Microsoft Project Reviews

I have been using Microsoft Project for more than five years in my career.

My major use case for Microsoft Project is scheduling and task management. I do not focus much on resource management because resources are tracked separately using other ERPs.

When I speak about resources, I mean the resource allocation feature. I track resource allocation, work hours, and other similar aspects. My usage is focused on simple task management and milestone management, including dependencies.

I track KPIs and SLAs to measure project success when using Microsoft Project. I track standard service level agreements and key performance indicators using Microsoft Project.

In general, I track the plan versus actual performance.

I work with Gantt charts, and the integration with Teams is particularly valuable. The integration with Teams and Outlook allows for notifications, which is a significant reason why people are using Microsoft Project.

Regarding risk management tools, Microsoft Project helps with project predictability if all the details are contained within the system. However, not all details can be stored there because only tasks are included. Risk management is conducted outside of Microsoft Project. In terms of deadlines and meeting them, Microsoft Project does support project risk management. However, financial risk and workforce allocations represent the bigger risks because sometimes resources are limited and need to be moved around.

Microsoft Project provides some insights to help with project management. For insights, I rely on Power BI. I take the data from Microsoft Project and then apply KPIs and SLAs and other metrics. The visualization is better in Power BI, whereas the Gantt charts in Microsoft Project are adequate.

I have some experience with Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Dynamics, and similar products, though I work more on the application side. My work focuses more on Power BI and Power Platform because these tools allow me to tailor specific applications in facility management and property management.

I think the licensing structure presents a significant area for improvement. The full features are not offered on the standard E4 license. This becomes problematic when distributing the project plan. I can export the plan as Excel and CSV files, but then I lose all the rich features, including dependency mapping. To recreate all that functionality without proper licensing is challenging.

Microsoft Project offers a light version available for free, but when I try to distribute a project plan, it requires separate licensing. Microsoft Project Central used to be more of an enterprise product. Microsoft Project currently focuses on very low-level task management, and it could do much more. I do not see significant advancement happening because there is confusion about where Microsoft Project is heading.

I believe Microsoft should bundle the license with Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This approach would result in more people using Microsoft Project. That is my opinion on how to improve adoption and the product offering.

Microsoft Project is a stable product. Some workarounds are always needed, which I would classify as feature enhancements rather than stability issues. Bug releases exist, but they are not as problematic as they used to be. There has been improvement on that side.

Microsoft Project provides ROI in terms of return on investment, including time savings and money savings. If I can eliminate delays, I achieve good ROI because resources can be utilized to their maximum capacity. If some resources would otherwise be idle, I can allocate them elsewhere. Everything comes down to understanding the tasks that need to be done and when they need to be completed.

I would say Microsoft Project is affordable, but the standalone Project license should be included in the Office price to increase adoption.

I am a Project Director in my company.

I have advice for people who are looking to buy Microsoft Project. The choice really depends on what their backend system is because if they are using Oracle Financials and Oracle Cloud, they are constrained to using Primavera for most project planning. Only people at the site level use Microsoft Project. I do not think Microsoft is even attempting to compete with Primavera. I believe Microsoft has so many other priorities that they are not focused on Microsoft Project. I do not know unless there is a new project version that I have not seen because I have not used it for about a year. I was using it, but I have shifted to mainly Primavera integrations.

I would rate this solution as an eight out of ten.

I work as an automation engineer and normally use Microsoft Project for automation in industrial manufacturing across different industries. I use Microsoft Project for these projects.

As a Project Management Professional (PMP), I utilize Microsoft Project when I need to structure a schedule for a project.

The best features of Microsoft Project include the ability to cross-reference information, such as the cost for milestones or cross-information with different work packages. I appreciate how Microsoft Project can explode the information and control the schedule in this form.

The collaboration features are valuable for controlling the project and transmitting information to other team members when working in a team.

I find it beneficial when evaluating different options for critical paths within Microsoft Project.

The critical path evaluation features in Microsoft Project could be improved. Resource allocation could also be enhanced, though I haven't used these features regularly. These features might be more recent additions since I first started using the software.

I first started using Microsoft Project approximately 20 years ago.

Microsoft Project is a stable tool, and when using it in different projects, it works perfectly. I haven't experienced any problems with it.

The solution is scalable.

In Colombia, the support for Microsoft Project has improved significantly. When I first started using Microsoft Project, the support wasn't particularly good. Currently, there are more support personnel who speak English, and Microsoft has increased its Spanish language support compared to previous years. I believe Microsoft Project now has better support with more training options, though I haven't personally participated in training sessions in Spanish for this product.

Neutral

The initial setup experience varies for different users. For me, it isn't difficult if you have the work structure in place. It's mainly about understanding the different features of the tools. When I first started working with these tools, they weren't as intuitive as they are now. This is why I don't have problems with the setup. Other users might need a more intuitive setup process, but this isn't an issue for me.

