The world of project management requires leaders and doers and shakers to make it happen. To make project successful, keep teams cohesive and collaborating toward a great final solution or product or successful implementation. But, no doubt, the road to get there requires much to happen. There is training, certification, and experience that needs to be gained or earned to start leading projects. Once that happens there are tools needed to prioritize projects, track financials, tasks, resources, change orders and just about everything in between.
In my work I run into a lot of these softwares and services and the people behind them. Some work, some don't some are free, some are expensive and some don't stay around very long. Gone are the days where it was only MS Project on the landscape and you either worked with it or jumped ship. No, the offerings are endless and cover just about every imaginable base possible... some even say they cover all the bases... but that may be stretching them a bit thin.
What I've compiled here is what I hope – my time permitting – is the beginning of a series of articles to introduce different software tools and services that help get project leaders and planners and PM infrastructures themselves on the right track and headed in the right direction. That takes many ingredients as I've mentioned, so this is always going to be an eclectic list. Here's the beginning of my list of tools and services to consider or demo or download a trial of for consideration for 2020. More to come...
In my work I run into a lot of these softwares and services and the people behind them. Some work, some don't some are free, some are expensive and some don't stay around very long. Gone are the days where it was only MS Project on the landscape and you either worked with it or jumped ship. No, the offerings are endless and cover just about every imaginable base possible... some even say they cover all the bases... but that may be stretching them a bit thin.
What I've compiled here is what I hope – my time permitting – is the beginning of a series of articles to introduce different software tools and services that help get project leaders and planners and PM infrastructures themselves on the right track and headed in the right direction. That takes many ingredients as I've mentioned, so this is always going to be an eclectic list. Here's the beginning of my list of tools and services to consider or demo or download a trial of for consideration for 2020. More to come...
ONEPOINT Projects
Every once in awhile we find that product or process or program that can help us out immensely in the project management and project portfolio management world. I think I've just found it in a latest connection with some great individuals standing behind a stellar product. The product is ONEPOINT Projects.
ONEPOINT Projects is a modern, flexible, standards-based PPM web application that is available both on cloud and on premise and is trusted by hundreds of customers across industries. By covering the whole project life cycle and integrating with leading enterprise applications such as Jira, Confluence, Slack and SAP, ONEPOINT enables a new way of integrated project work.
ONEPOINT Projects is a modern, flexible, standards-based PPM web application that is available both on cloud and on premise and is trusted by hundreds of customers across industries. By covering the whole project life cycle and integrating with leading enterprise applications such as Jira, Confluence, Slack and SAP, ONEPOINT enables a new way of integrated project work.
Some ONEPOINT Projects highlights to consider...
- ONEPOINT Projects is a 100% web-based project and portfolio management solution, available as cloud service or server installation
- ONEPOINT Projects covers the entire project lifecycle, is designed clearly, easy to use and quick to install
- ONEPOINT enables project oriented organizations to increase their project and portfolio transparency, reduce project lead times, simplify best practices, and optimize resource utilization
- Simple, traditional, agile, and Jira projects are integrated into a single project portfolio and resource utilization database
What does ONEPOINT Projects offer?
- Extensive functions for single and multi-project management as well as program and portfolio management are in line with IPMA, PMI and PRINCE2 standards
- Interactive project and resource planning, time and cost recording, as well as integrated project controlling and status reporting
- Two mobile apps, ONEPOINT 360 – a multi-project dashboard for management and ONEPOINT ME for project staff, simplify project management on the go
- Due to the strong bidirectional synchronization of ONEPOINT with Jira, even Jira projects can be integrated seamlessly into a standards-based project management
- ONEPOINT is easily expandable with optional modules such as Risk Management, Portfolio Analysis or Strategic Management Option
- Additional integrations such as Confluence, Slack or SAP are also available
Here are some key features and focuses that really set them apart from other PM and PPM tools offered today...
