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Project managers apply skills, tools, knowledge, and methods to the activities performed on behalf of the project in order to meet its requirements. Only by effectively applying all of this can a project succeed. It starts with a strategy on how best to bring into reality the project manager’s vision, ideas, and goals. The decision on method and tools is critical to the project’s success. The increasing availability and lower cost of digital solutions allow powerful tools and methods to be used in even the smaller projects. There is no longer a need to manage a project exclusively with tools such as sticky notes, paper, and whiteboards. The increasing understanding of collaboration to achieve results and the use of virtual teams demand new tools and methods for managing projects.

Today, if your project result is a software application, the methodology of choice is agile. Agile is a widely adopted method used for many years now. It applies incremental iterations in a flexible and interactive manner with the end customer to deliver over several releases a solution or application that meets customer requirements. Agile development emphasizes collaboration and a non-hierarchical management structure between developers, product managers, and customers.

Until a few years ago small businesses and organizations would not have the budget or inclination to purchase information technology systems and tools for exclusive use in managing projects. The capital costs, investment in training and maintenance costs were factors that prevented their widespread use.

But things began to change when cloud-based solutions and tools for project management lowered the entry costs and training requirements, providing anywhere, anytime access with zero maintenance costs. You don’t have to develop and purchase IT infrastructure. The user interface and procedures are designed to be easy to learn and intuitive for any individual with a basic understanding of personal computers. Those are the prime reasons why more and more businesses and organizations are opting for solutions based in the cloud.

If you are tasked with developing and managing software application projects here are four examples of cloud-based tools for managing projects.

1. Jira

Developed by Atlassian, it was initially created and marketed as an issue tracking tool. Today it goes beyond that and it’s one of the most popular tools for managing agile software development projects and encouraging collaboration between teams and individuals. It can be customized to a particular project or work culture and has over 25,000 customers around the world including some of the largest corporations such as Walmart. It provides functions for managing projects and tracking bugs, issues, and tasks throughout the full agile development life-cycle.

2. Asana

Asana is advertised as a work tracking tool with agile project management features. Used mostly for web and mobile applications development, it started as an internal tool developed at Facebook for improving the productivity of its employees. It has functions that allow users to manage tasks and projects online without the need of external communications such as e-mail. Teams create workspaces and those workspaces can have projects and projects can have tasks. To each task, users can add comments, notes, and tags that allow all team members and managers to instantly know task status and issues. Followers of a task can get updates on their workspace inbox.

3. Basecamp

This is the calmer, saner and better-organized way to communicate and manage projects enterprise-wide according to Basecamp marketing. It has a reputation as a user-friendly tool requiring little training on how to use most of its features such as sharing ideas, getting status reports on your e-mail account, finding and recovering files easily and managing user access. It’s lacking in time management and analytical tools.

4. Trello

By now you have realized that collaboration is at the heart of the agile way of doing things. Trello is for many the tool of choice in this regard. Managers can organize projects into boards and in a glance know what’s being worked on who is doing it. It also shows where a task is in the process workflow. It has a beautiful graphical interface for creating and organizing the boards, lists, and cards that are at the heart of Trello’s organizational capabilities.

5. Pivotal

Pivotal Tracker breaks your project into manageable chunks that you can prioritize, organize, and collaborate. Agile tools such as backlogs and user stories are explicitly supported. Project managers and team members can quickly find out on status, task responsibilities and what’s next.

6. Wrike

Another online tool for enabling users to manage workflows and schedules while collaborating with one another. Multilingual project teams will be pleased to know that it supports Japanese, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Russian and Italian. A free version with limited features is available with task creation, task assignment and task status markings for a basic but still powerful workflow management tool.

The Enduring Legacy of V Engines
Internal combustion engines have been propelling vehicles for over 150 years, with the designs proposed by Nikolaus Otto and Rudolf Diesel—both four-stroke engines—dominating the field due to their robustness, reliability, economy, and adaptability. These engines have been pivotal in the advancement of modern technology and the automotive industry, which remains a global economic powerhouse, directly and indirectly supporting billions of jobs.

The Rise and Challenges of V Engines
V engines, characterized by their two banks of cylinders arranged in a V-shaped configuration, have been lauded for their dynamic performance and mechanical efficiency. However, they also face significant challenges related to vibration and noise, primarily because the crankpin is acted upon by two pistons simultaneously, leading to complex forces and movements within the engine.

A comprehensive study on V engine dynamics was conducted by Florian Ion T. Petrescu and Relly Victoria V. Petrescu, who explored ways to optimize these engines’ performance. Their research, spanning from 1980 to 1986, revealed excessive vibration and noise levels that exceeded international limits. Various types of rubber shock absorbers were tested, with only a few models, such as those from Dunlop and ARO four-wheel-drive vehicles, showing promise.

Ultimately, the research led to a significant decision: the replacement of V engines with inline configurations or pseudo V engines, which offered lower efficiency but met the required standards for noise and vibration. This marked a decline in the use of V engines in passenger vehicles, although they continued to be used in tractors, trucks, locomotives, and high-tonnage ships.

The Quest for Quieter, More Efficient V Engines
The key to improving V engines lies in adjusting the constructive angle, alpha, which determines the kinematics and dynamics of the engine. By optimizing this angle, it is possible to balance the dynamic coefficients of the coupled pistons, leading to smoother operation with reduced noise and vibration. The ideal values for the alpha angle have been identified through dynamic analysis, offering a path to the synthesis of an optimal V engine.

Despite the challenges, V engines remain a symbol of power and performance, particularly in the racing world. High-performance vehicles, including those in Formula 1, often feature V engines due to their desirable characteristics.

The Future of V Engines Amidst Electric Shift
As the automotive industry gradually shifts towards electric vehicles, the role of internal combustion engines, including V engines, is evolving. While electric motors are becoming more prevalent, the majority of engines in use today are still internal combustion types, especially diesel and Otto engines. The transition to electric vehicles is constrained by the current methods of electricity generation, which often rely on the burning of fossil fuels, leading to continued pollution and high energy consumption.

Therefore, there is an ongoing need to improve thermal internal combustion engines, aiming to reduce fuel consumption and noise levels while maintaining their dynamic qualities. This pursuit ensures that V engines will continue to have a place in the automotive landscape, even as the industry embraces electrification.

Conclusion
The study of V engines, particularly their vibration and noise characteristics, has led to significant advancements in their design and application. While the shift towards inline engines was a response to the limitations of the time, ongoing research and development have opened the door to more refined and efficient V engines that can meet modern standards without sacrificing performance.

Funding and Research Acknowledgments
The research into V engine dynamics was supported by a contract with the Romanian National Center for Science and Technology and involved collaboration with various international partners, including the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, and Romania. Preliminary contracts were also established with BMW Group Germany and Mercedes Benz Daimler AG, Germany, highlighting the industry’s interest in this field.

References and Further Reading
For those interested in the technical details and historical context of V engines, a wealth of literature is available, including works by Christensen et al. (1999), Dahl et al. (2013), and many others. These studies provide insights into the evolution, challenges, and potential of V engines, contributing to our understanding of this enduring engine design.