ProjectBASE            business/project management
Develop Realistic Plans with ProjectBASE
 
Microbytes Daily News Service
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
ProjectBASE, a front-end tool for scheduling and tracking
packages, helps you compose realistic project plans and cost
estimates. ProjectBASE starts with a knowledge database based on
the developer's nine years of experience in software development
and management. The lifecycle-based project consists of a master
task list, task descriptions, deliverables, potential PERTs,
responsibility matrices, and forms. You can customize the
Lifecycle (a series of steps needed to complete a project) or
merge it with your own lifecycle to create a more comprehensive
master list, according to the Center for Project Management.
 
ProjectBASE now includes a form generation utility that will
generate a prompt list for the project manager. With the list,
which you can edit with a word processor, the manager can cross
reference tasks and deliverables and determine what is needed
to complete each task.
 
As you select tasks from the Lifecycle, the Planning module
automatically computes a potential PERT diagram, displaying
task dependencies. Once you've created a plan, the Estimating
module helps you realistically predict the cost and effort
necessary to complete the project using the historic database.
When estimating, the program considers factors such as each
employee's experience, knowledge, and predicted percent of time
available for the project.
 
You can then export the estimates to a program such as
SuperProject, ViewPoint, or Project WorkBench. ProjectBASE runs
on the IBM PC with a hard-disk drive.
 
Price: $2950 for all four (Lifecycle, Planning, Estimating, and
Customizer) modules.
 
Contact: Center for Project Management, 18 Crow Canyon Rd.,
Suite 290, San Ramon, CA 94583, (415) 837-0397.
 
                              --- David L. Andrews
 
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