- ONEPOINT has very good interactive work breakdown structure (WBS) with drag & drop that is automatically kept in sync with other planning tools such as activity list and schedule (Gantt). Users of ONEPOINT have found this to be a great advantage and it helps make ONEPOINT standout in the filed of PM related tools.
- ONEPOINT has probably the best two-way synchronization with the very popular Jira offering.
- The individuals behind ONEPOINT's design have done a great job of balancing good usability with standards conformance. This is a very important consideration as the user base masses are highly concerned with user interface and usability as part of the overall strategic adoption and execution in the enterprise software world.
- ONEPOINT is a hybrid PPM tool – offering the best of agile and traditional PM in one solution. Plus, according to their product roadmap that I've discussed with them, they will be strengthening this even more in their upcoming 2nd gen agile planning and controlling component in their next major release 19 due later in 2019.
There you have it... several reasons you should check this tool out as I have. Make your job easier, make project management and PPM more interactive and complete, and help bridge any agile and waterfall gaps you may have in the organization – with one tool. Oh – and collaboration? The best. Go to ONEPOINT Projects and read about this product and all of these features and more and be sure to get access to your free 30-day trial and give it a test run.
Forecast
Forecast is a complete project, resource, and budget management platform powered by cutting-edge automation and plenty of pre-built integrations. Consider it as a good fit if you want to manage successful projects from start to finish without compromising on three core values of time, cost, and value. Let’s take a closer look at how everything’s set up to secure more profitable projects.
A broader stroke & the smallest details in sight
Forecast combines resource and project management flawlessly in one single place. It is built on the foundation that successful projects require a combination of short and long term planning. Quickly fill your pipeline with multiple projects for a better project portfolio overview and strategic vision. Accurately estimate the scope of a project and have the right amount of team members to finish the work.
A broader stroke & the smallest details in sight
Forecast combines resource and project management flawlessly in one single place. It is built on the foundation that successful projects require a combination of short and long term planning. Quickly fill your pipeline with multiple projects for a better project portfolio overview and strategic vision. Accurately estimate the scope of a project and have the right amount of team members to finish the work.
The platform is ideal for leading both cross-functional and dedicated teams, as it ensures that everyone gets a fair share of work and simplifies collaboration between various departments. It provides you with resource utilization insights to guarantee seamless and productive workflows, on time and on budget. In the end, nobody is overworked and underworked either. As a project manager, you get better workload visibility and transparency across multiple projects. The best scenario would be to use Forecast to align and optimize teamwork of 50-200 people. Improve the way you work with Forecast’s 14-day free trial with access to all features.
With each step, it becomes easier to run the project and utilize the team to the fullest capacity. It doesn’t matter if you work with Scrum, Kanban, traditional Gantt scheduling or a mix, Forecast has it all. The connection between prioritization and scheduling easily lets team members focus on the most important tasks.
With each step, it becomes easier to run the project and utilize the team to the fullest capacity. It doesn’t matter if you work with Scrum, Kanban, traditional Gantt scheduling or a mix, Forecast has it all. The connection between prioritization and scheduling easily lets team members focus on the most important tasks.
AI-powered warnings & suggestions
What tells Forecast apart from other project management solutions, is artificial intelligence integrated into different parts of the platform. There are different ways you and your team can benefit from it in Forecast:
Therefore, you’re constantly covered from scope creep and nothing comes as a surprise to you when it’s too late. Because you get the holistic overview, help from AI, and the ability to drill down, you can stay in complete control of your projects.
What tells Forecast apart from other project management solutions, is artificial intelligence integrated into different parts of the platform. There are different ways you and your team can benefit from it in Forecast:
- AI suggests optimal future estimates of budget and task duration
- AI helps you clearly see projects that are at risk of delay or veering off track by warnings all over the system
- AI issues risk alerts on project progress
- AI automates time registrations for the team
Therefore, you’re constantly covered from scope creep and nothing comes as a surprise to you when it’s too late. Because you get the holistic overview, help from AI, and the ability to drill down, you can stay in complete control of your projects.
