Hopes raised.........and then dashed!!!!

Readers of previous postings may recall my search for good project software; software that is easy enough to use, makes some key project management activities easier and then supports effective communication into the wider stakeholder community.

In the past I have promoted the use of Swiftlight as an effective high-level planning and communication tool, bemoaned the loss of good "network" planning as used to exist in SuperProject Expert, questioned the true value of MSProject, and searched for benefit management tools.

So it was with no small hope that I launched in MS Project 2010. Why, well the organisation I am working at is just upgrading its desktop to Windows 7 and the 2010 Office Suite inculding Project. I had previously introduced other members of the change team to Swiftlight and now I heard a couple wondering if the improved "Timeline" functionality could deliver as good a result. I am always happy to embrace new tools and techniques IF they prove out so I launched MSProject and started experimenting.

In doing so I noticed the "network" views and got quite excited as at least at first glance they seemed to answer my network planning hopes.

Having used both aspects for half a day I have to say this is something of a curate's egg ie a mix of good and bad. Undoubtedly the Microsoft product managers have listened to some of the previous feedback. The timeline view is more powerful and it is much easier to copy a view for easy pasting into a presentation or email - the old challenge of setting ranges and resizing graphics has been largely eradicated. That said the creation and layout of the timeline is clunky and the creation of anything good looking takes considerable effort, from initially selecting what needs to be on the timeline to adjusting the colouring and layout. Interestingly it appears to be no way of adding a colour key to explain the formatting other than adding it manually once posted into Powerpoint or similar.

Similarly there is a "today" line in orange that seems to be irremovable. I have looked online for help and in other views the advice is to set "type" to blank or colours to white, but notes that there will still be a faint broken grey line. In the Timeline I have not yet found how to do even that!

So regarding the timeline, "Yes", an improvement, but "No" not nearly good enough!

I then looked at the Network veiw and was greatly encouraged at the ease of "painting" tasks and linking them as one outlined a project. The problem came in the layout of that diagram. The default layout appears to use a virtual grid filling from left to right. "Yes", it will highlight the critical path, but does nothing other than colouring it to bring it emphasis. SuperProject in contrast would broadly set the critical path horizonally across the middle of the screen/page and arrange the rest around it. This was very effective in explaining matters to non-project people.

Even in this automatic mode some of the layout creates unnecessary complexity with crossing lines that could be avoided.

There is a "manual" option that allows the user to "drag and place" tasks/activities, but this is hard work and I am doubtful the end result will be worth it.

All in all, MS Project still looks to me like bloatware that may be a necessary and required evil in many organisations, but still fails to make a project manager's life any easier. As I say my hopes are dashed and my seraches continue.