After years of supporting integrations with scheduling tools like Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel, PPO is proud to announce the launch of its very own Scheduler! Designed to address the evolving needs of modern project managers, this new feature is now available at no extra cost to all PPO clients.

Why We Built the PPO Scheduler

Over the last 5–10 years, the project management landscape has changed significantly. As more business professionals take on project management roles, the reliance on highly specialised scheduling tools has decreased. In response, PPO’s new Scheduler offers an intuitive, all-in-one solution that simplifies scheduling and reduces the need for expensive third-party tools.

Key Features of PPO’s Scheduler

Our Scheduler is packed with powerful, user-friendly features that cater to all levels of project management maturity:

• Task Creation and Assignment: Easily create project tasks, summary tasks, and milestones. Use indenting and outdenting to organise your tasks hierarchically.
• Actual Progress Tracking: Easily adjust progress percentages by dragging the progress bar in the Gantt view or using in-line editing with input fields or up/down arrows.
• Progress Roll-Up and Real-Time Calculations: Automatically roll up progress percentages at the summary task and project levels, providing a consolidated view directly in PPO. Achieve real-time planned progress calculations at the task, summary task, and overall project levels.
• Gantt Chart View: Visualise your project timeline and task relationships for a clear understanding of project flow.
• Drag-and-Drop Scheduling: Adjust task dates and progress seamlessly by dragging them along the timeline.
• Milestone Tracking: Stay on target by tracking key project events and deliverables.
• Dependency Management: Ensure proper task sequencing and workflow with task dependency settings.
• Critical Path Identification: Automatically highlight tasks that impact your project’s timeline to maintain efficiency.
• Resource Scheduling: Assign resources to tasks to manage workloads effectively and ensure balanced distribution.

Watch the video to explore all the features of the Scheduler and see it in action.

Benefits of the PPO Scheduler

By incorporating the Scheduler directly into PPO, clients can:

• Streamline Processes: Consolidate project planning and management within a single platform.
• Reduce Costs: Eliminate the need for third-party scheduling tools, saving on software expenses.
• Simplify Scheduling: Provide an intuitive experience for users at all levels, ensuring projects stay on track with minimal effort.

Flexibility for All Teams

While PPO’s Scheduler offers a robust solution for most scheduling needs, we understand that some teams may prefer their current tools. PPO will continue to support importing schedules from platforms like Microsoft Project and the PPO Task Import Sheet (compatible with Mac and Google Sheet users). This flexibility ensures you can transition at your own pace without disrupting ways of work.

Master the Scheduler with Free Training Sessions

We’ve updated our online training calendar to support a smooth transition to the Scheduler. Free training sessions will run weekly throughout February and March, and bi-monthly thereafter. These sessions cover all features, ensuring you get up to speed quickly—whether you’re a seasoned project manager or new to scheduling, you’ll gain the skills needed for a successful switch to PPO’s Scheduler! Spaces are limited, so reserve your spot before it’s too late!

We do our very best to make PPO better every day, so we’d love to hear your feedback on these latest enhancements.

Don’t forget to let us know if you have any other product enhancement ideas! Drop us an email or log an idea on our community portal please. More importantly, keep up to date with all our new product information by subscribing to our blog.