Software Estimation

The whole of today I spent reviewing the estimation of size and effort; and the schedule for extending the capabilities of a software application. My first disappointment was when I saw that it was done in Microsoft Excel. Project Managers dont schedule business critical projects using Excel you do it in Microsoft Project. Excel doesnt provide a facility to create recurring tasks, level resources, specify holidays, plot the critical path, mark the milestones, choose calendars etc Its not that you can't or shouldnt use Excel its just that its cumbersome and painfull. The Project Manager should make sure that all the above activities - critical path, recurring tasks etc depicted when Excel is used. Which is not easy considering the kind of interdependencies involved. Infact its a pain. To provide an anlogy its like tilling 2 acres of land using a pair of bullocks and a plough rather than a Tractor. Project management is more than just driving a bunch of programmers you need the right kind of tools for the job, Excel is a spreadsheet used for financial computations and is not suitable for scheduling.