I am tearing my hair out. Or I will, as soon as I can figure out where the task is to do that and who's responsible.
We have a team of 7 staff members. Each of us works on different projects for different programs. From time to time, we work with consultants or outside vendors.
We are an efficient bunch, but what we lack is centralized project and task coordination. We need to be able to see how our projects are progressing over time. Where the bottlenecks are. What is falling behind. What the next year will look like for projects we know we're going to take on but haven't started yet.
Folks are comfortable in email and instant messenger. It's where most of the conversation happens between us and we get a lot accomplished. Yet working this way, we miss that "big picture" overview.
It seems obvious that there should be a tool we can use to help us here. We don't have a server so we don't want desktop software. We want something that works in the cloud. You would think that with so many choices we'd find exactly what we need.
I have spent the last week or two trying more of these online project management tools than I can count.
Many of them are here.
So frustrated that none are singing to me the way Salesforce or Google Apps did when I first tried them out.
Here's what I want:
- Uncluttered interface - folks have to spend less time managing projects than doing them. It doesn't have to be simple or designed for idiots - I work with very smart, technically capable people. It needs to be streamlined and without features and distractions we don't need.
- A task management system folks will actually use - When they finish a task, will they remember to go to this tool and check it off?
- Centralized administration and management - Administrator can create/assign projects - only assigned managers can edit milestones and the phases of the project
- Bird's eye view of all projects and where they stand ("What's the next step? Who's responsible?") - Dashboard shows status of active tasks - not just recent activity
- Gantt and/or clear calendar view that includes milestones and multi-day phases - bonus if it syncs with Google Calendar
- Integration with email (receive notification via email, bonus if you can reply to attach discussion to a task)
- Files only as essential for project - not just to dump stuff
- Invite outside users to projects as needed
- Don't want tickets/case management, don't want wikis, don't want blogs, don't want "here's what I'm eating for lunch" status updates - need to be able to to tailor interface to only what we need/want. We have other tools, I want to avoid duplication as much as possible.
- works across platforms and modern browsers - not so much an issue these days, but still needs to be considered
- Cost: total of under $50 per month but can make a case for spending more if it's exceptional.
What follows is my impression of what I've tried so far and why it falls short.
The biggest problem with these tools is that they are designed for teams that work with clients. Or they are designed for teams that work on software development. Or they are designed for teams that work work with clients on software development. What about project management for teams that produce newsletters? For teams that are working on a conference or event? For teams that are tracking a year-long editorial and strategy calendar for fundraising campaigns? Not so much.
I've been whining about this in Twitter a bit. I've
been asked to summarize my findings.
These are the tools I've evaluated/looked at and why I like them/don't like them.
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