Software to track a bazillion projects? :)

[rookie08]

Hi,

No exactly Festool specific but with all the diversity in background and talent on the forum I'm hoping someone can either provide a recommendation, or a direction to go in.

So like a lot of us, too many project's not enought time, and stuff keeps falling through the cracks.  So outside of winning the lottery snd moving the family to Tahiti or Fiji anyone know of/use/recommend a software program that can answer the needs below.

Requirements
Multiple concurrents projects
Single view for each person across all projects they are a part and a daily schedule of tasks across those projects
Gantt charts
Outline view
Ipad compatible
PC compatible and Mac compatible if possible
Tasks broken down to hours and part of hours,(versus only day allotments)
Conflict in time warnings (you can't do 2 eight hour tasks in the same eight hours, though I suspect we all try)

Am I deluding myself or is there something out there that actually can do this?

Thanks for any and all recommendations, guidance, other places to post etc.

Cheers!

James

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

James, check out something web-based like BaseCamp. Living on the web, it's platform independent so it'll run on anything with a web browser.

 

[rookie08]

Cool!  Thanks Shane, I'll check it out as well.

James

 

[Sparktrician]

MS Project will do all of that with possibly the exception of iPad/Mac compatibility.  It MAY do that, too, but I'm not a user if iPads or Macs and can't verify that.  It will also do Critical Path views so you can trace the work items with no slack. 

[smile]

 

[Alan m]

ms project for me too. we did that in colage and it will do all you want and way more. it can track all the diferent tyoes of money in the project (profit ,materials,labour, overheads etc) and let you see each seperatly and how it is going compared to the estimate.
i can allow you to alocated diferent employees or groups  to diferent jobs ,
track wages and overtime

 

[ase618]

There are probably 25 or more different project tracking programs out there. Both stand alone and web based ones as previously mentioned. The big stand alone ones are Oracle Primavera and Microsoft Project, in descending cost. Base Camp is one of the big web based applications. There are a lot of free and open source programs out there. One that comes to mind is OpenProj. Have used it a few times and it worked well. The company that produces offers it as web based with more features for a monthly fee. I recommend a free program at least until you have tried using some of them for awhile to see what you need. Good luck in your search.

 

[mparka]

Sounds like you are trying to look for a PPM tool (Project Portfolio Management).

I'm currently in the middle of evaluating a few online services that would in combination do these.

Take a look at Ganttic.com for scheduling and harvestapp.com for time tracking and expenses.  I believe these two integrate with each other as well. 

Both also have free trial, which I'm currently trying out for a management consulting firm use cases.

 

[Bob Gerritsen]

James, I'm not sure I understand everything you want this to do but I'm thinking http://www.actionmethod.com/Action Method might be interesting for you. Check it out. Compatibility certainly isn't an issue although I'm sure time tracking is not covered within Action Method. I use an app called Hours Tracker for that, I'm quite happy with that although there are other apps that can do more.

I will be following this thread with interest as I'm using a combination of different software/apps now to do what you want. I think I'm nearly there and quite pleased at the moment with how it starts to come together but would be interested to know what else exists out there. I can see the benefits of using one single solution if you really need to share all of this with others.

Right now I use Action Method for capturing the actions within projects before they get a spot on the calendar (capturing all the loose ends basically), Evernote to organize stuff I need to order or buy (it's my shopping list basically), Dropbox to organize and share all documents among different computers and people and finally HoursTracker to track time. So Action Method with iCal, Evernote, Dropbox and HoursTracker does it for me. I'm thinking I could stop using Evernote like I do, had that before ActionMethod but they actually sort of overlap so that would leave me with three apps plus the calendar.

Also, you may want to check out the book Getting Things Done by David Allen. The method behind that apparently lets you use Outlook and such to do at least most of what you want. It takes some effort but is sort of fail proof IF you stick to it.

Will check out the suggestions done here, nice thread! Organizing your stuff is still a highly underrated aspect within the hands on builder community, which is a shame I think as a clear and relaxed head really makes you enjoy building things way more.

Cheers, Bob.

 

[rookie08]

Thanks to everyone so far for their input.  I'm checking everyone's suggestions and getting closer to narrowing it down.  I wish I was a developer, I'd build it myself; I can't be the only guy out there with the same requirements, can I? [tongue]

Bob,

Like you I'm currently using a combo, plus Allen's GTD method.  Toodledo (I know, what a name) and dropbox and gmail, mail, contacts and calendar.  If I could get Toodledo to format into Gantt Charts per project I'd be halfway there.

BTW, where are you in Switzerland?  I spent some time in Geneva and still have a place in St Cergue, though with kids, it's been sitting empty for a while now!

Cheers!

James

 

[Bob Gerritsen]

James, I'm in Lausanne. I have a couple of clients in and close to Geneva and think I might have passed through St Cerque once avoiding the traffic going home. If I recall correctly it was really beautiful. Hope you have someone to keep an eye on the house, otherwise let me know if I can do something for you. I'm not there often but still.

Checking the suggestions so far I realize the Gantt Charts are something more useful with more people in the company. I'm basically doing that with my calendar, granted, that's not the same but on a small scale (just me) that works just fine. How many are you?

You're right, you are not the only one needing something like this. Fiddling with he idea I wouldn't mind an all in one solution. I keep waiting for Action Method to start expanding but not sure if they want to like that.

Keep the suggestions coming! Is there more out there?

Cheers.

 

[Bob Gerritsen]

I've been checking Toodledo and as I'm aiming at more or less creating a GTD organisation this does seem promising. I mean, there sure are plenty options there and they seem to have had GTD in mind. A question though James, being a Mac user and therefor used to (dare I say) intuitive layout, the Toodledo does seem rather complicated at first glance. Could you sum up the pros and cons in your view before I'm going to invest real time in that?

The thing is, my present setup is a bit of an odd mix between these different apps and between analog and digital but the reason is I use every element in it's simplest form as that seems to work with me. Having the option to fill in many parameters for each action (as seems to be the case with Toodledo) is great for evaluation but it will probably be too big a hurdle for me on during a workday. As an example, the other day I was in an awkward position underneath a cabinet to seal a joint when I remembered something. I staid in that position, reached for my phone and seconds later had added that as an action to ActionMethod and continued sealing. What happens everyday is I ad things to my shopping list in Evernote, same deal, it is a matter of seconds which is why this works for me, there is zero hurdle. Then when I plan the next day I check the ActioMethod list and when I enter a store I browse the Evernote list and get whatever they sell there that's on that list. So different apps but quick to use none the less.

Anyway, let us know what Toodledo is like. For me the most important improvement might be to be able to have the projects and actions in the same software as the calendar. If I could do this while keeping things simple I'd want to try that.

Cheers and have a good weekend.