Programs Help Business Managers

One of the virtues of computers is their ability to keep track of and recall instantly vastly more information than a human can. That makes the computer a valuable management partner in running your business--if you have the right software.

Two programs that can help you become a better manager are Lightyear, designed to help you make better decisions, and Harvard Total Project Manager, which helps you schedule tasks required to accomplish a project and then keep track of your progress.

There is nothing magic about either program. You have to provide all the factual information needed to make a decision or schedule a project, and you have to determine the relative importance of each piece of that information. You also have to tell the computer how each element of the decision or project is related to other elements.

What Lightyear and Harvard Total Project Manager do is provide the framework for you to organize that information and then, each in its own way, the programs rearrange the facts you have provided into a coherent picture that lets you make sense of it.

Lightyear is nicely designed, with an excellent manual that takes you through three case studies to teach you how it works. In an hour or two you’ve got the hang of it and you’re ready to create your own decision model.

The process is simple. You start by identifying the possible alternatives. Then you enter the list of criteria by which the decision should be made.

Criteria can be evaluated three ways by Lightyear. One is numeric--unit cost of production for instance. Another is graphic, in which you rank an item by setting a X on a sliding scale between “least desirable” and “most desirable.”

‘Weight’ for Criteria

The third is verbal, in which you create a list of terms that apply to a particular criteria and rank the list from most desirable to least desirable. For instance, you may have a criterion called “raw materials” and verbal values ranging from “locally available” to “import from Tibet.” Each criteria also can be given a “weight” to determine its relative importance in reaching the decision.

Finally, you may apply rules by which the criteria will be evaluated. For instance, you can say that unit cost of production cannot exceed a specific amount. You can also create conditional rules, such as one saying that if the raw materials have to be imported from Tibet the finished product must be able to sell above a certain price.

Lightyear assigns an invisible numeric ranking to graphic and verbal values, based on where you place the X on the desirability graphic continuum or how many possible verbal values you listed to choose among. Then it instantly calculates a ranking for each alternative and displays them from best to worst along with a horizontal bar chart that shows how much the rankings differ from each other. Any alternative that fails to meet minimum criteria you set is depicted by a different shade of bar than the acceptable alternatives.

You can also examine a graphic analysis of each alternative separately and see just how well or poorly it meets each criterion.

Once you have that information you can either accept the decision indicated, or play “what-if” scenarios by changing some of the information you gave the computer.

Harvard Total Project Manager is an enhanced version of the original Harvard Project Manager. Both are so-called “critical path” analysis programs.

The most familiar application of critical path analysis is in the construction of a large building. The land must be acquired, the plans drawn, the contracts let and permits obtained before excavation begins. Portions of the wiring and plumbing have to be completed before the walls are plastered, the carpet cannot be laid until the painting is done, and on and on.

A critical path occurs whenever the delay of any individual task could delay the completion of the whole. If, for instance, you allot four days for interior painting and and it takes six days, all those tasks that must await completion of the painting also will be delayed.

The Harvard Total Project Manager manual does an excellent job of explaining critical path analysis and describing how to put it to work for you. (The manual must be faulted, however, for being set in type that is too small for easy reading and for the poor quality of its depictions of what you see on your computer screen.)

Using the program is easy, however. You start by creating the calendar that defines the time frame in which the work will be done, including holidays, days off and length of the work day.

‘Road Map’ of Tasks

Then you begin working with what the program calls a “road map” in which you graphically depict the individual tasks to be performed and the “milestones” that separate each task.

Each task is assigned a duration and it may also be assigned a person responsible; tasks can assigned a label--for instance, plumbing--and all tasks with that label can be sorted out to produce specialized reports.

The program automatically shows you where the critical paths occur in your planning by indicating that portion of the path with double lines. Then you can move tasks around to see if you can relieve the stress points.

Another major feature of the program is its ability to keep track of the resources required for a task compared with the resources available. Whenever you have over-allocated available resources--scheduling a task for two days when you have only enough manpower to do it in five days, for instance--the program displays the conflict graphically on your computer screen.

The Harvard Total Project Manager also allows you to compute how much the project will cost, based on the unit costs of the individual tasks.

Once the project is under way, you monitor its progress by updating the original information you entered. As new critical paths occur, you have all the information you need to determine their effect either in delays or in added costs of bringing the project in on time.

Although I’ve used a building project example to explain the program, it is equally applicable to managing any complex project that is composed of a number of interdependent tasks.

Both programs run on IBM or compatible computers, with Lightyear requiring a minimum of 192 kilobytes of random access memory, while Harvard Total Project Manager needs at least 384 kilobytes of RAM. The more operating memory your computers has, however, the larger the project or the more complex the decision you’ll be able analyze.

Lightyear has a list price of $495 and is published by Thoughtware Inc., 2699 S. Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, Fla. 33133. The toll-free number is 800-THT-WARE.

Harvard Total Project Manager also lists for $495 and is published by Software Publishing Corp., 1901 Landing Drive, Mountain View, CA 90403. The telephone number is (415) 962-8910.