Tools and Technology
❦
Planning and Scheduling Tools
| Tool type | Examples | Use |
| Spreadsheets | Excel, Google Sheets | Budgets, risk registers, simple Gantt charts, EVM |
| Scheduling software | Microsoft Project, GanttProject, ProjectLibre | Critical path, resource leveling |
| Task boards | Trello, Asana, Jira, Notion | Kanban boards, backlogs, sprints |
| Collaboration | Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Workspace | Meetings, shared documents, chat |
| Version control | Git with GitHub or GitLab | Code, text, and data versions |
| Writing and references | Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, Overleaf | Citations and technical writing |
| Data and analysis | R, Python, SPSS, Stata, MATLAB | Analysis and visualization |
Choose the simplest tool that does the job. A spreadsheet and a calendar are enough for many student projects, and a complicated tool you do not use is worse than a simple one that you do.
Setting Up a Simple Project System
1. A single folder structure with clear names.
2. A one-page charter and a WBS.
3. A schedule or board that you update weekly.
4. A risk register and a change log.
5. A meeting log.
6. Backups and version control.
Artificial Intelligence in Project Management
The PMBOK Guide's eighth edition gives new emphasis to artificial intelligence (Project Management Knowledge, n.d.). AI tools can help draft plans, summarize literature or meeting notes, suggest risks, estimate effort from past data, and generate code. They also carry risks: errors and invented facts, bias, privacy problems, and over-reliance.
Good practice for students:
Follow your institution's AI policy. Most universities permit some uses but require disclosure and human accountability (Thesify, 2026).
Disclose which tools you used, and for what.
Never enter confidential, participant, or unpublished data into a tool unless your approvals allow it.
Verify every fact, reference, calculation, and line of code.
Keep ownership of your decisions, designs, and arguments.
Dashboards and Visual Management
A simple dashboard, with milestones, a burn-up chart, the top risks, and decisions needed, helps you and your supervisor see where things stand at a glance. Visual management reduces the need for long reports.
Digital Hygiene
Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication, keep software updated, store sensitive data in approved systems, and avoid sending personal data over unsecured channels.
CHAPTER 21