Tips for First-Time Project Managers
Nearly everyone takes on a project management role at some point or another in their daily, professional, or even personal lives. Long gone are the days when the only option was pencil and paper, and quickly fading are the days where coordinating dozens of home-brewed spreadsheets are the best option. Project management software enables organizations to create and adopt a new process that will increase overall productivity, improve response time when changes are required, and provide immediate information on the impact of changes. 

Keep in mind that it’s not just enterprise and portfolio project management software that can bring this value, and even popular tools like Microsoft Project® are overkill for the project management newcomer. Instead of trying to train yourself and your entire staff on costly, complicated software tools with many hi-level features your team is unlikely to use, look for project-focused software that cuts to the quick, and has a simple, no nonsense interface. If it’s easy to use, you’ll improve your chances for success and the likelihood that team members working on your projects will adopt it.

Leverage project management software that:

• Is easy-to-learn and use
• Demonstrates the time/cost impact of schedule changes
• Displays project details in a variety of different formats including Gantt charts, calendars, resource graphs, and to-do lists
• Integrates well with existing software tools such as spreadsheets, organizers, databases, accounting, and other more complex project management programs
• Works across platforms between Windows and Mac operating systems

Getting Started with FastTrack Schedule is Easy and Straightforward
Organized project details are the core of successful scheduling, and FastTrack Schedule 9 simplifies project planning by providing an instant framework for all your project information. Choose from over 30 example files and QuickStart templates or simply click-and-drag to enter and organize tasks, deadlines, and assignments.

Already have project information in another program? FastTrack Schedule 9 will create presentation-quality project schedules from data within spreadsheets, organizers, databases, and other project management programs. And if you need a helping hand learning FastTrack Schedule, you can rely on extensive online help topics and a step-by-step set of tutorials and practice files.

Make the Break from Excel®
Many first-time project managers start out using a readily available program like a spreadsheet to plan projects. Programs like Excel® are wonderful tools, but they’re not designed for managing projects. FastTrack Schedule 9, like Excel, has rows and columns to enter project details, however FastTrack Schedule's columns are specifically formatted to store the many different types of project information.

FastTrack Schedule 9 also has many more project-focused features that make it easy to plan, track, and manage projects including a built-in outliner for organizing and summarizing tasks, Gantt chart timelines illustrating task dates and durations, linking tools to set task dependencies, monthly calendars, resource work calendars, time period summary graphs, and much more.

Turn Brainstorms into Actionable Plans
Sometimes project plans are best kick-started with a mind map, a visual diagram of tasks and objectives. FastTrack Schedule's integration with Mindjet® MindManager®, the premier mind mapping software, provides an ideal concept to completion workflow for planning and executing project initiatives.

FastTrack Schedule 9 opens MindManager maps, converting them into project schedules that can be displayed as Gantt charts, monthly calendars, and resource graphs. When it’s time to set your ideas into motion, use FastTrack Schedule 9 to easily track and manage the activities, expenses, and people required to complete your projects. Or, save your FastTrack Schedules as MindManager maps for further brainstorming and process revisions. Learn more >

Need a Jumpstart?
Our live, instructor-led "Getting Started with FastTrack Schedule" e-Training class is an easy way to get up and running quickly. Watch, listen, and learn from the convenience of your own desktop as AEC Software trainers introduce you to FastTrack Schedule and step through the project management techniques necessary to create a schedule quickly and effectively. Learn more about e-Training classes >