Project Management Tools: Sinnap Software Application Analysis Report

This report provides an in-depth analysis of project management tools and techniques, specifically focusing on the application of Sinnap software. The report begins with an introduction to the importance of management tools in streamlining project activities and optimizing resource utilization. It then delves into the practical application of Gantt charts, highlighting their role in planning project timelines and resource allocation. The report also explores the Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) and its function in time management, including how Sinnap uses PERT to calculate activity durations and project timelines. Furthermore, the report examines the Critical Path Method (CPM) and its use in identifying critical tasks and dependencies within a project. The author shares real-world experiences, emphasizing the significance of these tools in enhancing project efficiency and stakeholder understanding. The report concludes with a discussion on the value of such experiences in acquiring essential project management skills.

Running Head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS 1
Student’s Name
Institutional affiliation
Professor
Date

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Introduction
Management tools and techniques are a crucial variable in project management. They help
simplify the management of project activities and improve the efficiency of activity completion
and utilization of resources allocated. Management software, project managers and other project
management apparels entail tools with different arrays of useful apparatus that effectively help
the project to save on cost and activity completion time. In my real world of project experience, I
utilized Sinnap as a tool to simply the operations. The software majorly consists of Kanban,
PERT, Gantt-chart, and CPM. This paper will critically elucidate on the application of Sinnap as
a project management tool that optimizes project operations.
Gantt-chart
In the project management field, there are many management tools that can be employed to
enable the optimization of various project process, (Kerzner, (2017). One of the basic and
commonly used tools is Gantt-chart. It is majorly used in planning project activities towards
completion while determining the amount of time and the level of resources required to complete
the activities. The Sinnap software, which the company I was interning at, utilizes the traditional
adapted version of the Gantt-chart. The version seemed more modern with a very simple and
easy to interface of the tool being utilized to rhyme with the other management tools being used.
The Sinnap Gantt-chart easily helped the company in the projection of the project’s path to
completion.
Incorporation of Gantt-chart with other tools such as CPM and PERT, the calculations in Sinnap
were automated in line with the activity decencies, time duration, project milestones, and dates.
With the introduction of any change to the project, or a variable is added, Gantt-chart updates
automatically to in cooperate the new variable added. This update is notified to all project

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stakeholders who will access its dashboard. Generally, this Gantt-chart allowed a deep
understanding of the project by the company personnel and other stakeholders. This increased
the company’s efficiency and greatly impacted on optimal utilization of the available resources.
Program Evaluation Revie Technique (PERT)
PERT is a project management tool that is used in monitoring time. In any project, time is one of
the resources that are of value and should be highly utilized. PERT is used in the calculation of
the realistic time an activity requires to be completed. In Sinnap software, PERT was also used to
determine the duration of a single activity as well as the total time the whole project will take.
This created better coordination of individuals and the organization became more effective in
managing the project.

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PERT and project Critical Path are more similar to each other. They are both utilized in the
visualization of the project timelines. However, PERT allows the organization in the creation of
three project time estimates. These estimates include:
 Shorty time an activity will take
 Probable amount of time
 Longest time duration of an activity if things did not go to plan
The company calculated its PERT backward since the project completion date could not be
moved. Sinnap software included the use of PERT so as to help the project managers to
interrelate various project activities based on the available resources. greater use of the PERT
technique came to the fore when the company managed a complex and megaproject whose
activities depended on the completion of one another, (Meredith, Mantel Jr, & Shafer, 2017).
The company was able to clearly visualize the tasks in the project and every single
interdependency that existed between these tasks.

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Critical Path Method (CPM)
The sinnap’s Gantt-chart is the updated version of the traditionally used Gantt-chart. It is modern
in such a way that it includes a critical path in its projections. When activities are arranged in a
vertical order in the Gantt-chart, a definition of a criticality of a task is obtained. CPM tool was
used to enable the project teams to determine the criticality of an activity by seeing the height it
is located at. In order to accurately calculate the critical path of the activity using Sinnap, the
company used activity duration, date constraints and activities dependencies as variables.
Projects have certain tasks and activities that are deemed vital to its completion. CPM was used
to allow the organization to identify that it will have a considerable amount of impact on the
critical path of the project, (Carstens, Richardson, & Smith, 2016). This will translate to a
smaller amount of float to the organization. The company used CPM as a means to improve the
overall running of the project.

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The utilization of project management tools and techniques is an important exposure to the
career of a student. My experience in this company was vital to my acquisition of knowledge and
skills necessary to run Sinnap software and the various management tools therein.

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References
Carstens, D. S., Richardson, G., & Smith, R. B. (2016). Project management tools and
techniques: A practical guide. CRC Press.
Kerzner, H. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Meredith, J. R., Mantel Jr, S. J., & Shafer, S. M. (2017). Project management: a managerial
approach. John Wiley & Sons.