Providing business users a powerful, easy-to-use, and inexpensive tool to simplify complex project management tasks, IMSI - developer and publisher of business productivity software - has announced the release of TurboProject 3.0 Professional.
"Too many project management programs on the market lock managers into planning and tracking formats difficult to manipulate or change," says Brian Calder, senior product manager of the Business Applications Group for IMSI. "Our goal was to develop a tool to put project managers back in the driver's seat."
He notes that TurboProject 3.0 Professional is based on Top-Down Design methodology and Loose-Layout Planning - two popular project management styles that allow project managers greater flexibility when it comes to planning and tracking.
"TurboProject allows managers to begin planning based on the information they already know," Calder says. "As more information becomes available, they can go back and fill in the details. This Top-Down Planning methodology helps managers drive events rather than simply track them. It also helps identify and resolve issues at each level of planning before they become problems." In addition, he notes that TurboProject provides a Loose-Layout Option that allows users to lay out activities without being required to make any project connections.
"Users are provided a variety of options to view their project plans, which includes displaying multiple Gantt and Timescale Network views of multiple projects simultaneously. "We looked at what the average user does when he sits down with pen and paper and lays out a project plan," Calder says. "What we came up with was a feature that allows users to plan the way they think. Loose Layout does not force users to create project hierarchies when they are creating a project plan. In fact, one of its most useful features is its ability to physically move a parent project's time frame while maintaining the relationships of all of its dependent activities. No other project management program in this market segment can do this."
The robust Distribute and Integrate feature allows users to separate pieces of a complex project for modification by other project team members. With one mouse click, the system builds address lists from within a project plan and automatically distributes the sub-projects to the appropriate personnel.
"TurboProject has the power to integrate multiple sub-projects into one master project," Calder says. "This functionality enables a manager to let other team members modify their sub-projects while maintaining control of the overall project picture."
He adds that TurboProject's intuitive interface allows users to work the way they think - providing an array of flexible planning options and greater usability for small and large project teams tackling any size project. It is an easy-to-use program for those familiar with project software, and an easy-to-learn system with helpful tutorials and templates for novices.
TurboProject Professional 3 has a host of other new features including:
32-bit enabled application, 32-bit "smart" ODBC;
Resource conflict/over allocation tables and resource auto leveling;
Project tree for instant navigation to any phase of a project structure;
Unlimited undo/redo capability;
Ability to hyper link planning objects to URL's and documents;
Basic and advanced user options;
A new Excel®-style edit bar;
Dockable toolbars and MicrosoftOutlook-style view bar.
"We have successfully bridged the gap between simple planning programs and expensive project management systems," Calder says. "Designed to grow as the needs of a project develop, TurboProject 3.0 Professional is an intuitive, scaleable, and affordable solution well suited to the needs of small businesses and corporations alike - at the department level or as an enterprise-wide solution."
System Requirements and Availability TurboProject 3.0 Professional requires an IBM-compatible 486 or higher, Windows95, 98, or NT operating system, 16 MB RAM, 30 MB of hard disk space, CD-ROM drive, and VGA or higher. The software now is available nationwide for an introductory price of $295.
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