Project management software?
polycounter lvl 2
I'm looking for a management software. I can do this via google and I know lots of results will come up. But i don't trust what they say, especially the reviews online so I'm thinking that maybe I should just ask you guys. Maybe someone here has experience in this kind of software. Maybe you use a good one in your office. Can you give me good recommendations?
Our small company recently announced that they were planning upgrades and if we'd like to make a suggestion. I'm thinking that maybe we can use a good software so we don't have problems with reports and so that our work flow is more efficient.
Any ideas, suggestions, advice? Looking forward to your replies. Thanks!
Our small company recently announced that they were planning upgrades and if we'd like to make a suggestion. I'm thinking that maybe we can use a good software so we don't have problems with reports and so that our work flow is more efficient.
Any ideas, suggestions, advice? Looking forward to your replies. Thanks!
Replies
The company where my friend works uses this software. Maybe I'll just go with this one. Have you ever heard of them?
I've heard good things about Jira. Haven't tried it though.
Visualizing burndown charts and dependencies are really nice, because artists and animators work in a pretty linear fashion, making this quite simple.
Programmers and Project Managers seem to prefer Jira.
I'm a project manager in a small startup and we've been using trello for most stuff.
We have a trello board for the weekly task management:
We create cards for each user story, and break it down into small tasks as a checklist within the card. Requirements go into descriptions, etc.
Then move the cards in the classic To Do > In Progress > Testing > Done order
For a more top level project management we also use a trello board, where we can move features (cards) between different columns(Milestones)
For the GDD we actually use microsoft's Onenote Web App, which is kind of like google docs, but a better structured. So more like a Wiki, maybe.
So far this has worked perfectly for our ~10 person team, but I realize this would probably crash and burn in a big studio :P
If you look for classic project management, that can do GANTT diagrams, AoN diagrams, resource leveling and what not, MS Project can do that. Project Libre is oriented at MS Project, but it's free.
If you really want to go light weight, grab something like Trello. It's great for people who "don't care about the project management crap" to get work done. But in the background, you better have someone who does careful planning based on your Trello activity, using something like MS Project, Hansoft, or any real PM tool - especially when you also have a budget to watch!
I guess the question really is, who's your user base? how complex are the task relationships and resource assignments you want to manage? And, which development method you plan to use (Scrum, generic Agile, Waterfall, Kanban, a bit of this, a bit of that)?
Also, keep in mind that Scum/Agile is a development method. It's not the same as project management, which also includes budgeting, risk planning, resource allocation planning and what not. If you have a tool that only supports Scum/Agile then you may still need extra software to cover the rest.
Sorry I haven't heard of that company but it's good that you have an option, good luck!
Our producers seem to like it, however.
Yeah Trello is great. I use it in work and for all sorts of personal things just to keep my life a bit more organised. It's free as well.
it's a great tool to get work done and track progress. It's not so great for actual planning and budgeting - i.e. the main work of a producer before production starts. It's really very, very basic. But it totally beats Hansoft in usability and non-producer user acceptance. I find myself planning most smaller tasks in Trello and just resort to Hansoft for large grained tasks.