I would like to touch upon the problem of choosing software for those who do not manage projects themselves, but is the head of software development project managers. For example, it may be the head of the project office or the head of the software development department (or whatever it may be called). In general, this is a person who does not directly manage projects himself, but should help others do it. What does such a boss want to know:

• What are the employees doing? Those. which projects are involved and when they will be released.
• Who will make new projects?
• Who should I ask to tackle an unexpected problem (to find and correct a critical error that has arisen at the most inopportune moment; go to the customer to reanimate the fallen system; accompany the sale to solve technical issues with a potential customer, etc.).
• And finally, when everything else is good, just wondering, how are things with the projects?

I want to share what I found.
Internet research has shown that this kind of software can be divided into two classes:

• Full-featured project management software.
• Multi-project management programs.

Consider them in more detail.

Full-featured portfolio management software

Such programs focus on helping to select projects for the execution and monitoring of projects from the portfolio. That is, they proceed from the fact that there are more than enough projects and it is necessary to choose the best way to carry them out. And from some to give up.
Virtues

• The functionality of these systems allows you to solve all the above tasks. And much more if you need it.

disadvantages

• Requires implementation. The systems have powerful functionality, and to set them up, it is for your unit that you need to complete an implementation project.
• Certainly they will require changes in the methods of project implementation that you already use and the replacement of the tools used.
• Price. Both purchase licenses and implementation.

In short, such systems are too powerful for the task. I will list some systems of this class, without going into details:

• Daptiv PPM ;
• PPM STUDIO ;
• Changepoint ;
• Microsoft Project Server 2010 ;
• PLANTA Portfolio and PLANTA Project ;
• Spider Project ;
• Etc.

Multi-Project Management tools

Under the program management of several projects, we will mean such systems that allow you to monitor the progress of projects and their mutual influence on each other in the process of implementation.

Project.Net

Web application for project and portfolio management. It allows you to keep track of working time spent on the tasks, provides communication between employees, draw up project plans, group projects into project portfolios and analyze these portfolios, monitor the progress of projects and the workload of employees, create reports. Suitable for use in geographically distributed organizations. The paradigm of working with the program is similar to that used when working with Jira, Trac and other so-called ticket systems.
Virtues

• The open source program can be downloaded and used based on the GNU General Public License . If you need a hosting, then he, of course, paid.

disadvantages

• Requires an Oracle database that costs money.
• Will require customization to suit your needs.
• May require changes to the methods of project implementation that you already use and the replacement of the tools used.

Premium Project Viewer

The program allows you to look at several files in Microsoft Project format as one project. This allows you to see the problems of inter-project interaction in the usual way (for those who are used to MS Project). In addition, the program offers several tools for analyzing projects and a portfolio of projects, as well as a link to Bugzilla.
Virtues

• Solves all the above tasks.
• Easy to implement, because does not require a change in the existing business procedures.

disadvantages

• Cumbersome and confusing interface

Multi Project Planner

The program is intended for planning simultaneous execution of several projects in conditions of limited resources. The main tool is a general planning board, which is a Gantt chart. Days of the week are laid out horizontally, and work performers are placed vertically. On this board are the tasks to be performed. Tasks of each project are highlighted in their own color. The planning process consists of 2 steps:
1. Create a Gantt chart for a new project in a separate window, not paying attention to the existence of other projects.
2. Drag the resulting diagram of the new project on a common board for planning. All problems associated with intersections in resources immediately become visible. You can start the process of leveling resources, which will fix the problems identified in the best way.
Virtues

• Convenient, intuitive tool for creating plans for several projects simultaneously running.

disadvantages

• It does not solve all the tasks, because it is a planning tool, not a project tracking progress.

LiquidPlanner

Web project management application. The only system I know that takes into account the uncertainty of the end of the task and the project. When describing a task (or project), you can specify what it will take from, for example, from 2 to 5 days. When leveling tasks and projects, this information is taken into account. All other functionality is typical for good project management systems: time management, organization of communication between employees, planning, tracking the progress of work.
Virtues

• Convenient, intuitive tool for creating plans for several projects simultaneously running.

disadvantages

• May require changes to the methods of project implementation that you already use and the replacement of the tools used.

It is clear that the list is not complete. There is a great variety of project management systems and project portfolios, but I have tried to present the characteristic advantages and disadvantages of such systems in terms of their use in managing project managers.

Conclusion

So, if you are a big company that has the desire, and most importantly, the strength and means to optimize the business processes of managing your projects, then you probably should stop at full-featured portfolio management systems . Hire consultants, start a project to implement and forward! At the same time, we should not forget that the programs of project management from which you grew up will have to be thrown away and started all over again. But the whole organization will be covered by a homogeneous project space.
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If you do not want to change anything and you only need to bring together the data from the already used project management systems, then you should pay attention to the Project Viewer .

Project.Net is a product for fans of open source and ticket systems who will not take the time to configure it to fit their needs.

For small and medium-sized companies running several active projects at the same time, it makes sense to try systems such as LiquidPlanner and others like it.