Invention is often the child of necessity ... or frustration. Though the idea is as old as time (think of the invention of the wheel and the discovery of fire), Jonathan Swift was the first to put it into words, in Gulliver’s Travels. The concept has served as the foundation for countless inventions in modern medicine, technology, transportation, communications and many more fields of study. It was also the case with Ron Winter, who developed schedule analysis software programming after a tedious manual analysis and comparison of two scheduling documents almost 15 years ago. Winter’s software, Schedule Analyzer, automated an otherwise time-consuming process and is the subject of a comprehensive review in this month’s issue of Construction Project Controls.

Technology is the common theme this month. Larry True offers up five lessons on how to maintain accurate records for computer controls. Without reliable data, project controls are predisposed to fail. And, John Jurewicz offers a gift guide of ideas for the technology-savvy project manager.

By Larry True
Garbage in, garbage out. That’s what Larry True has to say about the importance of maintaining proper computer controls. The information is only as good as its accuracy. He offers five lessons to help ensure data reliability.

By John Jurewicz of ASPTIP.COM
Looking for the perfect, last-minute gift for the techie on your holiday list? John Jurewicz has a few gift suggestions to bring a smile to even the most discriminating project manager.

By Gordon H. Aronson and Paul Levin
Frustrated by the process of manually comparing printed schedules, Ron Winter developed a software system, Schedule Analyzer, to automate the task. Scheduling experts Gordon Aronson and Paul Levin present a two-part review of this program and how it performs with Primavera’s tools.