Abstract
Project management software tools are essential tools for the different phases of projects. However a number of software tools exist ranging from the relatively simple to those that extremely feature rich. Feature rich software tools have their advantages due to their wide repertoire of options but can be difficult to learn. Ideally the main steps in project management need to be identified and mapped. The five layer domain analysis model was used (but only the first two layers) in conjunction with cladistics and parsimony analysis to produce a diagrammatic, modular abstraction based on hierarchical top down decomposition. This model contextualizes the steps in project management by means of a high level overview that can be decomposed into greater detail. Significantly it is universally applicable to software management tools.
Highlights
Project management is supported by the availability of software tools – both free and at a cost
For feature rich software tools such as Microsoft Project the complexity of these tools must be controlled in order to facilitate learning by novices
Being a diagrammatic model it has the characteristic of concurrency in which relationships between function can all be explicitly identified on a single diagram
Summary
Project management is supported by the availability of software tools – both free and at a cost. These software tools allow a project to be planned and tracked. High level tasks (activities) can be defined along with the associated parameters such as: duration; milestones; dependencies (finish to start, start to start, finish to finish, start to finish); scheduling (flexible, semi-flexible and inflexible). Each high level task can be decomposed into subtasks when appropriate.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call