To manage the growing business complexity made even more so by the numerous processes that characterize companies, it is increasingly important to use software and digital tools. In project management, you can combine the flexibility of a good ERP system with the advanced features of specific project management software.
Whatis project planning?
Project planning is the foundation on which every project is based, without which the project would struggle to be executed well. In fact, planning a project means establishing and keeping track of all aspects of a project through detailed plans, documents that serve to define useful guidelines to monitor the project during its execution and to identify corrective actions.
For the planning to be solid, some essential elements must be present:
- Resources: from human capital to software, everything that is necessary for the realization of the project.
- Tasks and activities: the tasks are the responsibilities into which the project is broken down, the set of things to be done to achieve it. The activities make up the list of individual tasks for which progress and priorities must be monitored, also considering that often one activity depends on another.
- Goals to be achieved: what are the milestones to be achieved periodically.
- Duration: it is important to establish the time required for each activity, also considering the final deadline required by the project. Having a time schedule that tracks the time required by each phase also helps determine the workload.
- Budget: Estimating a budget is critical to allocating tasks and managing resources optimally.
- Project team: it is important to choose resources with experience and skills in line with those required by the type of project to be carried out.
- Progress: Finally, it is important to continuously monitor the progress of activities in order to intervene in a timely manner.
Whatis the Gantt Chart for Project Management
A useful tool for project management is the Gantt chart, a type of chart that is particularly suitable for displaying the progress of a project.
The Gantt chart gives the project manager guidance on the activities carried out by each team member and how much more needs to be done to reach the final goal. It is particularly useful both in the initial phase in which it makes planning easier, and in the execution phase where it helps to provide an overview of the progress of the activities.
The horizontal bar structure guarantees at all times an overview of the activities in progress, those completed and the resources committed. Each bar represents a task, while the length indicates the time required to complete thattask.
Regardless of the type of project, all Gantt charts are therefore composed of the following elements:
- Project start and end date;
- Project activities;
- Assignment of tasks;
- Estimate of the timescales calculated for each activity;
- Progress status of the activities;
- Indication of dependency between tasks.
This multitude of data and information can also be managed with a spreadsheet, but only by relying on a specific tool for project management can you benefit from broad visibility into the progress of projects, have data always updated in real time and keep relevant information under control. In addition, by centralizing all the specifications of a project in a single tool, you can also increase and improve communication with the team.
AdHoc Infinity for project scheduling
Before starting to consider the reasons why it is good to adopt specific software for project management, it is necessary to take a step back. In fact, it must be considered that if you think about the complex environment in which modern companies operate, maximum efficiency is achieved when innovation is applied in the management of all fundamental processes.
We have seen how project management requires visibility into multiple pieces of information ranging from the availability of resources, to their skills, available budgets and business objectives.
The place where all the essential information is usually found and which represents the beating heart of the company is ERP, the software that coordinates the flow of data between all business processes, providing a single source of information and simplifying operations. The management system, in fact, combines financial, commercial, reports, production and human resources information within a single platform.
For this reason, flexible management software, with extensive application coverage and capable of supporting multiple business processes, is also an excellent choice for companies that need to plan projects and activities to complete them.
Ad Hoc Infinity is the Zucchetti ERP software that simplifies business management, meeting the specific needs of companies of all sizes thanks to the scalability of the solution and a range of features that make the solution a real application platform, such as:
- Ease of use;
- Information that is always accessible and updated in real time;
- Optimisation of business processes, time, costs and resources;
- Collaboration between users and sharing of information.
The functionalities covered are designed to strategically govern increasingly complex processes and increasingly diversified resources and to cover all business areas, from administration and finance to logistics. For project managers, the entire management control area is then covered, with specific features to manage project activities, from the initial budget estimation phase to the final budgeting phase. Ad Hoc Infinity is therefore a tool to improve the management of business processes and to collect and govern essential information for project management.
CyberPlan RSP and Gantt
Considering the benefits that can already be achieved only with the use of a complete and flexible ERP software such as Ad Hoc Infinity, when it comes to project management, these benefits can be further amplified by using a specific project management software.
CyberPlan RSP is the ideal solution for multi-project companies for integrated and collaborative planning of projects and resources. In addition, the solution is natively integrated with the Ad Hoc Infinity management system and with the functionalities of the module dedicated to project management, to better coordinate the functions involved in business processes, responding to the needs of speed and precision in communication
The software is the ideal choice for operations managers, team leaders, project managers, controllers who manage multiple projects, orders and customers in parallel and who need a tool to schedule activities, allocate resources efficiently and resolve priority conflicts.
Learn how CyberPlan RSP can help you manage projects and expand the potential of Ad Hoc Infinity management.