Solo Technology

Project and Time management tools have bubbled up this week as something we need at the office. I’m always looking for tools that are online and hosted vs. stuff I need to configure and manage in-house and I don’t see why this would be an exception.

Some of the folks found a tool that looked good, but once they tried to use it they ran into a series of show-stopping bugs. That’s just not a great way to get rolling.

“Chris, find us something we can really use!” became the rallying cry this afternoon.

You know? There are a lot of options out there. I’ve glanced at a few from time to time, but never really used any beyond a demo.

I think the main wrinkle is that time tracking has to be part of the package. We definitely want to be able to have folks log in and indicate time spent against assorted projects’ tasks. I won’t say price is no object… we just want to ensure we get a nice bang for the buck and we expect to pay for it.

Here’s what I’m currently planning to look closer at:

• Zoho Projects looks intriguing. I almost always like the Zoho stuff, I’ve just not had an excuse to dig into this one.
• BaseCamp is one I’ve heard a lot about and never used.
• GoPlan might be worth a look — I’ve yet to determine if it does the time tracking aspect though. [I glanced at GoPlan last October]

If you have thoughts on the three above or suggestions for others I should check out, please leave a comment or drop me a note via the Contact page.

7 Responses to “Seeking Suggestions: Online Project & Time Management”

1. Szymon on June 17th, 2007 3:03 am
   

   Basecamp + Springloops makes things rolling very nice in case of web development projects collaboration. I think that because of Basecamp API we should not only look what Basecamp provides itself, but also what it can do with its add-ons.

2. Chris on June 17th, 2007 7:40 am
   

   Szymon, good point about the Basecamp API. That’s something I’ll have to look closer at as part of the evaluations.

   And thanks for mentioning Springloops too. I hadn’t heard of them — and it looks quite nice!

3. » pingback » Following Up » Solo Technology on July 9th, 2007 6:01 am
   
   
4. Mike Saad on July 16th, 2007 11:56 am
   

   You should check out ActiveFocus, by Falafel Software. ActiveFocus is a web based Project Management tool, that incorperates all aspects of any projoect, thoughout its entire life cycle.

   If you would like a Demo, please email me:
   msaad@falafel.com

   See ActiveFocus here:
   http://www.falafel.com/products/activefocus/default.aspx

   Thanks
   Mike Saad
   Falafel Software Inc.

5. Greenworld on December 3rd, 2007 1:39 pm
   

   Basecamp has a terrible reputation thanks to their lack of customer service and in general because of how badly the[y] seem to treat their customers.
   If you are looking for a tool suitable to a small-medium business you can try Intervals (http:/www.myintervals.com).
   We use it at my company to track our time, projects, tasks, to upload documents and write notes that can be viewed by our clients and by the rest of the team. Also the system keeps track of the budgets and it generates invoices for the clients. It really makes our work-life so much easier.
   If keeping track of time is a complicated thing, Intervals will ease that process with its little timers that run while you work on your tasks and allow you to generate accurate and paperless time sheets.
   I highly recommend it.

6. Project Management on February 5th, 2008 12:05 pm
   

   I’m glad you listed the programs that you’ve been considering. I will have to check some of those out. Do you have an update as to which program you ended up going with?

7. Chris Kasten on February 5th, 2008 3:36 pm
   

   Hi “Project Management” (you have some very progressive folks to get named as such! ) - we ended up going with Zoho Projects. It’s working well for us and the Zoho folks are generally pretty open to feedback and suggestions which is quite nice.

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