When I was at Uni, a million years ago, we spent a couple of semesters learning project management. First, we were taught to plan by hand. Then later we were introduced to Microsoft Project. After months of building dependencies and manually levelling projects as the lecturer threw in unexpected changes, I quickly embraced Project. In fact, that experience is probably a key part of why I do what I do today.
Microsoft Project is great, but it’s a bit of a beast. The vintage Rolls-Royce of planning tools, it’s old school, powerful and has all the bells and whistles you can imagine. But it wouldn’t be my choice of vehicle for day-to-day life.
Project is a time-tested tool that has been the backbone of countless waterfall projects for decades, with robust planning features that are perfect when you have the luxury of a long pre-planning phase and a need to persuade stakeholders that your plan is achievable.
From creating intricate Gantt charts to meticulously managing resources, it’s got the works. Every detail can be documented, scheduled and costed. So if your project is like a jigsaw puzzle, with each task a piece that fits exactly in its predetermined spot, Microsoft Project is the tool for you.
Change happens, and MS Project struggles to roll with the punches
However, life (and indeed projects) are not always as predictable as we’d like. In the real world, projects change, tasks overlap, and priorities shift. This is where Microsoft Project starts to creak.
Project’s strong suit, its detailed planning capabilities, can become a hindrance when there’s a need for flexibility. I’ve still got my trusty A-Z kicking around somewhere but these days I use Google maps, with its ability to reroute me around a traffic jam, if I need to get to an unfamiliar part of London.
The same holds true for MS Project. Its structure, detail and complexity don’t lend itself well to change. Shifting a single task can feel like trying to move a mountain, and sudden changes can cause a domino effect in your meticulous planning, leading to a lot of headache-inducing manual adjustments.
You don’t just plan a project, you need to deliver it too
Another caveat with Microsoft Project is its focus on planning over execution. While it’s brilliant for laying out a project’s roadmap, it doesn’t cut the mustard when it comes to day-to-day task management and tracking.
Teams that use MSP tend to centralise updating and reporting into the hands of a few key players, partly because of the nature of the tool itself and partly because of licensing costs. This lack of real-time collaboration and reporting can turn project management into more of a solo performance than a team effort. One that’s always that little bit too much out of date, too.
In conclusion, Microsoft Project shines when it comes to detailed planning for traditional, waterfall projects with lots of dependencies. If your project has a fixed scope with little to no change anticipated, it’s a solid choice – the right tool for a well-defined job. But if your project has the potential to be as unpredictable as the British weather, you might want to consider other tools with more flexibility, particularly when you need to take your project off the drawing board and deliver.