Microsoft unveils Project 2010

Microsoft has unveiled a few more details about its upcoming Project 2010 application, which the firm described as the “most significant” upgrade of the software in a decade, states The Register.

The next iteration of the project management app includes a snugger fit with MS Outlook e-mail. There are also new collaboration features for customers interested in the Project Professional version of the software.

Microsoft has also wrapped Project 2010 in its Ribbon user interface. The company prefers to call the technology “Fluent”, and it already comes loaded in Microsoft's current Office suite, much to the chagrin of many users.

Research sponsored by AtTask from Aberdeen Group reveals how to successfully execute a project and portfolio management strategy that focuses development resources on profitable projects, says Reuters.

Michelle Boucher's report titled: 'Managing the innovation portfolio: Enabling engineering success to boost profits', addresses the negative impact of the current economic recession and what best-in-class organisations are doing to increase profits and capture 25% more revenue from new product development and introduction compared to the industry average.

In today's economic climate, as organisations are faced with shrinking budgets and limited resources, business leaders are forced to look for ways to optimise profitability. The research demonstrates that new products have a 20% margin advantage when compared to older products.

The IT staff in Tacoma, Washington, has deployed "on-demand IT governance" software to automate the analysis of what the city's IT staff could realistically finish over the course of a month, reports Public CIO.

Based on that analysis, agency representatives then vote each month on the Tacoma IT department's priorities. This enables IT priorities to come from the end-users themselves, rather than what could be construed as arbitrary judgments of IT officials.

"We're making decisions based on facts and data as opposed to emotion and organisational norms," said Bradd Busick, manager of change management for Tacoma.