Top 10 Tools for Project Management Consultants

In this day and age, being a Project Management Consultant means you have to be extremely transparent for your clients, be able to work and manage while you’re on the move, and be able to utilise quick and easy software solutions to help aid your business.

Streamlining the amount of admin you have to do is vital in giving you more time to actually work on the projects, and having the adaptability to differing project scenarios means you never get caught out in a situation that you can’t handle.

There are hundreds of tools out there that can provide all manner of benefits to your business and Project Management framework, some can improve business processes and workflow, helping you drive and run the projects automatically (so you don’t have to work as hard!), others provide excellent diagnostic tools and reporting so you can see bottlenecks, critical paths, resource issues and late task and activities.

Fundamentally they also leverage the professionalism of your business and you as a dedicated Project or Program Manager.  If a client can see you have the technology and the skills to apply that technology to help drive and deliver their projects, then you’re already a long way towards winning their business and their trust.

If clients can see the overall view of the project or program and where everything fits together, then it also improves on everyone’s ownership of the work.  This is vital to getting people on board and working hard to deliver the best they can.

Here are just some of my top 10 tools to help a Project Manager.

Top 10 Tools for PM Consultants

1. Online Project Management Software / CRM Software

Having an online project management tool is the first thing you should be looking at setting up.  An online repository to manage your projects, and provide a hub to control documentation, resources, timelines, wikis, text chat, version control, survey data and results (the list goes on…) means you can associate your clients to their specific projects and give them transparency on the overall project status.

It is also very useful as you can access the secure area from any internet connection, so you’re not limited to working from an office or home environment.  You can work on the go, from a client’s office, or any Wi-Fi hotspot.

There is a hatfull of Online PM software available on the market, (one project I want to look at in the future is reviewing and rating all the available options), but for the time being, take a look at these as some of the most useful services in terms of the functionality they provide and how they can assist your projects.

Essentially they all provide very similar setups and functionality, the differences are mainly on price and what you get for that price:

Basecamp – I use this one personally and it does the lot
Basecamp Extras – All the plugins and addons that Basecamp can manage – very impressive stuff and ties in with other tools in the list!
Project Spaces – Great list of features and pricing is competitive
WorkConnect – This has a lot of features and hence is a bit pricier
ActiveCollab -  A new player on the market (I think!) but I’ve heard some good feedback about this one
Huddle – funky web 2.0 style Online Collaboration tool, has a great list of tools and very competitive pricing
Igloo – more online communities and social networking solutions but potentially one to keep an eye on…
Collaber – very cheap (free version!), lots of features and looks promising

2. Invoice Management

Being able to implement simple and effective invoices to your clients will save you alot of stress and trouble in the Accounts area of your business.  Keeping track of how much you’ve billed to clients, who’s paid and what’s outstanding is
imperative to making sure your business stays afloat and you get paid on time, keeping your business in the black and hopefully ensuring your budget sticks to plan.

Invoice management software can do all the hard work for you, and some packages even provide the opportunity for your clients to pay through an online interface like Paypal or something similar.  Most of the packages provide clear and in-depth reporting to show all this information, and you can get 1st and 3rd party addons in some software that expand the standard functionality.

Again there are many services available online that provide Invoice Management, here are the ones I’ve had experience of and investigated from a top level requirements point of view:

Freshbooks – Gets good reviews all the time and provides a great interface with a competitive price
Free Agent Central – One price for the service, has some great feedback
Concur – Professional looking site but one I haven’t personally used.  Could be worth looking at for larger / corporate services
Blinksale – Great reviews, new integration with Basecamp and great features
Simply Invoices – simple and does everything needed.  Very competitive pricing for what you get
Invoice Machine – great looking interface, huge range of features and good price

3. Timesheet Management

Another easy winner that will control and manage the awkward task of having to sort out your hours, freelancer hours and then providing a clear breakdown and view to the client.  A lot of the good Online Project Management software provide this type of functionality or integrate with a package that provides this type of service, some don’t based on the package and level you buy into, so it is worth checking first and looking around.

Timesheet management software can be set up very quickly and easily and you can manage your time from anywhere, including your mobile phone (SMS clock-ins and outs).  All are secure and provide a range of plans to suit your needs.

TSheets – Can get started in minutes and provides a great interface to work with.  Competitive pricing too
Thin Mind – Flexible pricing and a range of packages means this one may be a good bundled service
Harvest – Sleek, intuituve and fast is the call to action on their homepage.  I’ve heard some good reviews from this package
Toggl – I haven’t heard of this one before, but it looks lightweight and smart with a solid interface.  Great price if you’re just a one man band
Projjex – Slightly complicated pricing structure when compared to other packages but looks like it provides the same levels of functionality
ClickTime – Been in the market since 1997, with good growth rates over the years.  Looks a solid competitor with good pricing

4. Online Dashboard

I’m a big fan of RSS feeds, news links and stories – ranging from my hobbies: football, scuba diving, keeping fit etc. to trying to keep up to date with all the latest technology news, reviews, information, web 2.0 articles, project management white papers and reports, eCommerce stats and trends etc. etc.

Having one central “dashboard” where I can have all this information and access it very quickly and easily saves me several hours a day.

For my dashboard I use, and have always used – NetVibes.  This is a fantastic tool, free and very easy to set up and get running.  You can pretty much customise it to however you want the look and feel to be, and you can add a massive range of widgets, tools, news and RSS feeds to the different tabs.

