I see a common theme among the emails and comments I receive and in forums where project managers are active.
You are asking a lot of questions about tools.
Project manager tools – By Svadilfari via Flickr
Tools, tools, tools.? MS Project. Primavera.? Wrike.? Basecamp.? There are many other tools, big and small. The “project manager tools” market is attracting a lot of attention and money. A company contacts me almost every week to ask me to review their new software that cuts, dices and makes julienne fries. However, you’ll notice that I don’t usually take up their offers.
I don’t think their products are bad. They are probably very good. Here’s the deal…
Project managers focus too much on tools
This is especially important for new project managers. You should stop trying to draw a network diagram on a piece of paper. Try it out for a small project. I can recommend the text, “Project Management-The Managerial Process”, which I learned it from. Particularly, Chapter 6.
Are Tools able to Manage Projects? You do.
Don’t get me wrong.? I love tools, too. They can be very useful and allow for analysis or rigor that would not otherwise be possible. It is quite common for me to make my own tools that I can customize to my projects. I believe in a solid up-front effort to continue to improve productivity.
This is possible because I took the time to learn the concepts and understood them first.
As I do in email and forums, I encourage those who are just starting in project management to get a better understanding of formal project management concepts.
You can then become a toolhead.