The key performance indicators for these projects include the cost and progress of the project. The return on investment is important, though when speaking about projects, there are different specific metrics that are relevant.

The company typically pays for the Microsoft Project licensing. I'm not certain about the exact cost of the licenses, but I believe it's usually included in the Microsoft 365 package.

I rate Microsoft Project a seven out of ten.

In Microsoft Project, I am not using it extensively because it is mainly handled by the customer. I have access to some projects where we create tasks and track time, recording timesheets. There we input our efforts for each task. We use Microsoft Project for creating epics and stories.

Regarding the reporting functionality of Microsoft Project, it is good, but I do not use it extensively because the projects I am involved in are mostly related to RPA. For RPA, we use UiPath. There we simply create tasks to monitor progress. This integration is not that useful for us because RPA is a different domain. We are not developing exclusively within Microsoft Project. If we were managing everything in Microsoft Project, then we could utilize all those features. Currently, I use Microsoft Project as a tracker.

I use Microsoft Project as a tracker for time, team availability, team burnout, and to track spending and ongoing tasks with daily task tracking. That is the primary way I use it.

I record risks in Microsoft Project, but we also manage risks through an internal portal.

I use Microsoft Project for some projects where customers have Microsoft tools, so we log risks there.

For Microsoft Project, I use cognitive services, mostly through Azure Studio.

Project management with Microsoft Project involves team management, creating tasks and boards. We use task creation, team management, and deliverables as integrated tools.

I am not expert enough to explain areas of improvement for Microsoft Project because I have not explored it extensively or used it enough, so I am not the right person to comment on this.

I have not explored Microsoft Project enough regarding the UI and UX.

The initial setup for Microsoft Project is somewhat complex, but not overly complicated. Because I am not that familiar with the setup process and have not used it extensively, I feel it could potentially be improved.

My overall experience with Microsoft Project, Azure, and DevOps tools spans more than two years for managing projects.

I rate the stability of Microsoft Project as seven.

I rate the scalability of Microsoft Project as eight.

The technical support from Microsoft is good, and I would rate it as eight.

I have also worked with Jira, and in comparison, Microsoft Project is good.

I cannot definitively say which solution is better because it depends on the comfort level of teams and customers. Both are good, and Jira is also a solid option.

I feel comfortable with both products, so it does not matter to me whether I work with Jira or Microsoft Project.

I do not use Gantt charts for project planning in Microsoft Project.

Microsoft Project is primarily for tracking your team, observing team activity, and tracking time for tasks.

I would rate Microsoft Project as an overall product with a score of eight.

I have experience with Microsoft Project. Since 2009, I have been using it for our project implementation, tracking, and monitoring. For most of the projects, I create the work program and work implementation plan using Microsoft Project.

The most valuable features are in the successor and predecessor determination and the tracking tools, such as obtaining data on the S curve financial curve. Normally, those are the key areas I focus on for tracking the Project. I insisted our vendor use the Marsha Project since it's highly recommended. It has made my life easier in monitoring and tracking. If I know how to use the tool, it will bring much more benefit to me.

When I have too many elements or items in a project, it becomes cumbersome, especially during printing. 

Non-technical users do not need all the data, so it's primarily for technical personnel. Without guidance, it's challenging to use the app. With guidance and expert knowledge, it becomes manageable, however, it's not for non-technical teams. 

The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing. 

Printing on A3 size is quite burdensome, so I prefer viewing it on a tablet or computer. On a tablet or phone, I can see the full project elements depending on the screen size.

Since 2009, I have been using it for our project implementation.

With Microsoft, the license is per personnel, making it expensive. We have a very limited number of users for that particular system. If I could allow all engineers to access it, within our organization, it would be beneficial. 

However, every organization faces challenges and constraints in utilizing the budget for the system. From a user perspective, all engineers should have access to monitor and track their own projects.

I believe there is online support available, not for phone calls. There is a website and a connection to AI for support. I referred to that, however, there was no email or phone call support previously.

Neutral

I transitioned from fully using Microsoft to Google in the last two years. Now, only a limited number of personnel use Microsoft.

For me, it was not that complicated. I would rate the installation above average, about seven out of ten.

The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.

There are alternatives such as Primavera, Printify, and many more. For simple projects, Google Sheets can be used. There are also tools available for creating project timelines.

Previously, during my service as part of portfolio management, I heavily used all the Microsoft tools. I used quite a variety of tools, but not now. I'm transitioning the portfolio and the company to Google and other alternatives. If Microsoft can reduce its prices, it would be greatly appreciated. The free version is also limited. 

