"Microsoft Project" Managers

Based on my empirical observations, Microsoft Project is probably the de-facto tool used by project managers in the software industry. I've never come across ONE project manager who uses another tool.

I don't have anything against Microsoft Project. It's probably a good tool and it looks cool. I've never used it though. I use Microsoft Excel, mainly because of an excellent article I read on scheduling at Joel On Software. Excel works just fine for me. And, I know it's just a tool.

Do you ever feel that project management now-a-days seems to be more about knowing how to use Microsoft Project rather than how to manage projects? You can teach people a project management tool in a few days, but you can't teach people project management skills in a few days. It takes a while longer than that.

But, I'll bet if you came across a project manager's resume and she didn't have MS-Project on there, you'd reject her, probably without an interview. What project manager does not use Microsoft Project? You're outta here!

Sorry, but that's just wrong. Project management is about knowing how to schedule, plan, and execute projects. It's about knowing how to manage people, not "resources". And it's definitely NOT about knowing how to use Microsoft Project, or any other tool for that matter.

Psst -- This blog entry happened because I was talking to Sandeep the other night, and I mentioned it to him and he said, You should blog this.