Cloud for managing projects

• Nearly every organization has a whiteboard for managing projects, particularly

complex Big Data and data analytics initiatives.
• A physical whiteboard doesn't scale and neither does a single desktop application
like a spreadsheet, especially for sprawling projects.
• This is why cloud project management solutions play a key role in today's IT
management: they offer enormous flexibility and scalability.
• Cloud-based project management services enable organizations to create, plan,
manage and report on projects, across distributed teams and locations.
Cloud Project Management Features
• Collaboration - The ability to communicate and share information with team
members about a project is a foundational element of project management.
• Task Management - The primary capability of all project management tools is all
about creating lists of tasks that are tracked and managed as part of a given
project.
• Time Tracking - Keeping track of time allocated and used for project is an
important project management capability.
• Scheduling - It's not enough to just assign tasks, project management is also
about scheduling due dates and managing deliverables. Typically project
management tools use Gantt charts to visually illustrate a project schedule.
 Factors to consider when planning
any cloud-based project :
• Scope – the organization may be an early adopter which would involve increased management
oversight, additional training costs, and possibly organizational changes.
• Risk – the use of external providers, or a hybrid of internal and external services, can lead to
additional business, technical and project risks.
• Quality – new quality issues include provider service quality, network quality of service, support
services quality and the solution technical quality (i.e., the architecture and design).
• Reputation – sensationalized stories about data loss in the cloud, and publicized security
breaches can make it difficult to gain support for cloud systems, especially public clouds; the PM
will spend a lot of time allaying fears, proving the solution and generally providing answers to
stakeholder questions.
• Budget – there will be significant savings in capital costs, and operational savings may accrue
over the long term, but there can also be increased costs for training, management, vendor
relations and so on.
• Integrations - Every organization is already using all kinds of different tools to get things done,
whether it's an existing collaboration, file sharing, customer relationship management or other
tool. Identify the tools that matter to your project and make sure that the project management
service you're considering has integrations with them.
• Service level agreements
• Cloud computing involves a division of responsibilities between users and providers that needs
to be based on well-defined agreements, usually called Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Every cloud services provider has an SLA that specifies what is being provided, how well it
should work, what remedies are available if it fails, and how much it costs. For example,
Microsoft has its Azure SLA(s) and Amazon has its EC2 SLA.
• The on-demand availability of cloud resources can present interesting opportunities for the
Project Managers to move some activities forward, to eliminate some activities, and to apply
more agile design, development and continuous improvement processes.
• For example, testing on a production platform, access to common security functions, pay-as-
you-go billing are areas of focus in cloud computing projects that are either glossed over or
taken for granted on traditional projects.
 Points to remember when moving
towards cloud project management
• Cloud computing should not be a set of silos (independent, incompatible
solutions) – clouds need to be designed and managed as an ecosystem and this
touches on virtually all areas of the IT department.
• Cloud computing can be more complex technology and will have a different
balance of project constraints than is traditional.
• Cloud computing, even though based on previous technologies, is not yet well
understood and widely taught; there may be considerable fear, uncertainty and
doubt to be faced.
• Cloud computing is a partnership with one or more external vendors – well-
defined performance requirements, service level agreements, and possibly
multiple procurements will be required.
 Some Cloud Project Management Tools
• Zoho Projects –
• Zoho Projects is a cloud-based project management solution designed for small and midsize
companies. It automates document processes such as revision tracking, access control and
search and retrieval.
• Other product features include document management, which provides a portal for sharing
documents within the team members. Zoho Projects also offers issue management features,
which help managers resolve errors in the project tasks.

• Clarizen –
• It is a project management software that usesa software as a servicebusiness model.
• Clarizen's features include attaching CAD drawings to a project, moving between the project
view and design view and an E-mail reporting feature.
• ProWorkflow –
• It is a cloud-based project management and time tracking software that caters to companies
of all sizes.
• the solution also offers task management, timesheets, templates, notifications and alerts, file
sharing, workflow management, contact management, reporting and resource management.
ProWorkflow also provides a timeline and availability Tool to help with task scheduling.

• Microsoft Project Online –

• Project Online is a flexible online solution for project portfolio management (PPM) and
everyday work. It enables organizations to get started quickly with powerful project
management capabilities to plan, prioritize, and manage projects and project portfolio
investments-from almost anywhere on almost any device.
• It seamlessly integrates with Power BI for analytics to keep everyone up-to-date on your
portfolio and projects progress.