Review of PERT Chart Expert

Written by: Michele McDonough • Edited by: Jean Scheid
Updated Jul 6, 2011 • Related Guides: Microsoft | Vista | Windows 95

PERT Chart Expert is a project planning tool compatible with MS Project that simplifies the process of creating PERT charts. This review will examine the application’s features and design as well as give buying recommendations.

Overview of PERT Chart Expert

PERT Chart Expert is a project management application developed solely for the creation and management of PERT charts. Although the software is compatible with Microsoft Project and works seamlessly with that program, it also operates just fine as a stand alone application.

The system requirements for PERT Chart Expert are quite light – it’s a Windows-based application that will run on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, and Vista. If you’re running a 64-bit version of Vista, there’s no need to worry. I tested the software in that environment and didn’t encounter any problems.

If you plan to integrate PERT Chart Expert with MS Project, there shouldn’t be any troubles there either. For this review, I looked at how the application worked in conjunction with Project 2007, but PERT Chart Expert is compatible with Project versions 4.1a, 98, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2007. It was also designed to be compatible with Project Server 2002, 2003, and 2007.

Installation and Setup
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No problems were encountered during the installation and setup of PERT Chart Expert. The entire process was a typical Windows installation of clicking Next several times and then Finish.

At one point during the setup, you’ll be asked if you want to install the additional components that will allow integration with Microsoft Project. If you don’t have Project installed on your machine or if you just don’t want to use this feature, you can choose not to have these components added at that time. Those who aren’t sure can just skip this portion entirely since you can always add this feature later by selecting the option from PERT Chart Expert’s Tools menu.

Ease of Use
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The user interface of PERT Chart Expert is almost identical to that of WBS Chart Pro, another project planning application developed by Critical Tools. Just like with WBS Chart Pro (and many other applications, for that matter), Vista users may have trouble accessing the application’s menu-driven help system. However, you can download this same information in PDF form from Critical Tools’ web site.

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To add a new task, all you have to do is select Insert Task from the Edit menu and a placeholder for that task will appear in the main window of the interface. You can then double click on this placeholder and input all necessary information.

Enter Task Information in PERT Chart Expert

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One thing I really like about PERT Chart Expert is how easy it is to place any new task into the current path of the PERT chart. Just click on any predecessor tasks and drag a line outward to the position where you want to insert the new task. When you release the mouse button a new placeholder will be added to the chart. Similarly, if this newly added task is required for any task that has already been defined, you can click and drag a line from the new task to any existing ones. This is a great timesaver, and it makes the construction of the entire PERT chart fast and intuitive.

Continue on to the next page to read about the features, performance, and pricing of PERT Chart Expert.

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Review of PERT Chart Expert

Overview of PERT Chart Expert

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Installation and Setup
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