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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION <br />Topic Report Project Management Software <br />By: Jessica L. Hendricks, Management Intern <br />Background: <br />r <br />~. _~.. ~ <br />Staff has been examining project management software as an additional tool to help track projects and <br />manage the various resources utilized by the City of Ramsey. Project management software allows a user <br />to define a project, identify the tasks and phases of a project, set deadlines and constraints to the project, <br />assign people and resources to the project and track the costs associated with it. <br />After examining different types of project management software, staff downloaded trials of two programs, <br />Microsoft Project and Project KickStart Pro. <br />Observations: <br />Project KickStart features an easily understandable creation wizard that walks the user through the <br />establishment of a project from beginning to end. This wizard prompts the user to identify the phases, <br />goals, obstacles, and personnel and resource assignments. KickStart also contains all of the basic features <br />of project management software, including Gantt charts that help the user distinguish dependencies and <br />critical path chains in the project. Project KickStart is compatible with the Microsoft Office Suite, which <br />means that you can export KickStart files into other formats. <br />Microsoft Project is more robust than Project KickStart. However, it is not as easy to understand and use. <br />Microsoft Project assumes that the user has prior experience and/or access to training with project <br />management software. MS Project allows the user to manage budgets and analyze workloads in addition <br />to the features available in KickStart. MS Project operates as a part of the Microsoft Office Suite. It <br />allows the user to export files into other formats, and also allows for integration with MS Outlook. <br />Funding: <br />The cost of the Project KickStart Pro is $299 per license, with a 5% discount for the purchase of 5 <br />licenses or a 12.5% when 10 or more licenses are purchased. <br />Microsoft Project Standard is $5'78 per license and MS Project Pro is $963 per license. These prices <br />reflect the discount that is available to the City as a part of the LOGIS consortium. <br />Action Statement: <br />Based upon discussion <br />Reviewed by: <br />IT Manager <br />Deputy City Administrato / n' D elopment Director <br />City Administrator: <br />CCWS: 4/13/2010 <br />