CIS 409 Technical Paper Project Planning Group Policy Software Deployments and GPOs. Visio, MS Project, or one of their equivalents such as Open. The Visio Work Breakdown Structure Modeler 2.0 (WBS Modeler) is intended to improve the project planning process by giving the opportunity to generate Project Plans from a work breakdown structure using a graphical representation of elements.
It is always easier to plan and remember information that is represented as a diagram. Most of you must have used diagrams like flow charts, mock charts, maps, floor layouts, work flow charts and network plans etc. All these are the diagrammatic representation of data and processes that we develop in our mind. In olden days, these diagrams used to be created on paper. But now, in the digital age, we have computer software that enable us to swiftly create neat diagrams. Is the leading diagramming software. There is no doubt about the power of Visio but this capability comes at a big price.
An hefty price tag makes Visio suitable only for big businesses. Small teams and individual users often look for free diagramming software or for software that are less expensive. Some great replacements of Microsoft Visio.
In this article, I will tell you about some really good alternatives of Microsoft Visio. But first let’s try to understand why we need a replacement for Microsoft Visio? Well, the simple answer is that no version of Visio is available for less than US $300. If your budget is not matching this figure, you would certainly want to have a cheaper but powerful enough diagramming solution. I will begin with some handy free diagram and drawing software tools. These tools will come handy if you quickly need to put a diagram together for your project.
Dia: Download Free Diagram and Drawing Software If you’re not a web person or if Internet is not always available to you, then how about having a FREE software that works like Microsoft Visio? Would you be interested? I bet you would be! Dia is an open source software that you can download in your computer and use it to make drawings and diagrams without requiring. You would need net connection only once to. Dia is a perfect choice for those who don’t want to spend money on Microsoft product.
The interface and facilities of Dia are pretty much similar to Visio. It is available not only for Windows, but also for Mac and Linux operating system. Pencil Project is yet another GUI prototyping software and it also supports diagrams and drawings. Like Dia, the Pencil Project is also open source. This software allows you to easily create Graphic User Interface for desktop applications as well Android and iOS based mobile apps.
Pencil Project provides GUI components like buttons, borders, fonts etc. You can use them to visualize how your app should look. Once this prototyping is done and final, you can begin the coding process. Pencil Project also supports diagramming.
It provides a collection of all kinds of shapes to make diagrams. You can export finished diagrams into XML, webpage, PDF or SVG formats. The software is also integrated with the so that you can easily search and download various cliparts. Simple drag and drop operation is required to add various shapes, connectors and cliparts on your canvas.
With OpenOffice Draw you can create sketches, layouts, diagrams and drawings. OpenOffice Draw doesn’t bind you to itself. You can not open a Visio file in any other software, but if you save your diagram as an OpenOffice document —which is a standard in industry —you can easily use other software to open and edit the file create by OpenOffice. The only condition is that the software should be compliant with the OpenOffice standard. Download size of OpenOffice: 150 MB Price of OpenOffice: FREE. Graphic User Interface of LibreOffice Draw.
Features and interface of LibreOffice Draw are same as that of OpenOffice Draw. Download size of LibreOffice: 210MB Price of LibreOffice: FREE These are the online and offline free diagramming and visualization software that you can rely upon when you need to draw any type of diagram.
These software work pretty well as the replacement of Microsoft Visio. If you have used any other free Microsoft Visio alternative, and found it to be really good, please let me know through comments.
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PlanBee Project Management Software Review I must admit I felt a bit confused when I first started up PlanBee. I had never used a Project Management tool before, and the idea seemed a little intimidating.
I don't have a lot of patience to begin with, so my usual way of doing things is to glance over the instructions, then dive right into it. As it turns out, this worked well with PlanBee. Considering the complexity of the task, PlanBee was, in general, surprisingly easy to learn. I was able to plan a basic project pretty quickly, but I did have some difficulty figuring out the more complex attributes of the software. I think this is because PlanBee does not operate quite the way you would expect with Windows. It doesn't pop up a new Window for every little operation.
