MProWeb 3.9

By Brett Burney

Brett Burney is the legal practice support coordinator for Thompson Hine
in Cleveland, Ohio. Burney also authors a monthly legal technology column
for LLRX.com. His e-mail address is brett.burney@thompsonhine.com.

Have you ever felt more like a project manager than a legal professional? Organizing people, coordinating meetings and juggling multiple tasks throughout the day doesn’t sound like traditional legal work. Bulky day planners help many people get through their busy days, while others use personal information managers such as Microsoft Outlook to keep track of tasks and projects. Professional project management software applications such as Microsoft Project might be appealing to some, but it takes time to learn the program and understand concepts, such as Gantt charts and Program Evaluation and Review Technique charts.

MProWeb 3.9 from Performance Solutions Technology empowers project management amateurs to keep tabs on everything and everyone. MProWeb is the online version of Performance Solutions Technology’s flagship ManagePro practice management software. While ManagePro is installed on individual workstations, MProWeb is accessible from any computer running Microsoft Internet Explorer. While you can internally host MProWeb within your firm for a price, the company also offers a less expensive annual subscription.

MProWeb 3.9 works in the ASP.Net framework and sits on top of a Microsoft SQL database backbone operating on a Windows Web server.

The core concept behind MProWeb is a focus on GAPR — Goals, Actions, Plans and Results. Once you log on to the system, the first tab you see is “GAPR Setup,” which lays out your current goals and tasks in an outline format.

Top level items either can be “Goals,” which are general descriptions of a project, “Projects” or “Client Accounts.” The next level is indented showing “Action Steps,” which are the key milestones that must be completed in the process of achieving the “Goals.” “Tasks” always are found beneath “Action Steps” or “Goals” since they are the actual steps to take to accomplish the ultimate goal.

From the main screen, users can jump to various areas to view the progress of a project. A Gantt timeline provides a time-based chart of activity on the project. Users also can go to the “Progress Updates” tab to see details about a particular goal and determine the percentage of tasks completed so far. Icons on the left side of the screen allow you to view details or associated notes of a particular task, or you can access the same screens through the convenient right-click menus available in the program.

The newest component of MProWeb is the “Today’s Plan” tab, which lets users prioritize and review tasks and other items on the left side of the screen. Then you can flag the items that will be addressed and displayed in the plan for the day displayed on the “Today’s Plan” calendar on the right side of the screen. Users are prompted at the end of the day to add progress comments on any To-Do items that have not been marked done. This also allows users to view all daily tasks on one screen with an Outlook-style calendar to manage how time is used.

Access to MProWeb through a Web browser is both a plus and a minus. The biggest advantage to a Web-based service means any member of the project team can log on and access the information at any time from anywhere.

On the other hand, working on the Internet means having to wait for screens to refresh. That can be fast or slow, depending on what kind of Internet connection you have. Within a firm, this problem can be resolved by hosting the application on your local area network, but access from outside the office would be susceptible to possible delays.

Realizing many people might continue to use Outlook to manage day-to-day activities, MProWeb allows users to synchronize information with Outlook, as well as IBM’s Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise.

The company’s Web site offers great support. It hosts a wealth of information, including frequently asked questions, white papers, tutorials and forums. All of this is very helpful since MProWeb takes some time and dedication to learn how to use it efficiently. The program itself is easy to use and maneuver, but users must be disciplined enough to use the application effectively.

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All Rights Reserved.

Project management through MProWeb's "GAPR Setup" tab.