The following project management software support services are for developers
of project management applications: scheduling, resource management, cost management, risk analysis, brainstorming and project management support applications. Users seeking support for MS Outlook, MS Excel, MS Project or Project KickStart
click here.
Product Testing |
Performance, usability, interfaces, I/O, functionality |
Product Development |
Content, features, capabilities, look & feel |
Customer Research |
User surveys, user testing, product positioning |
Performance Analysis |
Robustness, responsiveness, functionality |
UI Optimization |
Menu streamlining, GUIs, reporting, error handling |
Training Support |
Tutorials, documentation editing, training courses |
Development Support |
PM algorithms, process analysis, quality assurance |
Support Tools |
Tips, templates, advisors, wizards |
"Project management software users are anxious
to find applications that they can use instead of shelve."
Software or Shelfware?
The problem that has perplexed project management software developers from the
beginning is how to get those who use their products once or twice to use them again. Technical Pathways' research for a popular scheduling application found that
only 1 in 50 of the product's purchasers continued to use the product after they registered it. Most gave up without ever having created a working schedule. "It was
more trouble than it was worth," was the most frequently reported problem.
The program's list of features was impressive, but features do not translate into
functionality unless usability is present. The product's user interface was unintuitive, routine Gannt chart adjustments generated arcane warning messages, default
settings made resource allocation difficult, and most significantly, the program's "vision" of project scheduling came
from the point of view of software developers rather than project planners. Yet the product continues to sell, and sell
well. Weak PM products survive because project users are so desperate for software support that they will purchase
products thinking that offer something, but even if they don't, they're only loss is the cost of the shelfware.
Demand is high for win-win PM products which means that developers need to do more to streamline their user
interfaces, reduce learning curves, offer better templates and examples, minimize arcane warnings, and seamlessly guide the user through the product's use.
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