Go beyond list making and note taking. Use the project management tools at your disposal.

Project planning, scheduling and controlling: Does a project manager need to perform these processes with a project management tool like MS Project, or is it OK to just keep track of a project in Excel or Word? Is it possible for project managers to deliver projects on time and on budget without using a project management tool?

In our work, we often encounter these questions from clients. But ultimately they skirt the issue: When project managers don't use dedicated tools to track and manage projects, it indicates that they don't have the education or training they should.