Organize People, Places, and Things

Filebox
Microsoft Team
Manager 97

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VERDICT: A hassle-free way to manage projects of any size.

Pros: Integrates with existing e-mail systems; easy to learn; automatically generates status reports; interface is consistent with Microsoft Office 97.

Cons: No Internet smarts; the team file can't be secured beyond password protection.

Competition: Scitor's Project Schedule 7 is better suited for rigid projects--those with clear start and finish dates. Avantos Performance Systems' ManagePro provides more detailed employee-management options.

System Requirements: Windows 95 or NT 3.51, 486 CPU, 16MB of RAM, 16MB of hard disk space.


$469 for five users, $109 for each additional user, est. street prices
Microsoft Corp.,
(800) 426-9400, (206) 882-8080

Reader Service No. 643

Managing large-scale projects solo can make your hair turn gray overnight. But if you use the proper schedule- and team-management software--like Microsoft Team Manager 97--you can master a team and a project without losing any sleep. Rather than relying on a team leader to maintain project updates and status changes, Team Manager 97 empowers team members to directly manipulate a project's schedule. Team Manager uses a client-server­based design, so it lets everyone deal with the busywork, leaving you time for the more important tasks.

Due Dates Team Manager 97 uses a smart algorithm to determine how long a task will take based on the information you feed it (such as deadlines and priority levels). Theoretically this could produce larger margins of error, but in practice it works better than precision estimates and linear task listings.

When it's time to create status reports, Team Manager 97 accepts electronic comments from team members. It then automatically consolidates the notes into a finished status report--usually without requiring manager intervention.

Team Manager 97 also makes coordinating and reporting team activity easy by using a central database containing information on the status of a given task.

Much of Team Manager 97's collaborative features revolve around e-mail, encouraging communication between team members and managers. When new tasks are assigned, team members have the option of negotiating deadlines, deferring the assignment, or accepting the assignment via e-mail. Status updates are also sent as e-mail messages, which the program filters into a report. We were particularly impressed with how well Team Manager 97 integrates with the task-management features in Microsoft Outlook.

Network Know-how But while Team Manager 97 works hand in hand with existing e-mail and groupware systems (including Microsoft Exchange Server and Lotus cc:Mail and Notes), it also runs on networks without internal e-mail. By using shared directories, you can send updates to other team members on the network. When a team member connects to the directory, the updates appear in a message dialog box. This flexibility makes Team Manager 97 a perfect fit for both large corporations and small businesses.

One weak feature in Team Manager 97 is its Internet support. In an ideal world, managers would be able to set up a Web server with status information for each team member. But for now, exporting Team Manager 97 data to an intranet has to be done manually.

When you consider its power and flexibility, Team Manager 97 is well worth the price. By integrating with applications like Microsoft Outlook, Team Manager 97 preserves your investment in other scheduling programs while adding new power and organization. With its simple interface and powerful reporting functions, team management doesn't get any easier than this. by Jonathan J. Chau