AVO Chief

One of the main things I like about Central Desktop is its ease of use and its ability to help me manage simple projects.  Its features make it pretty easy to start a project and keep track of milestones, tasks and related documents.  But what do you do when one project becomes more or if you start off by having to manage upwards of 10 or 20 projects? Will Central Desktop easily be able to track multiple projects, prioritize  and allow alignment of projects to business goals?

The answer I think is that right now though you might be able to do it, it wouldn’t be an elegant or user-friendly solution.  That is why I would suggest that Central Desktop create at least some lite Project Portfolio Management features.

The key ones would be as follows:

• Include a PPM Dashboard that lists all the current projects (10+) and their status (green, yellow, red).
• Either include in the product roadmap development of more advanced features or integration with other higher end PPMs like AtTask (an OpenView Ventures Partner).
• According to Gartner customers are looking for strong program management and portfolio management analysis but need it to be done on a budget due to the economy.
• The customer is also looking for flexibility in their solutions along with overall ease of use.
• Customers are also looking for a solution that can be deployed economically even in the thousands.
• Another key feature would need to be the ability to build from the top down not just from the task level (i.e. Project/Subproject ability). For example, during a project the team realizes that the current project would require a change to a core IT asset. Since there would be other department resources that would be consumed, there would need to be a sub-project initiated and linked to the main project.

I am sure this list only touches the surface but if Central Desktop could add key PPM features along with integration to a higher end PPM or at least a roadmap to higher end features that would meet many PPM customers needs and possibly mean opening up the way for many more customers that previously might have passed on Central Desktop.

Written by AVO Chief

Efren Duarte is Director of Products & Services and AVO Chief (Strategist/Evangelist) at Avocera Products & Services Consulting and principal of the AVMI Group, a market research based venture management firm. The AVO Chief provides 2-Week Money Back Guarantee Product Marketing/Management Services Trial for qualified Startups and SMBs with growth potential. Inquire at avochief@ymail.com for more details.

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