You might want to consider using a tool that is focussed around managing
the "soft" data of projects. I suggest you consider Zoot,
www.zootsoftware.com. This is a shareware product. (At the moment, the
version available is a "preview" edition of 4.0, which is fully-functional
but without a full help system.) (While significantly more powerful, Zoot
is in the intellectual tradition of early tools like Lotus Agenda and
NetManage ECCO, both of which are no longer supported products.)
This tool is a very powerful tool for managing the real issues in
developing and dialoging about a mix of projects, especially where there
are multiple stakeholders involved, significant uncertainties about
quantitative measures associated with the project costs and benefits,
significant externalities, and significant qualitative issues (e.g.
environmental impact, strategic importance, etc.) which need to be
considered. I have not actually used Zoot for this purpose, but I think
this would be an appropriate application.
I teach a course on Strategic Planning Issues, Processes and Models in an
MBA and use Zoot as the primary software tool.
Marvin L. Manheim
Kellogg Graduate School of Management
Northwestern University
mlmanheim@nwu.edu
esteban@CEMEX.COM on 02/17/2000 10:42:08 AM
Please respond to
MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
To:
MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
cc: (bcc: mlmanheim)
Subject: [MG-ED-DV] Help need. Please advise on tool to manage projects.
Hello,
What tools exist in the marketplace to manage projects? More specifically I
wonder
if there exists a tool to facilitate the allocation of resources among a
set of
projects on
the macro-level for collaborating teams to use?
Tools that focus on the micro-level (detailed) project management that can
manage
the macro-level of multiple projects are desirable. The focus of this
inqury is
on macro-level
project management. By macro-level management, I refer to the process of
deciding
that the project is worth pursuing, this include among other activities: to
categorize, sort,
decide and track projects worth investing in. The management of activities
particular
and required to have a successful project I refer to as micro-level and
consider
tools
like Microsoft project.
Thank you for the attention given to this.
Saludos
Esteban