Project accounting from the perspective you needForecast turns everything from scoping to running and tracking a project into a feast. Easily see things available and benefit from monitoring the actual cost, revenue, and profit, compared to planned. The project budget will also help you be aware of how each team member is working and what to do to ensure profitability on each project.
Seamless collaboration across departments
Forecast values collaboration and makes sure your have all the needed features in order to improve the interaction between the team members. It’s painless to integrate Forecast with your other departments and their preferred tools. Having trouble getting your software team leave Jira? Well, no need to worry, Forecast integrates with Jira and syncs every related detail with the project, so you can stay on the same page with other departments, and even see what is going on in real time. Check other integrations here.
Forecast values collaboration and makes sure your have all the needed features in order to improve the interaction between the team members. It’s painless to integrate Forecast with your other departments and their preferred tools. Having trouble getting your software team leave Jira? Well, no need to worry, Forecast integrates with Jira and syncs every related detail with the project, so you can stay on the same page with other departments, and even see what is going on in real time. Check other integrations here.
High-level reports
Missing the high level overview of your projects? Well, not anymore. All the data is tied together, it is accredited in the reports. Check your project's progress, sprint velocity, financial situation, and get many more insights as to where the project portfolio is heading. Share reports and benefit from seeing the health of your business in an instant. Even see the financials on a portfolio level and benefit from the holistic view where you can decide from where to drill down to.
Build and share powerful dashboards, reports, and insights so you can put real-time information right at your team or clients’ fingertips.
Missing the high level overview of your projects? Well, not anymore. All the data is tied together, it is accredited in the reports. Check your project's progress, sprint velocity, financial situation, and get many more insights as to where the project portfolio is heading. Share reports and benefit from seeing the health of your business in an instant. Even see the financials on a portfolio level and benefit from the holistic view where you can decide from where to drill down to.
Build and share powerful dashboards, reports, and insights so you can put real-time information right at your team or clients’ fingertips.
By having your operations managed automatically, your teams empowered and with accurate reports, you can carve out time for what really matters, like innovation, creativity, and building strong client relations.
Acuity PPM
Acuity PPM is a modular-based project portfolio management solution designed for project teams to manage their project portfolio and report status to senior leaders. Their focus is on providing a PPM solution that people like using. Based on years of consulting experience with Fortune 500 companies and over a decade in portfolio management, they have seen many organizations struggle with traditional PPM solutions. Their solution helps newer Project Management Offices (PMO’s) ramp up quickly with portfolio management and gives senior leaders portfolio insights without creating custom reports and dashboards – users can interact with the data to get different views of the portfolio. Their PPM Fundamentals module includes portfolio tracking and project status reports. Their Work Intake module helps track new project proposals and includes portfolio roadmapping to get different strategic views of the portfolio.
Takes into account your present level of maturity: according to Gartner, at least 80% of Project Management Offices operate at a level 1 or 2 maturity level. Many traditional portfolio management solutions are designed for mature PMO’s and include a lot of functionality that teams either don’t use or may not have the sophistication to use successfully. Acuity PPM provides fundamental capabilities such as portfolio tracking, project status reporting, strategic roadmapping, and work intake to help match the maturity level of most organizations. By not overwhelming users with unneeded functionality, early-stage PMO’s can more successfully adopt Acuity PPM software in their company.
Acuity PPM is a modular-based project portfolio management solution designed for project teams to manage their project portfolio and report status to senior leaders. Their focus is on providing a PPM solution that people like using. Based on years of consulting experience with Fortune 500 companies and over a decade in portfolio management, they have seen many organizations struggle with traditional PPM solutions. Their solution helps newer Project Management Offices (PMO’s) ramp up quickly with portfolio management and gives senior leaders portfolio insights without creating custom reports and dashboards – users can interact with the data to get different views of the portfolio. Their PPM Fundamentals module includes portfolio tracking and project status reports. Their Work Intake module helps track new project proposals and includes portfolio roadmapping to get different strategic views of the portfolio.
