Features
P2ware Planner Suite combines functionalities which are available in different applications, however, often incompatible with each other, and a number of functionalities not available in other applications. This allows planners, project managers and directors of programmes to avoid wasting time on integration of information stored and processed using different tools and to focus on effective planning and execution of plans.Major P2ware Planner Suite features
The following table presents major functionalities of P2ware Planner Suite - the full featured and standalone project, programme and portfolio management software.
Product-based planning | Unique and highly efficient implementation of the product-based planning technique recommended by PRINCE2 and compliant with PMI PMBOK which is useful also in other project management methods and standards. This technique allows to create plans much faster. |
| Product/Work Breakdown Structure | Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) is a hierarchical presentation of a plan of products to be created or delivered. |
| Product Flow Diagram | Product Flow Diagram (PFD) presents an order in which products are to be created or delivered, regardless of the way in which it is done. |
| Network Diagram | Network Diagram presents dependencies between activities and information about their earliest and latest finish times. This diagram also presents the critical path. |
| Automatic creation of the Network Diagram based on the Product Flow Diagram | Using the product-based planning and Product Flow Diagram, P2ware Planner generates automatically initial Gantt Chart (default timing) and a network diagram. Due to this unique feature, planning is even several times faster and more accurate. |
| Gantt Chart | Gantt Chart presents a project schedule, dependencies between activities, the critical path, planned and actual data, free time and other useful data. |
| Critical Path Method | Automatically generated critical path (CP) presents the shortest time of plan execution assuming that all required resources are available. It is visualised on the Gantt Chart and Activity Network. |
| Critical Chain Method | Creation of schedules with a critical resource workload levelled according to a critical chain method developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. |
| Resource and resource assignments management | Assigning resources from a resource pool (either shared or local in plan) to activities in the plan. |
| Resource load diagram | Clear and easy to understand a diagram presenting levels of resource usage. |
| Risk Register | Risk Register is used to store information about risks (threats and opportunities) related to the plan and its execution. |
| Issue Register | Issue Register stores problems, suggestions, change requests and other issues vital to the plan and its execution. |
| Quality Log | Quality Log is used to store information about quality reviews of products included in the plan. |
| Daily Log | Daily Log allows to store events related to the plan and its execution. |
| Lessons Log | Lessons Log stores lessons learned and other important data that can help avoiding failures or exploiting opportunities in the future projects. |
| Control of a plan execution with Work Packages and Checkpoint Reports | Work Packages are sets of products and/or activities that are sent to a particular person or a team for execution. Checkpoint Reports inform on the Work Packages progress. |
| Two-way integration with Microsoft® Excel® and Microsoft® Project | Plans or selected plan data can be exported to other applications, e.g. Microsoft® Excel® or Microsoft® Project, and imported from these formats. |
| Snapshots | Snapshots store project state at particular time. They are used to track and analyse project during progress. |
| Reports and report templates designer | Easy and quick generation of the plan relevant reports and possible creation of user defined report templates. |
| Cost Chart | Multifunctional and clear cost chart of planned and current costs and earned value. Chart allows to present data in various date ranges and cash flow or cost summary modes. |
| Schedule | Plan data can be presented as a calendar easy to understand by all team members. |
| Earned Value | Support for the earned value management. |
| Resouce balancing | Balancing of resources assigned to activities. |
| Plan segments library | Planner allows to create a plan segments library - sets of selected plan elements to be used in other plans. By creating and using the plan of segments library, planning of next projects can be dramatically reduced. |
| Defining new perspectives for views | Defining various layouts and formats of plan data presentation on a computer screen. Instead of numerous adjusting user interface to temporary needs, one can create plan templates with various perspectives and get a needed required screen arrangement by clicking a mouse once or twice. |
| Signal lights (indicators) | Signal lights may be used to visualise status of risks, activities and any other plan objects. |
| Individual calendars for the plan, each resource and each activity | It is possible to manage calendars not only on a plan level but also individual calendars for each resource and/or activity. Created plans can reflect present resource availability. |
| User's own tasks list | Easy to use log of planner's own tasks and notes. |
| Filtering of data | Effective filtering of plan data for reporting and/or analysis purposes. |
| Creating plan templates | Plan templates are specific plan files that share similar layouts, perspectives and properties. They are useful in enforcing coherent planning and project management methods. |
| Adding relations between products and/or activities included in different plans | It is possible to add dependencies of a plan to other plans by including in the plan products and activities from other plans published on the Planner Server. |
| Advanced access control editor | Access control editor allows for advanced security configuration settings to ensure that all plan data are properly secured and only authorized persons have access to sensitive data. |
| Central resource management | Management of a central resource pool that can be shared across projects. |
| Integration with ERP systems | Advanced programming interface allows for integration of Planner Server with various IT systems, e.g. ERP. Data from other systems may be imported to Planner Server or plan data exported to other systems. Integration is achieved via web services. |