Microsoft Project Review: Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

Microsoft Project for the web is the company’s latest cloud-based project management offering. Built on the Power Platform, it focuses on providing capabilities that meet the changing needs of work management.

Microsoft also offers Project Online and Project Online desktop client in addition to Project for the web. Instead of rebuilding feature by feature, Project for the web will provide features based on customer usage and feedback to make sure it meets real customer needs. Microsoft states that there is no date set to limit the functionality of Project Online, but it encourages customers to plan the transition as soon as possible.

Microsoft Project Features, Benefits, and Strengths

Project, task, and time management

Microsoft Project for the web offers several work views. It has a grid view to plan and manage projects with a hierarchical grid view of tasks, a timeline view or Gantt chart to visually track project dates, dependencies, and assignments in a timeline view, and a board view with out-of-the -box and custom task boards for visually tracking project tasks, workflow, and statuses. Users can set dependencies between tasks and establish important milestones for effective tracking. Project Home allows users to track and manage deliverables using start and end dates and automated scheduling, while task scheduling provides a bird’s-eye view of projects. Users can plan, manage, and track deliverables and phases by using summary tasks. They can also add and use local custom fields to tasks in a project.

Collaboration and resource management

Project for the web users can collaborate by using Microsoft Teams with its integration. Coauthoring features allow stakeholders and team members to simultaneously build, edit, and update task lists and project schedules. Project managers can set up and manage a project team easily by adding and removing members and setting the working calendar. Higher plans let users build visual interactive roadmaps across projects.

Reporting, mobility, customization, integration, and more

Microsoft Project for the web stores its data in Microsoft Dataverse. Users can read and create reports from its data using ready-to-use or custom Power BI reports, dashboards, and portals. Graphical indicators provide a more visual way to understand tasks status and assignments, among others. Users can build custom mobile project applications using PowerApps. Project for the web has out-of-the-box apps to view a project, create a new project, add new, or edit existing project data. They can also customize views and forms and use custom columns. Connect with third-party apps to view, create, update, or delete project data.

Microsoft Project Plans and Pricing

Microsoft Project offers several plans for different needs. Plan 1 at $10 per user per month offers simple visual tools for quickly managing projects and teams. Features include multiple views, smart scheduling, visualized timelines, and Microsoft Teams integration for collaboration. Plan 3 at $30 per user per month includes project management and publishing tools such as pre-built templates from within Project or Office.com, roadmaps for visualizing progress across projects, baselines for tracking and comparing actual progress to the original plan, and reports and customizations. Plan 5 at $55 per user per month includes all features from lower plans plus demand management, enterprise resource management, and portfolio analysis and optimization. Plans 3 and 5 include Project for the web, Project Online, and Project Online desktop client. On-premise Microsoft Project 2019 versions are also available.

Social Network Presence

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Microsoft Project Target Market

Microsoft Project for the web is ideal for users who need new features, easy usage, and groups integration. Project teams and existing Microsoft 365 users involved in collaborative work management that plan simple rather than complex projects will best benefit from this new offering.

Supported Languages

Supports Arabic, Chinese (Simple, Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, and Spanish.

Some of their Clients

Clients include Aston Martin, ABANCA, Brookdale Senior Living Solutions, Capita, Devolo, e+CancerCare, Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing, Medipass, and Pegasus Airlines.

Microsoft Project Testimonials

Vit Lobpreis is the project manager of a European automative company that needed modern tools for an easier, centralized way to coordinate activities across the continent. After using Microsoft Project, he stated that management in their main Swedish headquarters is able to track the status of projects in every business unit now. They can start discussions and follow-up action as needed, streamlining all their project management processes. He added that the software has become a strategic corporate planning tool for the company.

Senior manager Nida Onay needed a project management solution to replace their company’s old siloed systems with a single application to streamline and optimize their project portfolio management. Since replacing the company’s disparate PM tools with Microsoft Project, the company saves time and builds a better picture of project status with more accurate and comprehensive data. She stated that their annual projected cost avoidance reached more than half a million dollars due to reduced timesheet entry hours and project portfolio status updates.

Why Microsoft Project?

Microsoft Project provides a solution that lets users start easily with simple-to-use software for all types and sizes of projects. With dynamic scheduling, project teams can stay on track effortlessly. Based on Power Platform instead of SharePoint, the new Project for the web provides users with improved vision and results through business intelligence. They can also build desktop or mobile experiences easily and securely. Integration with Teams support collaboration, allowing file sharing, chats, and meetings. Remote team members can update tasks simultaneously to complete work faster together.

Company Info

Microsoft Project is a product of Microsoft, a publicly traded multinational corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. Its headquarters is in Redmond, WA, USA. It created the Windows operating system, Office productivity software, and Internet Explorer browser. The company has also expanded into hardware products with its Xbox console and Surface tablets.

Featured Partners: Project Management Software