eProject PPM 6

eProject PPM 6s macro view of organizational project management data makes the product particularly well-suited for larger professional services organizations that typically share resources across multiple projects.

Click here to read the full review of eProject PPM 6.

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eProject PPM 6s macro view of organizational project management data makes the product particularly well-suited for larger professional services organizations that typically share resources across multiple projects.

eProject PPM 6 looks and behaves more like a server-based project management application than a Web-based application. The services interface has some clever design elements and shortcuts. We did like the degree to which we could customize the application to accommodate particular workflows based on project type. For example, creating an IT project can involve the collection of specific types of project management and budget and costing data.

/zimages/3/28571.gifClick hereto read a review of AtTask 4.02.

As with AtTask 4.02, eProject PPM 6 organizes application features by tabs, but it provides a broader feature set, including threaded discussions, approvals, polling, decision points and contacts. We liked the products personalization capabilities, which can be particularly helpful in organizing the applications broad range of features.

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With the exception of the users dashboard screen, eProject PPM 6 presents information in list format through the Action menu, an element that allowed us to perform common actions with two clicks. For example, in the task list, we could update, edit or complete tasks using the Action menu.

One area that presents a significant departure from the list view is the dashboard view for individual projects. This view presented us with a Project menu that offered two-click access to actions associated with all of a projects elements, such as administration, resources, discussions, change requests, polls and risks.

Within the Project 2003 menu, users have access to project-specific elements, such as the Gantt Chart and Resource Allocation views. We liked the Gantt Chart view, which allowed us to perform in-line editing, including dragging and dropping resources onto a project element.

Users can customize dashboards and views extensively to create favorite views within any tab or project to help visualize trouble spots or quickly assess progress. We liked the reporting capabilities of the product, which allowed us to create custom reports through a simple report-generation wizard.

eProject PPM 6 supports Internet Explorer 5.5 or later, as well as on Firefox 1.5 on Windows 2000- or Windows XP-based systems. We noticed some minor inconsistencies when we used eProject with Firefox.

Next page: Evaluation Shortlist: Related Products.

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Evaluation Shortlist

AtTasks AtTask 4.02

Hosted or on-premises project management application that is well-suited to teams and professional services organizations (www.attask.com)

Microsofts Office Project 2003 and Office Project Server 2003

Windows-based client- and server-based tools for team-based project management (www.microsoft.com)

Project.nets Project.net

Commercial open-source project and portfolio management application that is available as a hosted service or as an on-premises application (www.project.net)

Technical Analyst Michael Caton can be reached at michael_caton@ziffdavis.com.

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