Thread

Project management is obviously a critical component for any business. On the web, Basecamp is one I’ve tried and is a nice solution. Goplan (which happens to be down today) is a good alternative to Basecamp. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. On the desktop side, I’ve looked at OmniPlan and to me it’s not intuitive but maybe I’m missing the point of it. Daylite looks like a good alternative but can get spendy quick.

I’m sure there are more apps out there but I’m more interested in what those of you in the EE community are using for project management and why. How has the (web or desktop) app made you more efficient? Care to share your experience in this realm?

Here’s a good thread about this: What is your favourite project management software?
Personally, I really like ActiveCollab.
I have a development installation right now on my PC, and it is very useful. I like especially that it is free, and I control where my data is stored, versus, using an app hosted elsewhere.

jammo, I’ve not heard of ActiveCollab. Free is good! Thanks for link to the other thread too.

jammo, I’ve not heard of ActiveCollab. Free is good! Thanks for link to the other thread too.

Glad to help.

I think one of the best features of the app is that it has a RSS feed of recent activity.
That in itself is truly valuable as I monitor the work of my team online and off.

I think one of the best features of the app is that it has a RSS feed of recent activity.
That in itself is truly valuable as I monitor the work of my team online and off.

Ah so the screencast must be old. The demonstrator said no RSS as of yet in the screencast.

I’ve tried BaseCamp, OmniPlan, CopperProject and a variety of others.  None of them have really tickled my fancy.

So, I started delivering a project management portion of every site that I develop.  For instance, I’m using a schedule, mockups, documentation, sytle guide and issue log weblog. This allows the client to stay up-to-date with much of the development process but this evolves into a nice maintenance application once the initial build is complete.

Schedule:
The schedule weblog uses the calendar tags of the weblog module to lay out the production schedule.

Documentation
I start most projects with a Statement of Work then I go to Wireframe Mockups and sometimes a variety of other documents are born.  This portion ends up being a table with a link to download documents, version numbers and dates.

Mockups
This is mostly used during the design process.  I’ve set it up like a blog, so I can post a “first review” and allow the client to comment.  Since I allow five revisions with each design, each entry ends showcasing the evolution of the design.  It also allows you to capture some very valuable comments from your client.  I work with a couple larger companies and it really works well because a variety of stake-holders can give their opinions that you sometimes do not hear during in-person meetings.

Style Guide
With each site, I document the mark-up strategy (commenting, validation, etc…), colors, CSS, images, etc…  This style guide allows a central location for future designers/developers and even yourself to learn how the site is structured.

Issue Log
This is the big one!  I set this one up blog style with a SAEF to allow the client to fill out issue logs.  This is a perfect way to allow clients to supply changes, updates, etc… A client can initiate the issue and then comments allow you to go back and forth with the client until the issue is resolved at which point you can have a custom status to close the issue.  This ends up being a TODO list.

Once all this is built, you can supply it with every site you develop.  IMHO, since each site has it’s own ‘project management panel’, it begins to be a pretty elegant solution.  Also, it makes for a great selling point when you present your methodologies to your client.

Anyway, that is my approach.  I hope it’s helpful.

@StephenSlater
That is truly a very unique setup you have there.
How long did it take you to implement this?

stephenslater, I agree with jammo in that it is quite a unique approach to filling the need. So the Project Management Panel is not part of your site but the site being developed? Quite a stroke of genius. Tell me, do you do other types of projects that don’t involve site design/development? If so how do you manage those projects since site isn’t necessarily being developed for that type of client?

It took two to three days of focused planning and template development.  I kept it simple.  It’s a clean tabbed interface.  A tab for each portion of the process.  After I developed it, I thought that I should touch it up in some places and then offer it to the community for download.  It would just be the templates and CSS files with possibly a readme.txt explaining how to set up your weblogs and custom fields.

Yeah, to clarify, the site is technically part of the site being developed, but has a “backdoor” entrance via an arbitrary, discrete url.  The client logs in, sees a welcome screen, their logo in upper left and an explanation of each of the five tabs.  When I make an update, such as a new mock-up is available, there is a message on this welcome screen that encourages them to visit the mockups tab and participate in constructive criticism (Of course, you gotta be able to manage this portion to drive the client through the process or you could be stuck designing forever).  It typically works well though.

Yes, I handle quite a bit of projects, but most of them involve some sort of design.  For instance, I also do some video editing for clients.  As mentioned before, I’ve tried all kinds of project management applications and it’s probably me, but I don’t stay on top of them.  They end up being more work to maintain, so I try to come up with scenarios that I know will work for me.  Although I haven’t completed anything for my video editing project management, I could easily see tweaking the templates mentioned above to allow for rough-cut reviews all the way through final cut.  Of course, this would have to exist at my companies domain.

I’m not here to preach about the best project management practices, but I will advise to keep it simple and utilize something that fits your personality.

Great advice. So are you still planning to release the css and templates to the community and maybe a write up on how to implement it? I’m very intrigued by this method.

To reiterate a point I briefly touched upon earlier… by the end of a design/development project, this project management “site” evolves into an intricate part of the on-going maintenance of the site.  Sometimes, I even get a request via the issue-log that requires a formal quote.  At that point, I simply email the client letting them know that issue #222 is a pretty involved request and I will supply them with a cost estimate as soon as possible.  Once the cost estimate is accepted, the schedule is entered into the weblog and the client can track it accordingly on the nicely styled calendar on this pm site.  I keep the mock-ups tab around for those times when something graphical is requested.  For instance, if it’s a banner, swf, graphic for a product, etc… I first announce it so they can approve it before I take it to the production side of the site.  Also, as I modify the site, and if it’s relevant, I make a note of it in the style guide.

To be honest, I developed this thing about 8 months ago and I only thought about releasing it back then and haven’t thought about it much since.  Although I’m extremely busy with a couple projects, I wouldn’t mind polishing it off and making it available if some people wanted it.  I’ve also completely re-written the mark-up for the membership templates that would allow for easy styling via CSS files.  Typically, these are styled to match the clients site, so when they register, it has a consistent look and feel.  I know, by reading all the forum comments on the membership templates, that these might be of value to the community. 

The best I could possibly do is have these ready in 3-4 weeks given my current workload.

Let me know if you are seriously interested and I’ll consider it.

Thanks for the interest.

Stephen, like I said, I’m quite intrigued by this method and wouldn’t mind seeing how this could affect my workflow. I can’t speak for anyone else but I think it would be a very nice contribution to the community. With that said, it’s really up to you if you want to release it and when. Paying projects always take priority. If and when it’s released I’ll be sure to take a good hard look at it to evaluate if it would work well for me. Thanks for sharing your method.

Sounds good Ignite… I’ll try to have something soon.  I’ll post something here when it’s ready.

Wow,
this sounds like a pretty whise way to integrate EE as a management tool.
I´d be interested.