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SureTrack Project Manager for Windows is the "P3 Lite" of the legendary Primavera Project Planner by Primavera Systems, Inc. But don't be deceived by its apparent simplicity. As the step-child of P3, it has an awesome arsenal of P3-like features, including the capability of handling up to 10,000 activities, full critical path analysis, hammocking, 10-level outlining and 20-level work breakdown structure (WBS), combination durations, individual resource calendars, user-selectable automatic periodic save, over 42 predefined, but customizable, reports and layouts, e-mail-ready data transfer, OLE graphics, and open database connectivity (ODBC), to name just a few. The latter concept is the foundation of Primavera's concentric project management--true and full integration of project data using a master database for passing information between multiple applications. In the crowded field of midpriced scheduling software, SureTrack is a serious choice.
The software is contained on six 3-1/2" disks and takes about 15 minutes to load. I selected a custom installation, which takes a little longer, to conserve my dwindling hard disk space. This allowed me to deselect nonessential files such as some of the sample projects and clip art, which I knew I wouldn't be using for this review. The full installation requires about 16 MB of space, while the custom installation I did used slightly under 10 MB.
I found the user manual easy to read and very logical in its layout. It is sprinkled liberally with screen dumps and graphics that serve as simple examples. The organization of the manual, particularly the grouping of related topics, allows you to read about specific operations without having to master previous topics. For those with little or no project management experience, the manual also contains a section on the basic concepts and methodologies of project management. The quality of the manual may explain why there are practically no third-party books on SureTrack.
The online tutorial is a very complete guide to setting up and analyzing project tasks and resources. It consists of 8 lessons that you may view individually in any order, or you may click on "Run Automatically" to view the 8 lessons in a self-running demo format. The lessons range from setting up activities and creating activity relationships to customizing SureTrack and building reports. The tutorial may be invoked at...