Project management tools-integration with other tools of the organization

IN response to some of the recent articles on Project Management, I was asked to prepare some articles about project management tools. In fact, this could be quite a lengthy set of articles, since there are so very many tools available to enable effective project management. We will address but a few of them. The tools might be templates and forms, which can be used to help project managers manage with consistency across projects. They will include procedures to ensure that activities are performed consistently with all the needed information, checks and balances. And of course, tools will include software applications and programs which help the project managers to plan and track the complex set of tasks and deliverables, with budget and timing for each and for the overall project.