« Good ol' rock | Main | Uuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrllllllll »

Microsoft Project, the scheduling software people love to hate and hate to love

You can look here for some of the fun that is being had:
projectified: Glen is on a Roll!
I've posted about MS Project haters in the past. They are quite common beasts after all. On the other hand, those that "Love" Microsoft project are as rare as unicorns. Brian sticks up for it just because he is righteous and works for Microsoft :-). I think part of the problem is that it has a complex soul. It is hard to get close to it without accepting it on its own terms. It also carries a lot of baggage and thus is not as streamlined, simple and shiny as it could be. Bloat is not a pretty word so I'll refrain from using it.

Excel and Word get new ribbons for their hair in their upcoming version 12, but Project for the most part has to be content sweeping out the fireplaces of enterprise while the others are at the ball. One almost wishes that one could wave a wand and convert the resource substitution wizard into a golden full fledged resource leveling engine with a team of dalmations running along behind or that the tired old gui could be cleaned of soot. But I fear it is not likely, and even if by some miracle Project were cleaned and polished at the end of the evening someone will shut down the program without saving leaving only a spool file blinking in the task tray.

No, dreams are not practical. The best approach is to jump into the swamp with project anyway. You can kiss it if you want, but it won't turn into a princess. Not that you would want it too. It is a pretty useful as a frog as it is.

RELATED POSTS

Comments (4)

Wait now! I was 'sticking up' for Project WAY before I worked for Microsoft and way before I worked for a Microsoft partner in good standing. I was sticking up for Project back when I worked for a company that got kicked out of the Project Partner program and was competing with Project and Project Central and now Project Server!

And I dont always stick up for it. I get labeled as an aplogist for the application but I see my role as helping people make the most of what is likely the best and certainly the most common scheduling application out there. It had and still has things about it I want to change. Now that I am inside you can bet i will be doing my best to have an impact on the future of the product. :-)

efficient project management application, designed to track issues identified during the testing phase of an application. It focuses on task achievement and is highly user-friendly

Lane:

Microsoft project is still a dog with fleas.
Hopefully new versions will help

David Orr:

What kills me about Microsoft Project is not only is it terribly put together, it produces inaccurate results. I think that Project is where all those damn Mr. Clippy's have gone to hide. I try to behave, I really do. I keep my eyes down and do have no hard coded dates. Try to be as humble as possible so as not to incur the ire of Microsoft Project God, but still my I feel Microsoft's wrath as control over my own project is taken away from my end those gremlin Clippys do their changes.

What is truly sad, is that despite nearly unanimous agreement of Microsoft Project's horribleness, they continue to take 99% of the market. Can't some company please rebel and allow us to seek out better alternatives?

Post a comment

(Comments are moderated to fight SPAM and will be published after I have a chance to approve them. Thanks for waiting.)

About

The previous article is Good ol' rock.

The next article is Uuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrllllllll.

Current articles are in the main index page and you can find a complete list of articles in the archives.

Creative Commons License
This weblog is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Powered by
Movable Type 3.34