Looking for a useful project management software

The ones we use frequently are Project and P3. Software such as EXCEL and Visio is also often used to assist with the work. Overall, I personally believe that there is no project management software that is truly practical (for EPC projects) yet. Relatively speaking, P3 is okay for construction projects.

PROJECT, P3, and VISIO all have their own advantages.

There are many software solutions for project management, but the key is for them to be compatible with the company’s management system; otherwise, even the best software is just useless. Commonly used management software includes: project progress management software such as P3e/c, document management software like EDMS, contract management software such as Exepition, material management software like Marian, and resource management software such as ERP or SAP. There are also comprehensive PMIS systems, and even more software for design purposes, such as PDS, INTOOLS, SMARTPLAN, etc. For these software solutions, it’s impossible to get by without spending tens of millions; the key isn’t the software itself, but rather the level of management and the management system – software is merely a tool.

Expedition is not easy to use for Chinese companies; it is said to be popular in the United States, but it’s practically unusable in China as it lacks a function for hierarchical data aggregation. Abroad, P3E/C is also mostly used for its scope management and schedule management functions. There is also not much used for resource and cost management. Many domestic companies have spent several years working on P3, but when they go abroad to undertake projects and encounter American engineers (supervisors), their P3 plans are never approved; as a result, they have to hire others to prepare such plans, because we deviate from its original intent. If we had understood its most fundamental application concepts and methods from the start, this wouldn’t have happened. I once helped an organization bid on a project with Corning in the United States as part of a P3 initiative, and I encountered such problems: they made things extremely complicated on their own, failing to get it right, which led the client to ask them to clarify that P3 plan on two occasions. Later, I helped them sort it out.

For a project, is Excel enough?

Everyone upstairs has already said pretty much everything; I’d like to add that there is a new project management software called Poweron, which is a quite good software

Microsoft Project is sufficient for small-scale projects, while P3 is better for large-scale petrochemical projects. The main focus is on streamlining the management processes of the project team, ensuring proper coordination between plans and actual progress, and any tool can be utilized for this purpose.

For projects, Excel is sufficient

Personally, I think Project is a great software; the others can all serve as supplementary tools. . . .

I’ve only heard of it; I’ve never used it. In fact, aside from the large-scale projects carried out by regular hospitals and those conducted in collaboration with foreigners, there are only a few institutions in China that actually use management software. Even if there is any, it’s just for show; China remains a country governed by manpower rather than rules

At the beginning, we mainly used PROJECT for planning, while for other management tasks we used Access； In 2006, we hired a software company to develop an project management software based on our own management principles, and it was very useful ； Your company can hire a software company to develop an engineering management software tailored to your management needs. If done well, it will solve many problems and, while achieving the same results, it will save a great deal of manpower.

I also recommend a project management software designed mainly for tracking progress – it’s the Menglong Project Management Software; it’s probably China’s equivalent of P3