Collaborative project management software

Collaborative project definition: it is a teamwork project where people are organized and encouraged to provide assistance to each other, and take part in mutual co-operation directed on delivering shared objective results. Planning is a process of determining how the project participants will contribute into the common work – it is about planning project roles and responsibilities, formulating and assigning tasks to appropriate performers, sharing outcomes and costs. Since computers become popular, people are seeking for ways to improve and support their collaboration attitudes with a help of technical means allowing them to share project facts, plans and all related information easily. The most effective collaborative project software has the following principal components making it functioning:

• Client components – applications that are also called workstations or working terminals, because they drive user interfaces and maintain visual appearance of project management instruments. Every project team member who wants to participate in virtual collaboration should get a client component of collaborative project software installed on his computer.
• Server component – this is the software’s governing element that is usually placed on server computer within corporate LAN (or Internet) to regulate and maintain interactions between people working on client applications. Server component undertakes a number of technical functions, including database management – data reading, writing, deleting, modifying etc.
• Software’s database – this element is protected and driven by the server and contains all the data used on the collaborative process. Integrity, consistency, safety and manageability of the database are critical for normal collaboration between project team members.

Computer-based PM tools – their purposes and benefits:

We believe that collaborative project management software can make life of your workgroup really easier because such instruments can deliver the following benefits:

• More productivity – collaborative project tools enable project managers to improve their approaches in planning and assigning workloads to subordinates. When you see all your tasks on the display it is definitely easier for you to plan your activities and allocate your efforts correctly to deliver stably high results. Owing to that shareware you will be able to save a lot of your time by avoiding paper means and organizing your tasks rapidly just with a few mouse clicks.
• More controllability – with collaborative project software, the project manager receives just a great toolset for accurate supervision over the delegated tasks and goals running within the entrusted project. He doesn’t need anymore to apply extra efforts to monitor the teamwork – he just gets a centralized position in the virtual system where subordinates report their tasks electronically through contributing their data into the shared database, so the project manager can see the whole project picture updating in real-time regime.

• More awareness – data sharing is necessary for working at projects because people should act as a part of one team – they need to communicate to share essential business information, they need to organise documents in order of sharing them with co-workers, they need to share progress to see how well their colleagues perform to discuss their experience etc.   

Technologies

 One of the most popular technologies is online PM which allows people to work at shared projects through the Internet communications and means. Such collaborative project management tools are widely used in virtual teams where people collaborate remotely. Another popular technology is open source which enables users to modify software’s code and create their unique solutions. Usually such collaborative project tools refer to type of free collaborative project management software that is distributed freely, while its modifications can be distributed on commercial basis.

One of the best PM shareware for small and medium business is VIP Task Manager that interconnects your project teammates in real-time regime. This is effective and proved commercial task management tool facilitating business activities and interactions in teams of small and medium enterprises.