed a partner software, Microsoft Project Viewer. Microsoft Project Viewer is a complimentary software solution for Microsoft PPM and Primavera P6 (another type of project management software). It gives users the ability to view .mpp files in the same core views and with the same schedules as they would in Microsoft PPM, but it expands on their printing, viewing, and sharing capabilities. It is not a replacement or a clone of a company’s current Project Management software; it is an enhancement. Moreover, it allows multiple users to simultaneously view detailed tasks of a long-term project, something a small, spiral bound notebook just cannot do. Companies with detail-oriented timelines which deal in areas like construction and national defense utilize and trust Microsoft Project Viewer to keep them on task, on time, and on budget; but it is suitable for companies and projects of all sizes.  

An additional advantage to Steelray’s Microsoft Project Viewer is it costs significantly less to implement than its parent solution, Microsoft PPM. It does this because only the Project Manager needs Microsoft PPM and the other team members can rely on Microsoft Project Viewer, a less expensive software. With the decreased need for Microsoft PPM licenses, you instantly reduce your software overhead and project expenses. Users with Microsoft Project Viewer enjoy the same template views as Microsoft PPM, so it is a smooth and seamless transition. However, comparatively speaking, the added savings is a huge benefit.

Source: source: steelray.com

When a simple pocket-sized calendar with a lovely cover design does not cut it for planning your team’s schedules and tasks, consider adopting a software solution trusted by the likes of GE Healthcare, IBM, Nokia, Deloitte, Nike, and Lockheed Martin, Microsoft Project Viewer.