Welcome to the project homepage of Project-Monitoring-Tool (PM-Tool). PM-Tool is a free software. Its main goal is to automate the project monitoring process. It might be useful for project management of larger projects as well as for time management of one-person projects.

Monitoring in Project Management

A classical project development includes normally following major stages*:

1. Initiation

2. Planning

3. Production (Execution)

4. Monitoring and controlling

5. Closing

The most common Project Management Software Tools basically automate the planning stage only. PM-Tool starts where they stop and helps to monitor the project. Both stages (Planing and Monitoring) are very important for the project management and complement one another.

PM-Tool (Project Monitoring Tool) is a free software which extends the capabilities of common Planning Software. The project management process with PM-Tool could look as following:

1. The project manager creates project plans and assign the tasks to team members using common Planning Software (e.g. Microsoft Project).

2. Using the PM-Tool he (project manager) communicates project plans and distribute task assignments to team members (the project plan can be stored on a Server which can be accessed by the team members using PM-Tool).

3. The team members can now communicate project status and possible changes (each member for tasks assigned to him) in order to keep the project manager and other team members up to date. To have such feedback is important to be able to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with the project management plan.

   A good Project Management is about providing the tools and techniques that enable the project team (not just the project manager) to organize their work in order to achieve project objectives. That's why it is important to have beneath a planing software a project monitoring tool, providing current project status.

The most famous software tool, which allows project monitoring is MS Project Server. PM-Tool is not as featured as MS Project Server, but it is also much less expensive - it is free. Therefore PM-Tool is a pretty good Solution for project groups with 3-10 members. Project-Monitoring-Tool is a work in progress, therefore before you download and use it, please read more about its current status.

* Some parts of text about project management and the picture are from Wikipedia.