I would rate the product eight out of ten.

I am mainly using Microsoft Project for project management and monitoring project activities.

The resource allocation feature in Microsoft Project is an important functionality. However, regarding predictive analytics and risk management, Microsoft Project is primarily focused on monitoring project activities rather than these specific areas.

Regarding the reporting features and report generation in Microsoft Project, I do not actively manage or work with reports through the platform.

Microsoft Project provides benefits by helping monitor project activities effectively. Based on experience and colleague feedback, there is room for improvement in streamlining the reporting processes. It would be beneficial to see enhanced reporting functionalities in future versions.

I have been using the solution for four to five years.

I would rate the stability of Microsoft Project as an eight out of ten.

I would rate the scalability of Microsoft Project as a seven out of ten.

The technical support from Microsoft rates as a four out of ten.

Positive

I have only used Microsoft Project.

The initial setup process for Microsoft Project is relatively straightforward.

Regarding the pricing of Microsoft Project, with one being high and ten being low, I would rate it based on its cost-effectiveness.

I have experience with Microsoft Project and cannot comment on specific competitors in the market.

I would recommend Microsoft Project for enterprise-level companies. The overall rating for Microsoft Project is 8 out of 10.

I primarily use Microsoft Project for IT infrastructure projects, focusing on the planning and execution of complex projects with many cross-dependencies.

The most valuable features of Microsoft Project include dependency mapping, completion ratios, and the ability to apply specific constraints or constraint types. This tool is the most accurate project management tool, allowing me to run a full set of project activities without having to switch between different tools for scheduling and other tasks.

Microsoft Project tends to become very unstable on large project plans with more than 400 lines. It would be beneficial if it could be made more stable for larger project plans.

I have been using Microsoft Project for twenty years.

Microsoft Project is generally stable for smaller to medium-sized projects, but it becomes quite unstable with larger projects over four hundred lines.

Microsoft Project is a point solution, and discussing scalability is not very applicable, similar to how one would describe the scalability of Word or Excel.

I have used Jira's project management module and played a bit with Workday before using Microsoft Project. These alternatives are not as powerful or project-driven.

The initial setup of Microsoft Project is very simple, comparable to installing Excel or Word.

Microsoft Project does help save time and money due to its completeness as a project management solution, allowing for accurate management and avoiding the need to use multiple tools.

Microsoft Project is very expensive, costing roughly double what it should. We purchase perpetual licenses due to the high cost of subscriptions, which are about 1,000 Australian dollars.

I evaluated Jira's project management module and Workday, however, found them lacking in complexity and power compared to Microsoft Project.

For complex projects, I recommend using Microsoft Project due to its superior scheduling and dependency mapping capabilities. For simpler projects, consider other options.

I use Microsoft Project for project planning and tracking.

The scheduling part of Microsoft Project is easy; if you change one of the dates, the rest of the dates automatically get changed based on the dependency. This is very convenient to do, and the overall percentage allocation of resources and tracking of milestones are quite easy with a very intuitive interface.

Jira and Confluence are mostly used alongside Microsoft Project.

In all companies, Atlassian is very good; Microsoft Project is also good when compared to other similar tools.

Maybe some generative AI features such as having tasks or activities being suggested automatically based on the rest of the tasks in the project would be useful; I haven't really missed them so far.

The only suggestion for improvement is the generative AI feature for task suggestions; this is the main concern so far, something nice to have.

Nothing comes to my mind regarding any improvements for Microsoft Project.

I have been using Microsoft Project for more than 10 years.

It is stable.

Nothing yet regarding limitations with Microsoft Project; this is a limitless tool.

Microsoft support is good, but I haven't required any support for Microsoft Project. Earlier, when I worked as a developer, I had some interactions with them, and it was pretty good.

I would give somewhere around 10 for my overall experience with support.

Positive

I am more familiar with integration frameworks such as MuleSoft. I have worked with MuleSoft, and we have developed our own ESB product for a company called Coveo.

We are using a Microsoft Project Server here, so it's an on-premises deployment for the project team.

It is easy to maintain.

Organization-wide, New Relic is being used by some people.

I'm sure some of our clients are working with New Relic, but I haven't yet worked with it myself and none of my specific clients are working with it.

I'm not aware of the price as we use organization-wide licenses.

It depends on the use case; what we are looking for in the tool is what matters. There's nothing where one vendor is good in everything. There are different vendors for different use cases.

I'm not using it directly, but I work in Cognizant, and some of my clients use it. We are doing some work on observability, and I was comparing the tools.

I can't provide feedback because I haven't used it and haven't got some in-depth knowledge of it.

I am not aware of MuleSoft Composer.

We haven't used MuleSoft RPA.

That was mostly in the past when I worked as a product developer.

