MS Project Microsoft Project Review Microsoft Began

MS Project Microsoft Project Review Microsoft began development of its project software at the turn of the century (around the year 2000). The original software package ran from MS Dos and had incredibly limited functionality. However, since its introduction, Microsoft Project has come a long way from its original state. Today's versions of MS Project, such as Project 2010, Project 2013, and now even cloud-based Project versions has a rich list of features that are intuitive to most users because are already familiar with the interface.

The interface and general GUI feel has the same features and layouts that can be found in the popular MS Office suite. One of the most interesting features in the newer versions of Project is that users can upload and make changes via a cloud-based project server. This allows users to make changes to items in the scope, schedule, budget, activity durations or any associated project fields from a range of locations from today's range of mobile devices.

This can greatly accelerate the ability to keep a project's information up-to-date in virtually real time. However, at the same time this does add a layer of complexity to the equation because many users may not be familiar with all the features and can easily make costly errors that can throw the project array. Therefore, there is a level of training that must accompany user privileges to access the system and make changes or updates to the project.

Figure 1 - Resource Screenshot (Microsoft, N.d.) One of the advantages of the software system is that most of the entries can be made easily while at the same time there is also a host of more advanced features and reporting functions for more advanced users. In a case study promoted by Microsoft, one company used the software to address the challenge of managing multiple, complex projects, the company decided to assess Microsoft Project Online, a cloud-based solution for project portfolio management (PPM) and everyday work.

Hilti planned to use Project Online in combination with Microsoft Project Pro-for Office 365, a subscription-based cloud service that includes a rich project management desktop client that's accessible from almost anywhere (Hilti AG, 2013). Dr. Christian Buddendick attests to the success of the implementation, "By using a cloud-based solution, we got the agility we were seeking. We can scale the use of Project Online from 20 people up to 10,000 users. It is easy to use and satisfies nearly 100% of our business needs." Despite.