Takes into account your present level of maturity: according to Gartner, at least 80% of Project Management Offices operate at a level 1 or 2 maturity level. Many traditional portfolio management solutions are designed for mature PMO’s and include a lot of functionality that teams either don’t use or may not have the sophistication to use successfully. Acuity PPM provides fundamental capabilities such as portfolio tracking, project status reporting, strategic roadmapping, and work intake to help match the maturity level of most organizations. By not overwhelming users with unneeded functionality, early-stage PMO’s can more successfully adopt Acuity PPM software in their company.
Clean user interface supports better user adoption: Acuity PPM is easy and intuitive to use. It has a clean and simple design which makes it easy to navigate throughout the system. Users new to PPM software will find it very easy to get started with limited training. This helps teams be more productive immediately and encourages higher user adoption, which improves data quality. If you want a simple and easy to use solution, Acuity PPM is a good choice.
Modules let you add functionality as you grow: Acuity PPM is one of the only vendors that offers a true modular approach to portfolio management software. This lets customers pay for what they need and not pay for what they don’t need. It also lets organizations more easily “grow” into a portfolio management solution by adding functionality when it is needed (e.g. Work Intake, Capacity Planning, Stage-Gate, etc.)
Low cost, low risk: Acuity PPM’s Fundamentals module is a great starting point for new project organizations. You can then add on modules for a flat monthly cost. Not only does this make Acuity PPM very affordable, but more importantly, it significantly reduces the risk to the customer. In the past, if your team wanted portfolio management software, it often came at a great cost with a high risk of implementation failure. With Acuity PPM, you don’t have to make a huge financial investment to get started with PPM software. With its great user experience and modular approach, teams have a higher likelihood for success.
Great portfolio management knowledge base: it’s clear that Acuity PPM understands project portfolio management. They have a great PPM 101 blog and video series to help educate teams about the fundamental components of portfolio management. The system itself was designed by practitioners for practitioners based on years of working with Fortune 500 companies. This company is passionate about helping organizations be successful with portfolio management.
Great portfolio management knowledge base: it’s clear that Acuity PPM understands project portfolio management. They have a great PPM 101 blog and video series to help educate teams about the fundamental components of portfolio management. The system itself was designed by practitioners for practitioners based on years of working with Fortune 500 companies. This company is passionate about helping organizations be successful with portfolio management.
OnlinePMCourses
OnlinePMCourses is for project managers. I know the CEO/founder Mike Clayton and I know he stands behind his organization and will make sure you have the best experience possible. His courses are designed to help you best prepare to certify or just become the best possible project manager you can be.
OnlinePMCourses is the creation of Dr Mike Clayton - one of the most successful and in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is a prolific blogger, a contributor to ProjectManager.com and Project (the journal of the Association for Project Management - APM), and the author of 14 best-selling books, including five about project management.
OnlinePMCourses is for project managers. I know the CEO/founder Mike Clayton and I know he stands behind his organization and will make sure you have the best experience possible. His courses are designed to help you best prepare to certify or just become the best possible project manager you can be.
OnlinePMCourses is the creation of Dr Mike Clayton - one of the most successful and in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is a prolific blogger, a contributor to ProjectManager.com and Project (the journal of the Association for Project Management - APM), and the author of 14 best-selling books, including five about project management.
Mike was a successful project leader, as a consulting Senior Manager with the London office of Deloitte.
He lives in an English market town in Hampshire, with his family.
In his own words...
OnlinePMCourses gives you clear, practical Project Management knowledge, that is easy to understand and apply.
But OnlinePMCourses is not just a set of training videos. It is a program that will help you transform yourself into the Project Manager you want to be. To help you do this, we are building the most comprehensive portfolio of Project Management self-development resources on the web.
We here to help you, if you:
OnlinePMCourses is not just a set of training videos. It is a program that will help you transform yourself into the Project Manager you want to be. To help you do this, we are building the most comprehensive portfolio of Project Management self-development resources on the web.
Check out OnlinePMCourses' offerings on their website and see who they can help you become the project leader you want to be.
He lives in an English market town in Hampshire, with his family.