I am just an end user for Microsoft Project, but our company is definitely a partner with Microsoft.

I would rate my overall experience with Microsoft Project as nine.

I would prefer to remain anonymous, so I won't share much because I'm not sure whether my organization allows me to share such feedback.

We use Microsoft Project to track our delivery projects and our internal projects.

Microsoft Project helps us allocate resources and track the time spent on projects.

The timeline feature is very good. The resource allocation features, which help allocate resources to tasks, are also quite valuable. Although I don't use the financial features, the ability to track man-hours or man-days for tasks is very beneficial.

The online version of Microsoft Project lacks some functionality compared to the on-premises version. For example, many people need read-only access, but it's uncertain whether this functionality is available in the online version. Improvements could be made to mirror the full functionality available in the on-premises version.

I have been using Microsoft Project for around ten years.

I have not encountered any issues with stability. The product is very stable.

I would rate scalability an eight out of ten. The main issue is the difference between the online and on-premises versions, which can cause some complexities.

Customer service and support can be time-consuming. It's challenging to reach the right person for specific issues, often taking days or weeks. I would rate it seven out of ten due to the difficulty in reaching the appropriate support level.

Neutral

Many people use Microsoft products because they are easy to procure, compatible with the Microsoft ecosystem, and widely used. While other software like Primavera might be better for some uses, Microsoft Project is sufficient for general use.

The online version requires no setup; you just start new projects. The on-premises version requires installation and is more challenging in terms of data sharing.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

I use the solution in my company for our one project involving some product implementation, so it was used from the project's first meeting to the delivery phase.

Tracking timeline, resource allocation, and monitoring are areas of concern for the tool where improvements are required. Improvement in tracking timelines, resource allocation, and monitoring can help our company check whether each and every activity related to a project is completed or not. If the company notices any issues in the timeline, then we can reassign such tasks. The product should allow our company to collaborate with Microsoft Teams so that our company can complete a project within the set timeline.

I have been using Microsoft Project for 3 years.

The product offers good stability. Microsoft products usually offer a certain level of stability to users.

It is a scalable solution.

My company has three users of the product.

As of now, there are only three users of the product if I consider the project my company has been handling.

In the past, my company used to use Microsoft Excel to track some project-related activities.

The product's initial setup phase is easy.

The deployment is not at all complicated since our company only had to download the product from the solution's official website, after which we enabled the licenses to use it.

The product helps its users save the time attached to the manpower required. In the product, users can fix the delivery time and fulfill their project-related commitments to their customers.

The product is not expensive. My company has opted for an annual subscription.

Microsoft Project's integration with the overall project management processes in our company has been possible through Microsoft Teams which was used for meetings and it was also used to assign and set goals, priorities and timeline.

While handling the project in the company, Microsoft Project improved team collaboration since the tool could provide reminders based on the timeline. The tool helps to keep a check on whether the teams in our company are going through their daily work and completing the project within the committed time as per the schedule.

The most beneficial part of the product in terms of tracking project progress stems from the fact that it provides users the ability to easily track each and every activity concerning the project.

Speaking about the impact of resource management features in project planning, I would say that in the beginning of the project itself, my company had allocated the resources and had set the goals along with the timeline. With the tool, it is easy to monitor the daily activities of the project.

Speaking about how the reporting functionality in the product helped me with the decision-making part, I see that the product allowed me to collaborate with Microsoft Teams.

I recommend the product to others who plan to use it since it allows its users to easily handle projects, allocate resources, fix the timeline, and track and monitor the progress of the projects. It also helps its users to assign tasks to others.

I have not faced any challenges with the product's scalability and integration capabilities.

I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

I use the product for Excel and other processes. 

We value all the features. Previously, we used Jenkins for similar purposes, but Microsoft Projects works fine. We're looking to improve integration with different clusters on production and automate various aspects of software development. This includes integration for alerting, monitoring, and pricing purposes, among other things.

The tool's deployment is complex. Integration and automation also need to be improved. 

I have been using the product for ten years. 

We're exploring various options to improve stability. Currently, it's a bit tricky, but we're working on making it more stable.

We're making every effort to enhance scalability according to our business requirements. My company has 5000 users for Microsoft Project. 

Our deployment process follows standard procedures, often dictated by project requirements. We allocate two personnel for installation and project requirements. Currently, we have nine to ten projects.

We use Microsoft Teams for business communication and file sharing. We've also integrated Microsoft Teams with Grafana for on-call support and Jira. In our project work, we utilize Jira, while for resource management, we rely on Salesforce. I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten.

Occasionally, we have encountered issues that would require us to restart the solution. I recommend getting familiar with the documentation and thoroughly testing the product. Additionally, it's essential to connect with different stakeholders to address any issues.