Project Management Tool Reduces Costs Significantly

Project Management is one of the toughest challenges for the enterprise. According to various studies conducted between 1995 and 1998 a huge majority of projects suffered from problems like budget and time overruns and a large number of them failed outright.

Since then due to the development of modern tools and the refinement of project management as a science there has been a significant improvement. According to a study conducted by Standish Group the rate of project success in 1994 was only 16.2 per cent which improved to a dismal 26 per cent in 1998. In 2008, informal estimates say that nearly 50 per cent of all projects are still failing.

Modern tools of project management have made all the difference say industry experts. "Project management today is highly dependent on specialized tools and software. It is impossible to expect to complete highly complex and collaborative projects without the assistance of these tools," says Ben Gunther, a senior project manager in a software consultancy.

An emerging market for project management software is the SME segment. TimeLog, a new project management tool from a Danish company targets this market and has achieved considerable success with nearly 300 installations already.

"TimeLog offers complete time-tracking and management for projects. The online solution gives medium and small businesses flexible and effective time management solutions for all kinds of projects," said a company spokesperson.

According to the company, the software provides mini-ERP level functionality for a fraction of the cost of a full-fledged ERP software. Additionally the software is fully scalable, and can be adapted with add-ons to suit enterprises as diverse as consultancies, web development companies, research organizations, IT solution providers, manpower providers, etc. The advanced time-logging capabilities make it possible for project managers to effectively monitor project costs and relate them to resources.

Reflecting the research findings that favor the application of management tools to improve project performance, the companies who make use of TimeLog have reported significant savings in project costs and better performance from resources devoted to the project.

"With TimeLog's time-tracking and time-sheeting functions it is easy to understand how much the resources are delivering vis-à-vis the time they spend on the project. It is easier to identify which resources perform and which do not. This is a vital requirement to completing a project successfully and on time," said the TimeLog spokesperson.