The PMI PMBOK lists dozens of Tools and Techniques in their ITTO list including Expert Judgement, Data Gathering, meetings and the list goes on and on. I am not saying these Tools and Techniques are not important, because they are important, and they provide a path to navigate through the mountains of data and information required to manage a project.
But for me however, I have another set of needs that are even more basic than the PMBOK list of ITTOs.
Here are my top 5 project management tools:
A Good Set of Project Management Templates That Include Standardized Reports
These document and report templates provide a readily available toolkit from where I can easily build the project documentation as I move through the various project phases. All I need to do is grab a document template and fill in the blanks. It’s a lot easier than starting from scratch every time I need to start a new document or write a new report.
Checklists
I’m busy like a juggler with many things happening at the same time. Checklists or punch lists have saved my bacon more than once when I have overlooked or forgotten a critical item or step.
A Well-defined Scope and Complete WBS
You would not be able to control a project with all the tools in the world without a well-defined project scope and the associated work breakdown. The scope statement and WBS are essential to managing any project.
MS Project
The toolkit provided in MS Project is simply incredible and makes scheduling and task tracking a breeze. I know instantly when a task is late and can see how it impacts other tasks around it and the overall schedule.
MS Office including Word, Excel, Outlook, Visio, and PowerPoint
It would be almost impossible to perform my work as a project manager without the integrated applications provided by MS Office. Outlook is the first program I open in the mornings and the last one I close in the evening. Word and Excel are always open as I bounce between the various applications throughout the day. PowerPoint makes preparing for a meeting easy, and Visio enables me to do my own graphics.