This takes a little getting used to at first. The text is smaller than we are used to with most Windows applications. Rather than popping up new Windows, PlanBee makes extensive use of panels or frames within the main program window. Once you get used to it, though, PlanBee's setup does have some advantages. For one thing, too many open windows can be rather confusing. Some big commercial applications like Quickbooks handle every data operation in a new window. While many people use Quickbooks to great advantage, I find it a bit cumbersome and slow.
When you are forced to enter information into a new window that fills your whole screen before you can proceed, then you are actually forced into a very linear thought process. I would like to see the next version of PlanBee use new windows a bit more often, but you can see many more parts of the process by its use of the panels under the current design.
The strengths of PlanBee PlanBee is great because it forces you to look at the bigger picture. This is something I sometimes have a problem doing, and it's absolutely essential for success in business. I am often guilty of jumping into tasks without really thinking about the ultimate plan. Michael Gerber says, in his famous book, that most people who start businesses are technicians. They fail to plan, or envision their goals, as an entrepreneur must do.
And they fail to manage their goals effectively. PlanBee can definitely help you plan and manage your goals. When I have an idea for an essential large project now, I start up PlanBee and create a new project, filling in the details as more ideas come to me. Before these project ideas did not have a home on my computer. Sure, I could make a quick note somewhere, but that's kind of like writing something on a bit of scrap paper in your office.
Eventually these scraps of paper pile up and get thrown away. PlanBee helps keep my project ideas safe. PlanBee creates Gantt charts.
This is really a very satisfying way to look at a project schedule, with estimated completion dates of overlapping tasks. Rockefeller is said to have used this basic idea to build Standard Oil: ' Everything that is watched improves.' How often are we guilty of going about our daily business mindlessly without goals, guides or other progress indicators? The Great Experiment As a kind of test, I used PlanBee to set up some projects that I have been stalling on for quite some time. I tried to compare my progress over a one week period to the previous week when I was flying blind. Of course, the final results of my projects won't be seen for months, but I did notice a definite difference by using PlanBee.
I could refer to the charts, and reexamine my project goals any time I wanted to. I could quickly start up a new plan when I had an idea. This gave me a feeling for whether or not I was getting in over my head with too many projects.
PlanBee gave me a feeling of accomplishment, as I did actually perform the work on schedule, and could see progress toward my goals. How PlanBee Works It's pretty simple to get started with PlanBee. Just start up a new project, and list your tasks. Use the down arrow to enter a new task.
Enter an estimate for the duration of the task. Then choose a precedent for the task, if necessary. This means some other task from your list that must be accomplished before you can start your new task. Assign resources to your task.
This one got me at first. With PlanBee, you have to watch for little buttons and panels that pop up on the screen. But once you get used to it, it's a piece of cake. You can rearrange your tasks as you plan, and reassigning precedents, duration, criticality or resources is a snap too. Your projects can be based on either workdays or calendar days. If you use workdays, then PlanBee sets your schedule around weekends or holidays.
You can adjust the calendar for your own particular schedule. Personally, I usually work weekends, so I used calendar days. If I have a holiday or vacation, then I simply add it into the project schedule.
PlanBee's Charts I really like the Gannt charts. Some people prefer PERT format, and PlanBee can produce PERT charts too. Other software to produce these kinds of charts costs hundreds of dollars, so PlanBee is definitely a money-saver. You can resize the charts, copy them to the clipboard or print them out. An Example As an example of a project I set up using PlanBee, I offer my plan to redesign some websites. Here is a link to the Gannt chart for the work I have planned: In conclusion, PlanBee is a great alternative to some other costly and cumbersome project management software on the market today. PlanBee performs flawlessly, and PlanBee's purchase price makes it affordable enough to use for small business or even personal use.
But PlanBee is also adaptable enough to manage even large corporate projects. Thanks, Guy Software, for creating PlanBee! Kathy Salisbury The Great Mind Review Team Great Mind Software More Reviews.