IT applications to help you plan 

You may want to use IT applications to help you plan the content of your project & how much time you want to spend completing stages.

Note for 'trial' viewers: a vodcast about using IT to help you plan is included in the full version.  

There are a number of online tools that you might want to use to plan your project content:

BUBL is an online brainstorming & mind-mapping tool. You need to register for a free account and can create diagrams which you can share with your tutor or other students.

https:/bubl.us 

Here is an example plan you might make in BUBL to plan the sources you might explore in conducting project research.

There are a number of online project planning tools available free of charge. Many are aimed at business planning projects but have functionality to support some of your Extend Project Planning. If you do decide to use an online planning tool, make sure that it does what you need it to do.

Using Microsoft Office tools to help you plan 

You can use products in the Microsoft Suite to help you plan your project. If you have Microsoft Project installed on your computer, you may wish to use this to plan your project. However, this might be 'overkill' for your EPQ.

In reality, you only really need to use software to enable you to keep a record of what you need to do and to identify if you have gone ‘off-schedule’ so that you complete your project effectively & on time.

Here are a few things you might want to do to ensure than you manage your time effectively using IT applications:

•Use your calendar function in your e-mail

If you are using Microsoft Outlook for e-mail, it has a built-in calendar function. You can block out time in your calendar for completing specific phases in your project and set yourself reminders of when work needs to completed. You can also set up tasks in some versions.

Note for 'trial' viewers: PDF walkthroughs available in the purchased product.  

•Use a spreadsheet programme

You could use a spreadsheet to identify the different phases required in your project and assign deadlines for when these need to be completed. You can update the spreadsheet when you have finished each phase, identifying new tasks and deadlines where required.

Note for 'trial' viewers: PDF walkthroughs available in the purchased product.  

Also, don’t forget about the planning tool in this resource!

Note for 'trial' viewers: the text 'planning tool' links to the tool in the purchased product. It is not available in this 'trial' view.