Writing Arguements

ITFN 2123-01

Homework 1

Assignment date: 24 August 2011

Due Date: 31 August 2011

1. What functions does project management software provide that you cannot do easily using other tools such as a spreadsheet or database? How can organizations justify investing in enterprise or portfolio management software?

Project management software is designed specifically for project management. Project management has a data mining tool that allows you to monitor different types of reporting across multiple projects. This tool helps you to locate and fix problems before they happen. With PMS you also have immediate centralized online access to the project information and productivity. Spreadsheets are not designed for access by multiple people from multiple locations.

PMS if set up correctly will also save you a lot of time because you don’t have to tract down files, track down the people who have the info, create new files or email them out to the people who don’t have access.

The management of which resources are assigned to which projects and tasks is a very important to project management and one of the big differences between spreadsheets and project management software. You need good work breakdown structure, good estimation of the effort on each task and a composite view of the information across all projects. Spreadsheets and databases are a single-file focus tool that does not off future forecasting.

Organizations can justify the software because it can and will save them time and money due to the fact that they can monitor and foresee problems before they occur. It’s also more valuable if a company has many projects to manage or a lot of people working on or managing projects. The software provides specific functionalities for managing projects.

2. What is the role of the project manager in a project? Briefly discuss the project management framework, providing examples of stakeholders, knowledge areas, tools and techniques, and project success...