WHAT A GREAT DAY!

I made a contribution to Edward Tufte's Web Site!

May not be a big deal, and I'm sure they would take anyone's scribblings...but THEY TOOK MINE!

Here it is - I know as soon as they re-read it, it'll be removed:
Interesting reading, especially in that we all seem to have the same issues, etc. in easily representing various levels of project management information. I think the general sense is that MS Project does not fit the bill and Gantt charts in general display to little info for the space they consume (which is unfortunate since PM and Gantt charts are often seen as the same thing).

The downside to wall charts and any printed information is that, as soon as the project information is printed, it's dated/old and most likely out of date with what is actually going on. The need to have the chart/tool/etc. reflect future planning instead of past occurrence or set schedule (like a train schedule) is probably the biggest challenge in the design.

The tool I most heavily rely upon is MS Excel, I've created some simple spread sheets that show multi-level information by Project such as: Component/Area, Task/Function, Status, Health, Est/Act Start/End Dates, Ownership and a timeline. Here's the link: http://itprojectguide.com/downloads/files/PTimeLine_Example.xls It's a bit dated, but I think it provides a general idea. This provides for a high level that can be drilled down. It would be nice to have this DB driven so the rollup/drilldown could be automated based on entered info instead of the manual approach.

-Meade