An expert project management assistant

Abstract

The paper discusses the management of large multi-layer projects and the need for computer assistance in the development of cohesive planning. Any system that purports to assist an experienced project manager, must itself contain embedded intelligence to be of any use. As projects are fragmented and subsequently abstracted back into the parent-project, limited recursive procedures must indicate the potential effect of the lower order plan and offer the responsible manager options and remediations before accepting changes. A sub-goal of the system is the preclusion of redundant task dependencies and the avoidance of inadvertent logic-loops. The system uses a consistent GUI (graphical user interface) and context-sensitive help and explanation procedures.