Project Management & Information Technology: Cost Management Software

✅ Paper Type: Free Essay	✅ Subject: Information Technology
✅ Wordcount: 2448 words	✅ Published: 8th Feb 2020

Reference this

Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit LinkedIn WhatsApp

Executive Summary

IT project management involves a organized approach to planning, leading, and controlling information technology projects. There are various types of IT projects that an organization could undertake, including Data management, Hardware installations (e.g., servers, desktop computers, or telephony systems), Software development and implementation, Network system upgrades.

Project management industry is the core business function for any of the organization. Successful completion of the project depends on better project management techniques, planning, and software. It possesses software development, testing, computing, network upgrades, hardware installations, and virtualization rollouts, business analytics and data management projects and implementing IT services.

Aim

The aim of this research work is to critically examine the cost management software for managing costs in the industries. This research is also aimed to recommend the best cost management software based on the effectiveness of the selected software.

Introduction

Cost management is recent years become a main part for any project to start. cost management software are reviewed cross referencing the different software which provides decent amount of efficiency to the project. Cost Management is a process of involving wide range of activities to measure cost and productivity. The main components involve:

Planning
Cost Estimating
Budgeting
Cost Control

Effective Cost Management software requires to use the standardized processes and sustainable cost management software in the industry i.e., to ensure an accurate and most reliable insight to the process in the project. For estimating project cost, it is required to consider –

Size of software
Software quality
Hardware
Additional software or tools, licenses etc.
Skilled personnel with task-specific skills
Travel involved
Communication
Training and support

Significance

This research work will provide a good insight to the different cost management software that are currently used for both enterprise and small businesses. It also helps to understand best cost management software for managing the cost that is processed for a project.

Listing and describe the available software’s

Cost control software is an amazing thing. Many cost control management groups combat for software that can manage the reporting and data management demands. Unluckily, most are still using accounting software. In recent times most of the softwares developed by the IT companies developing the project management software’s increases. However major players like PRISM, Hexagon EcoSys,JIRA by Atlassian, Wipro, Hexagon, Sin naps, Cleopatra Enterprise, Hub staff, Trigger, Time Camp, Harvest, Avazaetc. has a complete project management software where cost management is a factor that is included.

Software Selection

The critically reviewed software’s are

Oracle Cloud
Hexagon EcoSys
PRISM.

1. Oracle Cloud: Oracle Cloud is a matching set of management services that eradicate the human effort associated with traditional solutions for managing, monitoring and safeguarding applications and organization. Oracle Management Cloud influences machine learning and big data techniques against the full breadth of the operational data set to help customers drive innovation while removing cost and risk from operational processes

2. Hexagon EcoSys: EcoSys provides real-time access to data through automated interfaces. Utilize performance benchmark analysis based on all active and completed project. Standardize cost management processes across your enterprise.

3. PRISM: Prism is an enterprise project lifecycle management software solution designed to support the planning, execution, and completion of capital projects for dependable forecasts, cost control, and performance measurement

Critically Review:

The management software is required in almost every industry on top priorities and so there is three software called Oracle Cloud, Hexagon EcoSys, Prism could be the best. But all three have some extraordinary features and importance. All the selected software allows a project manager to successfully manage the targeted with the development of specific communication channel and strategies to keep their objectives on top priorities. Oracle Cloud software set to help customer’s desire innovation and minimize cost and risk. With Orcacle cloud software clint receive a discount by committing to a minimum one-year and $1000 USD monthly credit, Usage is consumed from your monthly prepaid commitment .Any overage is charged at the same discounted rate,Any unused amounts cannot be rolled over to the next month Hexagon EcoSys ensuring safe and efficient operation throughtout the entire life cycle. With ARES PRISM Cost Management software, integrating project schedules and cost estimates to develop time-phased budgets and forecasts, and measuring project performance and productivity using cost, hour, and quantity control elements has never been easier. Our Cost Management module supports all required processes including: budgeting, resource planning, time-phasing, progress and performance measurement, earned value management, cost and schedule analysis, risk tracking, funds allocation, forecasting and reporting

Identify and set Criteria for Costing:

There are two main purposes:

To check whether the project is good, justifiable and feasible by figuring out if its benefits outweigh costs.
To check a baseline for relating projects by defining which project’s aids are greater than its costs.

Other Aspects are:

Time management:

Without adding the labor cost to increase they productivity value of the time is must.It plays a key role to make the employees or software’s to function according to time and how efficiently must work done with in time span

Inventory management:

One of the major cost as well as ways of generating revenues is through inventories. First and foremost one needs to chalk out the inventory requirements, the quantity check that needs to be stored, vendor costs etc as all of this helps in knowing the requirements of the business and helps avoid stocking excess inventory and deploy the capital elsewhere rather than tying up in the inventory stocks.

Updated market sense:

It is very important to updated with the latest trends in the markets. New software’s must be introduced in the company based on the requirement of the vendor and must keep vendor to renewal the project regularly. This will help in negotiating for the best prices available rather than dragging on the set prices of long term contracts.

Control of headcount:

It is very important to reduce the employee costs by replacing with new software’s available in the market. As employee is the backbone of a firm, but the cost on them will be high as regular pays and salaries. softwares are the additional costs added per employee. By taking more of low cost employees rather than few high costs ones is essential.

Find Out How UKEssays.com Can Help You!

Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs.

View our services

Discussion on Weighting for each criterion

To complete any of the cost management activities it is very important to understand the scope and purpose of the engagement with a diverse range of opportunities. It is also important to identify the sufficient amount of credible information and decision making information to create communication understandings with the team and their responsibilities. Influence a criterion also has its own importance on creating policies and identification of how a participant can get involved in the project. In the end, capacity defines the barrier of breaking strategies for the software of cost management allow to fractionate the problem and provide confidence people for higher involvement in the project (Emeraldinsight.com, 2019).

Set up Evaluation Matrix

Figure: Evaluation Matrix

Justification of weighting criteria for each software

By creating an evaluation matrix for the selected software it is cleared that oracle cloud is best suitable cost management software for any of the project. The criterion which is mentioned in the above matrix is taken from core business functions of all three cost management software and these criteria cover all point of view managers to manage during the project management. There is no any certain type of requirement in the industry so there should all the above mention point should be fulfilled by the selected software to effectively complete the first and major part of the project management.

Discussion on the results

To make a successful evaluation all three type of software considered and focused on their core business functions. By making a comparison on their core business functions including price grading for the software has been decided. It is clearly seen that the oracle cloud fulfill the maximum type of requirement that could be raised by a project manager during the management of cost. Based on the evaluation, it is found that oracle cloud is the first choice which lies in grading excellent, ecosys lies in better grading range and prism lies within a good range. So, the selection of oracle cloud would be the best for the project managers.

Discussion of Problems and Pitfalls

In order to complete the assessment, an individual requires great proficiency in stakeholder management and skills to make analysis over the requirement. In addition, it is very difficult to identify a topic which could make a great impact on the whole project management task in an organization but with the help of peers and tutors, it is possible to select the best area of project management that taught me lots of things about software availability and core business function for stakeholder management (Medium, 2019).

Recommendation

Based on findings and evaluation matrix that is done on three types of software, it is recommended to go through the oracle cloud. Because it has great flexibility and capability to handle any type of cost management plan and effectively accomplish the requirement in a project to deliver the best optimal project. An individual can also go through their budget and requirement like ecosys and others.