Advantages of MS Excel over MS Project in Project management?

[nichya88]

Hi all,

Anybody know about advantages of MS Excel over MS Project in Project management? I didn't use both frequently but I have a small project and want to evaluate these tools.

Thank for any help.

 

[Smitty]

It really depends on the complexity of your task. You can build a spreadsheet that will look similar to Project, but won't have nearly the level of detail. And Project can capture elements of just about every aspect of a project and tie metrics to it, like hours devoted, cost, etc. It can also generate some detailed reporting.

There really is no comparison, as Project is a very powerful tool. I believe you can get a 60-day demo of Project, so give it a shot. Note that for collaborating it may not be ideal as each user will need a copy and it is fairly expensive, whereas most people have Excel.

On the flip side, it really is designed for in depth projects and lends itself to professional project management. If you're working on a small project that doesn't have a great deal of elements or complexity it may be too much.

I've been impressed with Project, but found it to be far more than we need, and I run a manufacturing plant. Now for the larger contractors who buy from us, it is ideal for managing their building projects.

Hope that helps,

 

[nichya88]

Thank Smitty, your idea is very useful for me. Do you think that with a small project, and with some free template, I can manage resources, cost, schedule and timely keep track of this project?

 

[Smitty]

I would imagine so. I recently created a few Gantt chart management tools for our sales/manufacturing/delivery pipeline and it works pretty well. It's nowhere near as robust as it could be in Project, but for what we're doing it's just fine. If you want you can PM me your e-mail address and I'll send them to you.

Here are a couple of Excel Project Management template links:

http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/excel-project-management.html

(The Vertex one is very similar to the one I created).

http://www.business-spreadsheets.com/projman.htm

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT012261931033.aspx

 

[nichya88]

I'm testing these template now. My email is Removed e-mail address. Thank again, Smitty

 

[WaxonWaxov]

I eould say the obvious advantage of Excel over Project is that more people are framilliar with Excel.

 

[SydneyGeek]

Yep. But if you need the detail that Project offers, using Excel becomes a liability.
As Smitty said it will depend on the complexity of the tracking requirements.

Denis

 

[biislop]

I accept with information:On the flip side, it really is designed for in depth projects and lends itself to professional project management.