Abstract:

The article presents the Microsoft Project 2010 application as a convenient form of knowledge base for project management. This is also its main objective. The topic of the article was chosen in response to the unsatisfactory results obtained in the primary survey focused on the usage of software tools for project management support. The survey was carried out in selected innovative companies from the region of Vysočina, Czech Republic. The article first gives the necessary theoretical assumptions relating to the issues of knowledge and project management. Further on, it focuses more closely on an introduction of the MS Project 2010 application as an appropriate knowledge base connected with the project in all its stages. The article points out the necessity of entering all information and knowledge about the time, resource and cost analysis of the project to the application. This is the only way to centralize all the information and knowledge, minimizing thus the risk of an incorrect resource analysis, and hence miscalculated project costs. The article explains and shows how to enter other indirect information relevant for the project management. This information mainly refers to work resources and partial/comprehensive project tasks. Entering this information makes it possible to relatively easily and quickly identify persons that can possess the necessary tacit knowledge for solving particular problems, and likewise to get to know them.  To build up a good quality and „live“ knowledge base through the MS Project 2010 application is not a matter of learning the software functionality only. An important role in this process is played by the company’s top management. The top management must create adequate conditions for all the persons involved so that they enter all the information about the project to the application in a uniform and correct way. Moreover, this activity should gradually become a routine.