There are literally dozens of project management software solutions available in today's market. In fact, it seems like almost every day there is a new solution that comes up in my Google Alerts. How is anyone supposed to know which software is best suited for their needs when the choices include enterprise project management software the requires a huge commitment in resources and time for implementation to light-duty project management offerings that are no more than a centralized task list.

For those few organizations who only need some kind of centralized task list, there are a number of choices that are inexpensive and available on-line. For the rest of us, choosing the right solution will take a little more thought—whether you are looking for an on-line solution or not.

There are a number of huge PPM software vendors who have done very well for many years at providing project managers with the ability to push information up to the executive suite for decision-making. In fact, as I've talked to project managers, many of them have been able to keep pretty busy collecting project data to push up into executive reports. Unfortunately, it begs the question, is that what a project manager is supposed to be doing?

These legacy PPM systems force project managers to manually collect the data their executives demand for decision-making, and largely ignore the needs of individual members of project teams. It might not be intentional, but by making their systems cumbersome and difficult for end users to use, they are virtually relegating a project manager to someone who does nothing but collect and report status—and guaranteeing that executives won't have accurate and up-to-date information.

Addressing the needs of individual project team members becomes critical for organizations that really want accurate project information. It just doesn't make sense to force project teams to jump through hoops or navigate a complicated maze of procedures to update task status. Making it easy for individual team members to participate in the process, without making them become project management experts, will allow them to participate.

What's more, in my opinion, a project management software that automatically pushes status information into reports and dashboards every time a team member updates task status, virtually guarantees that business leaders will have accurate and up-to-date information. What's more, it will allow project managers to do what they do best—ensure the viability of every project they supervise. In this economy, it's often the accuracy of the data available to executives that will make the difference between a profitable company and one that is failing.

When looking for project software, I think it's critical to include the following criteria in your software evaluation:

1. Does the solution address ease-of-use needs for end users?

2. Does the solution automatically push project status information into reports and dashboards that executives can use to make data-driven project decisions?

3. Or does it force project managers to manually input data, duplicating effort, and forcing them to ignore their primary responsibilities to keep projects on track and manage project teams?

Although these three questions are only a few of the questions you'll need to ask as you evaluate the available project management software solutions, they are all questions that should be asked before you make a purchase.

What do you think? Tell me about your experience?