In his own words...
OnlinePMCourses gives you clear, practical Project Management knowledge, that is easy to understand and apply.
But OnlinePMCourses is not just a set of training videos. It is a program that will help you transform yourself into the Project Manager you want to be. To help you do this, we are building the most comprehensive portfolio of Project Management self-development resources on the web.
We here to help you, if you:
- Want to be a Project Manager - to build the career you deserve
- Need to be a Project Manager - to support some aspect of your current role
- Are just becoming a Project Manager - and want to accelerate your learning and development
- Are already a Project Manager - and want to get better at your profession
- ...or gain some qualifications to underpin your skillset
- Run a team or a business, and need your people to become better Project Managers
OnlinePMCourses is not just a set of training videos. It is a program that will help you transform yourself into the Project Manager you want to be. To help you do this, we are building the most comprehensive portfolio of Project Management self-development resources on the web.
Check out OnlinePMCourses' offerings on their website and see who they can help you become the project leader you want to be.
Triskell PPM Factory
Do you need a PPM or EPM? That may depend on your organization's size, client base, types of projects you undertake and sizes of projects you are engaged on. But if you think you may need such a tool – and most organizations of any size will benefit greatly from this – or if you already have a PPM tool, then I'd like to refer you to Triskell-PPM Factory project portfolio management solution.
Do you need a PPM or EPM? That may depend on your organization's size, client base, types of projects you undertake and sizes of projects you are engaged on. But if you think you may need such a tool – and most organizations of any size will benefit greatly from this – or if you already have a PPM tool, then I'd like to refer you to Triskell-PPM Factory project portfolio management solution.
Why? Here are five reasons why... Triskell-PPM Factory is the only company-wide Saas solution on the Project Portfolio Management market today that offers you all the flexibility and capabilities to:
And keep in mind...these highlights are on top of what those familiar with PPM solutions would consider more standard PPM functionalities and highlights. Triskell-PPM Factory has all of those and more offering a clear strategic advantage.
Are you ready to try it out?
Convinced yet? Don't let me stop you from moving forward or seeking more info on your own. The people behind the product are top-notch and very quick responders for information, help and support. Request a live demo and check it out for your self with the experts at Triskell. Remember, unlike other tools Triskell is an enterprise solution that is configured to meet the specific needs of your company, which makes it very easy to use and fit each user in many critical areas including project portfolio management and planning / resource optimization. Go to Triskell to learn much more about what they have to offer.
- With this PPM solution you will be able to break any business strategy down into multiple portfolios and organizations. Flexibility and user-friendliness is at the forefront of their software design for this product.
- With this PPM solution, you will be able to dynamically prioritize, fund and staff initiatives and actions according to strategic targets, as well as available budgets and resources. Everything is configurable and customizable for you, but the incredible out of the box functionality means you will end up with a great full-featured fit for your company's needs.
- You can plan work and schedule your resources in a standard or agile mode. You won't be locked into waterfall or agile...the product will flex with your projects.
- You will be able to dynamically control execution and progress on several axes and identify the potential gaps with the original targets. Getting a 1000 foot view of your projects as well as a 360˚ view means better information and, thus, better decision-making.
- Re-align periodically with strategy and execution. Again, the product will flex with the changes and changing directions and needs of your organization – fast, efficiently and effectively – and not with a lot of redesign or configuration.
And keep in mind...these highlights are on top of what those familiar with PPM solutions would consider more standard PPM functionalities and highlights. Triskell-PPM Factory has all of those and more offering a clear strategic advantage.
Are you ready to try it out?
Convinced yet? Don't let me stop you from moving forward or seeking more info on your own. The people behind the product are top-notch and very quick responders for information, help and support. Request a live demo and check it out for your self with the experts at Triskell. Remember, unlike other tools Triskell is an enterprise solution that is configured to meet the specific needs of your company, which makes it very easy to use and fit each user in many critical areas including project portfolio management and planning / resource optimization. Go to Triskell to learn much more about what they have to offer.
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