Google have their own version - iGoogle, but there are others: Pageflakes, yourminis, protopage etc. but my money is on Netvibes – again just my personal preference, have a play around with the different options and see which one suits you best.

5. Virtualisation / Skype / VOIP / IM

With the massive emergence of Broadband, streaming information via the web has never been easier, so SAAS (define), Skype for making video and phone calls, Instant Messaging and Online Interactive Collaboration is becoming the norm, and generally has been for a number of years.

Some of these tools will be well known to many people, Skype for contacting family abroad and making free calls through your computer is great, but look at the potential for leveraging them into your business model, and using them as a direct communication tool to your clients or potential customers.

Another advantage of virtualisation is the reduced costs for hardware, software, power consumption and services to manage this.  Also think about the fact that you are given the ability to rapidly deploy a new system or service without going through the hassle of ordering new hardware, setting things up, updating systems and managing everything yourself.

Again a quick search in Google will yeild a host of packages that can provide a range of services, from Call Centre staff to take your calls and route them based on your status, to Online Meeting and Whiteboard services for managing interactive meetings.

Webex
Sharepoint
Skype
GoToMeeting
Zoho Meeting
Avoka

6. Wikis

I’ve seen wikis (e.g. from Central Desktop, EditMe, Jotspot, and Socialtext among others) used with a range of clients to great effect. A wiki provides a private work space which can be left behind after an engagement is complete.

They cut down considerably on having to e-mail attachments to a range of team and project members and provide a really useful repository for latest information and documents.

I have seen it used for collaborating on datasheets, web site mock-ups, strategy and planning documents, but mostly for learning and development areas within colleges, universities and large corporate Knowledge Base systems.

In terms of the number of wikis out there – there are thousands.  You can try using a comparison engine such as WikiMatrix to review and compare the functionality and requirements that you need, or you can run a Google search and review them independantly.

7. PM Resources & templates

No Project or Program Manager would be able to manage and deliver high-level projects without a plethora of templates and PM resources.  All the different project management methodologies have slightly differing techniques, terminology and templates, essentially they’re all there to provide clear and structured processes to ensure project success.

There are lots of good and free templates on a range of Project Management websites – find a set that covers the full project life-cycle and work with them to ensure they help you to get the best out of yourself for the project.

Good templates will make your life in managing the project so much easier, always ensure that you review and keep on top of the templates, updating them if you find they need a tweak to help improve or streamline a process.  This way the next time you start a project you’ll have the most up to date template and will be more effective from the start.

8. Blackberry / iPhone / 3G PDA or phone

To ensure you can stay connected to all your online collaborative tools and services, you’ll need a decent mobile phone with a 3G connection.  With the competition as it currently is, you can find some amazing deals if you’re willing to investigate and negotiate with prices and options.

Everyone has their favourites when it comes to phones, handsets and providers, but just look for the best deal that will cover what you need it to do.  There’s no point in going uber-fancy if you’re never going to use most of the functionality of the phone or the extended package!

I’ve found the Nokia N95 and N96 to be of good standard, with the iPhone coming a close 2nd (again just my preference, I know people who would rate the iPhone as their #1).

My experience of Blackberry is a mixed bag somewhat.  I think they are beautiful looking machines but the core user-interface and HCI aspects leave a bit to be desired.  If you’re happy to hunt for features and options, then you won’t mind a Blackberry.  if you want seamless and beautiful interface then get an iPhone.

9. XHTML / CSS / DB Developer Resources

The saying, “There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others” is very true when it comes to choosing your project team.

Having solid, reliable and competent developers is essential to ensure your
project is built to the correct standards with the proper functionality.  Thankfully, there are lots of good developers to choose from, there are also lots of bad developers but you will usually be able to sort the wheat from the chaff by asking some clear questions and testing their skills when you’re hiring freelancers or development teams.

Developers ensure that the creative vision is turned into a reality – whether that may be a website, or a back-end database system.  Getting a team of good developers means you can relax a little bit knowing that if you’ve got the Technical Specifications correct, they should do a good job in delivering the solution.

I’ve been very lucky in my time to work with some amazing devlopers, both database solution specialists and XHTML/css/Ajax/JQuery gurus.  All are worth their weight in gold, so if you get to know one, work with them and keep them part of your plans.

10. Designer Resources

Having a good resource-pool of designers means you can get creative put together in very quick turn-around times to deliver above and beyond client’s expectations.  This is imperative in environments where you need to act fast to push through deals or special offers; such as retail.  A client who wants promotional banners and graphics for a website or email campaign will be more inclined to work with you if they know you can deliver to tight timescales.

You need to ensure though that the resources you hire and use can deliver the quality and precision needed for specific or dedicated campaigns and creative work.

Ensuring your resources have the correct information and details needed to deliver fantastic and compelling creative is down to the creative and design briefs you can provide to them, and that information is based on the data you can extract from the client.  Good designers and creative specialists will know the right questions to ask to get the best information from your clients, so it is always useful to get them involved early in the project so they’re on board and up to date with requirements and the overall goal (and direction) of the project.

If you find good resource in this area, working with them on a regular basis may hopefully ensure better understanding between you both and you can also push for more competitive rates if you can keep offering work their way.

I’ve used both individual freelance resource and worked with specialist design teams that provide a packaged service.  Both have their pros and cons, and both have the ability to deliver some amazing creative solutions.

Hopefully this list has given you some thoughts and ideas on resources that will help you take your PM services to the next level, let me know if you’ve come across any other tools that have helped you in the past and you think should be included and I’ll update the list.

Thanks,
Tony

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