Project management software: free vs. paid tools

 To take a popular proverb and completely misquote it, “the path to hell is paved with poorly managed projects".Misquote or not, there are tons of failed products out there. Anyone remember the Microsoft Zune?

Microsoft’s response to the iPod failed to capture even 10% of the MP3 player market share, and according to Tony what jobs can you get with a computer science degree, President of Yeti LLC, this was largely down to poor project management.

In an interview, he said that it was clear Microsoft did not do enough research or prototyping [when developing the Zune], stating: “If it had, Microsoft would have learned prior to release that consumers didn’t truly value Zune’s features.”

A similar story can be told of the Virtual Boy, Nintendo’s worst-selling console of all time. There are many reasons attributed to the failure of this product, including a high price, poor display, lack of portability, and even health concerns. 

When projects are managed effectively, issues like this can be captured and resolved before they ever cause any real problems for the business. And with lots of different project management tools out there - one to suit everyone and anyone - there’s really no excuse for poorly managed projects anymore.