Gartner, the leading provider of independent research and analysis on the information technology industry has just published (13th June 2011) MarketScope for Project and Portfolio Management Applications.
This in-depth research rates PPM software solutions (Strong Negative, Caution, Promising, Positive, Strong Positive). Microsoft Project Server 2010 received the highest Strong Positive rating and the message from Gartner is:
Customers:
Continue with planned investments.
Potential customers:
Consider this vendor (Microsoft) a strong choice for strategic investments. Read the rest of this entry »
I am a big fan of including costs in projects and make no bones about it. I hail from an industry where watching costs was essential in order to preserve slender profit margins, I will put my violin away now!
Projects are frequently undertaken to realise benefits and in a lot of cases the benefits to be derived can be expressed in monetary terms. In order for a project to be properly considered it is wise to conduct some form of financial appraisal, be it Cost Benefit Analysis, Internal Rate of Return, Discounted Cashflow or Net Present Value. For any of these analyses to be performed there needs to be a realistic cost estimate with the emphasis being on realistic. Ask yourself how you currently compile cost estimates, is it deeply scientific or Finger in the Air? Read the rest of this entry »
