In my professional experience in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, managing projects for leading outsourcing and business-to-business

service providers in Argentina and Canada, Ive had the opportunity to use Microsoft Project and OpenProj. Although both project management (PM) software tools contain features that automatically calculate project -specific data, which otherwise would have to be calculated manually or programmed into the cells of a spreadsheet program ( University of Liverpool/Laureate Online Education, 2012), there is a noticeable superiority of Microsoft Project in terms of reporting functions, resource management and collaboration features (FindTheBest, 2012). Moreover, I strongly believe that Microsoft Project offers a stronger integration with PMI methodologies (Harris, 2010). Based on these facts, it should not come as a surprise that, among those project managers that use a PM software tool, nearly 50% use Microsoft Project (Liberatore and Pollack-Johnson, 2003). Having said that, and although I reckon there are several construction-specific project management software tools available (Neal, 2012), my approach to recommend Microsoft Project as the project management software tool to the companys CEO is based on my professional experience, and framed within these three parameters: functional requirements, environment and supportability. Functional requirements I consider that a functional requirement analysis must have as a constraint a thorough PMI methodology integration, this way allowing the users to a seamless experience when applying their conceptual knowledge to the interaction with the software tool. In this aspect, Microsoft Project, and more specifically its 2010 version, offers an easier and intuitive approach for the project manager that uses a PM software tool for the first time. Additionally, considering that the company only has small number of potential users of the software, it should be favored the selection of a less-expensive PM software package such as Microsoft Project over high-end packages (such as Oracle Primavera). Environment With a 94% market share of dedicate office tools, Microsoft Office has an estimate of 500 million users worldwide (Mick, 2012); therefore, the selection of Microsoft Project as the PM software tool would virtually guarantee that the reports produced would be easily shared across without any risk of compatibility. Moreover, most project managers are not knowledgeable in software programming, therefore using a solution that requires constant customization (such as OpenProj) would be a major obstacle and would require additional costs to have programming professionals to help. Supportability Backed-up by Microsofts product support service channels, the installat ion, training and support of their PM software package is compellingly strong. There are many companies that offer certified trainings on all of their products, making it very easy to schedule a training for the project managers that will use the software; moreover, the amount of literature and online available documentation (websites, forums, blogs, etc.) on Microsoft Project provides an easy-to-access and immediate resolution for any inquiry. These parameters aim to highlight the quality and reliability gap existing between Microsoft Project and OpenProj. In my professional experience, one of the main decisions of my organization to use Microsoft solutions was based on their reliability, integration and supportability. Providing outsourcing services for several Fortune Global 500 companies, the organization had to adapt to our clients requirements, and since the majority relied on Microsoft Office package, our solution for PMP software would have to address this constraint. Similar to this case, a construction company deciding on a PMP software package must address not only its functional requirements, but also those of the environment where their activity would take place. Reference List Chatfield, C. & Johnson, T. (2010) Microsoft Project 2010 Step by Step. Redmond: Microsoft Press. FindTheBest (2012) Microsoft Project vs. OpenProj [Online]. Available from: (Accessed: 6 October 2012). Harris, P. (2010) Planning and Control Using Microsoft Project 2010 and PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition. Victoria: Eastwood Harris Pty Ltd. Liberatore, M. & Pollack-Johnson, B. (2003) Factors influencing the usage and selection of project management software, IEEE Transactions On Engineering Management, 50 (2), pp. 164-174, Science Citation Index

[Online]. Available from: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=1202979&tag=1 (Accessed: 6 October 2012) Mick, J (2010) Office 2010 to Launch Today, Microsoft Owns 94 Percent of the Market [Online/Blog]. Available from: http://www.dailytech.com/Office+2010+to+Launch+Today+Microsoft+Owns+94+Percent+of+the+Market/article1 8360.htm (Accessed: 6 October 2012) Neal, H. (2012) Construction Project Management Software [Online]. Austin: Software Advice. Available from: http://www.softwareadvice.com/construction/project-management-software-comparison/ (Accessed: 6 October 2012). University of Liverpool/Laureate Online Education (2012) Lecture Notes Week 5: Introduction to software project planning tools [Online]. Available from: University of Liverpool/Laureate Online Education VLE (Accessed: 6 October 2012).