Project Management Software Key Terms

Terms for understanding the elements of project management software

Most successful organizations complete their work is completed using project management tools and processes. Specific project management formats help workers to define and outline all the tasks and jobs on a project. A big part of the process is estimating the time and resources that will be necessary to complete a project.

Project management software can be an invaluable tool in all phases of these processes. If you're researching the multitude of project management software suites on the market, you might run across some terms that you don’t readily understand.

 

Dashboard

Dashboards in project management software, just like in a car, let a user quickly get a sense of what is happening with a project as it progresses. The dashboard summarizes information from reports and helps determine the risks for the project.
Try: The Dashboard Spy website has some good examples of dashboards for project management.

Work breakdown structure

The work breakdown structure (WBS) is said to "decompose" a project by breaking it down into components into increasingly detailed tasks. It usually appears as a tree diagram or as a list. Project management software has a WBS component built in so that users can complete this process quickly and efficiently.
Try: NetMBA.com describes the WBS process in more detail and includes diagrams.

Gantt charts

A Gantt chart is the most common chart type in project management software. It illustrates the start to finish dates for a project in a bar chart.
Try: The Gantt Project offers a definition and free project-management chart software to download from its website.

Incremental delivery

Incremental delivery refers to the process of dividing projects into manageable phases or steps so that team members can evaluate the overall success or failure of each step. Project management software usually has incremental delivery built in.
Try: The Tyner Blain website has a good article about the benefits of incremental delivery.

Subject matter expert (SME)

A subject matter expert (SME) is someone who has expertise in a specific area. SMEs are usually part of the project design, particularly if the project is highly technical. SMEs are included in the design of project management software so that an end user can use the software more readily.
Try: The iSixSigma online dictionary has a good explanation of why SMEs are important in project management.

Top-down estimating

Top-down estimating is the process of estimating the duration and cost as well as risk involved in a project, beginning with the top decision makers or users. Project management software often builds in steps for completing top-down estimating.
Try: HRA Consulting's free IT Project Management Course text has a helpful chapter about the process of estimating.

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