Project Management Apps / Creative Freelance Series
We all use tools & applications as part of our daily/weekly routine as creative people. Whether you’re a writer, designer, developer, PR/Marketing – (the list goes on)! I want to hear from you.
This Creative Freelance Series on Fuel Your Creativity is broken up into 4 parts and to make this a useful article, I am asking the creative community to participate as much as possible to gain insight into the applications you use and/or even worth paying for. Your answers don’t have to be long just concise. Of course I will weigh in with what I use (in the comments below).
The 4 Essential Parts:
1. Project Management & Contacts
2. Billing / Invoicing / Contracts
3. Collaboration & Proofing / Approval
4. Paid Services (non-management)
–
1. Project Management & Contacts
(ex. Basecamp + Highrise)
The following questions cover both paid and non paid services:
a. What applications do you use for project management?
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
Grab the Feed
I’ve reviewed ActiveCollab for The Web Squeeze (http://www.thewebsqueeze.com/reviews/activecollab-designer-review.html). Pretty awesome software, or am I jumping the gun now? :)
a. I currently use Basecamp for project management (paid plan $19 a month I think)
b. The necessary components in a project management tool for me is the ability to manage clients, tasks, files & Contacts.
c. I usually end up emailing the client since most clients don’t understand how to use the PM tool. Can get confusing trying to track everything down from different programs.
d. The problems I have with my current PM tool is that is doesn’t have basic stuff covered within one applications > contacts.
e. I just use email right now to manage contacts
f. I wish Highrise & Basecamp were one tool for the same price. Seems silly to me that a lot of those apps can be made into one great product. I also wish there was the ability to track conversations / chat through the tool.
a. I am currently using Microsoft Project Management (Part of the Microsoft Office Suite) for doing any large scale projects. But for smaller projects and if I personally do not have the software with me when I am in a different location, I use a free project management website called http://www.aceproject.com/ which is a free fully usable project managing online system that you can sign up and use, ofcourse their is options to upgrade user account which may cost, but from what I have been using, a free user account should do you fine.
b. The important components which are essential in a project management tool is structuring your tasks into suitable indents to help reduce confusion when over-viewing project, high-lighted and easy to see deliverables within a project, being able to assign resources and costs to a particular task, and lastly being able to conduct daily, weekly, monthly or yearly reports during your project to give you an over-sight of the progress and monitoring.
c. I e-mail the client, by conducting a daily or monthly report (what ever client requests on that deadline) and via the e-mail start to explain in a bit more detail regarding the report that is being sent. But saying that, with AceProject online (stated above) ive started conducting reports and being able to send them much easier from their own system.
d. To be honest, I don’t find many problems with Microsoft Project Management, although all I can really fault is the usability aspect for a begginner. I personally think Microsoft Project Management is intended for experienced users, rather than an easy to view layout like the online system above which easily allows you to add tasks without any problems and much easier than PM. Also grouping resources is much harder, for example, writing staff names down as a resource for a particular task, but grouping those names as a team.
e. I manage all contacts by my G-Mail account and thats all I really need at the moment, G-Mail’s address book allows me to add contacts, edit their details, group contacts to specific groups, topics etc. If their is a better way of managing contacts, then I would like to see.
a. I began using BaseCamp but a couple of months ago I switched to ProjectPier.
b. Manage clients, mockups/files with comments, and the ToDo and milestone lists (and assignments)
c. I use both (ProjectPier automatically emails them)
d. The inability to mark the mockups/images and add comments to that specific region, kinda like flickr does, oh and I REALLY miss the integration with Writeboard.
e. Thunderbird… :P
f. Thunderbird and ProjectPier.
g. Nope, right now I can’t think of anything.
a. I used Basecamp before but am now using Project Pier which is a self hosted open source app.
b. Task Management as well as email reminders when due dates are coming up or have already passed by (Without them, I’d be lost)
c. I email my client for the most part. IMO, a project management app does better for me then if I were to try and use it with clients due to me having to educate them on it. Emails much easier for the client, app is much easier for me.
d. None really
e. Email. I’ve got a label in gmail that keeps one email from every client so I have it on record. Special clients get their own labels lol
f. I’m going to have to agree with you Adelle. Combining a Client management tool and Project management tool would be great
g. *see above
These are kind of tough questions, since I’m still in the stone ages with Project Management. haha
I answered what I can. Hopefully, my answers were of some help. Ask me about self-promotion, ho’ing or design, no problem. haha
a. I’m not really using any project management tool right now, since it’s just little ole me. I use the old school tools, pen and paper. ;)
b. I track everything on paper, if the project is not too larger. If it’s larger, I may put it together on excel spreadsheet. Setting up folders to keep everything tidy.
c. I usually email clients on the status of the projects
d. Using the old school way is too much paper work to deal with.
e. I use my email and address book to manage my contacts.
- Cal
Hi there Adelle!
First of all, congrats! Good stuff here and on your website =)
a. We’re currently using Basecamp on a friend’s account. We usually don’t use any PM tools since we couldn’t find any that fits in our needs. So far Basecamp is doing a good job…
b. Manage clients, tasks, files and messages (including client’s).
c. We use email to update clients. We never proposed a client to use the same app we do.
d. It is lacking a client’s/contacts management. seems so basic…
e. Gmail and Apple Address Book.
f. Definitely Highrise + Basecamp + Freshbooks.
g. Apple’s iWork as a web app!! That would be heaven :)
Good questions!
Cheers! =)
a. What applications do you use for project management?
Basecamp for me
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
Milestones,Reminders,Notes, Intuitive User experience
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
Dependent on the client I usually email the updates, In some cases I set them up in basecamp so that they can see comps, and provide feedback.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
Not really any it fits my situation very well.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
Mail/basecamp/gmail
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
nothin really… i am pretty set
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
I will let you know if I think of something
Thanks Adelle! another great article… digg the interaction aspect of it. Keep it up!
~ Aaron I
a. ActiveCollab for task/project management and OmniPlan for hgher level resource management
b. Store outstanding to-dos, tickets, documentation and assets in one place. The possibility for clients to open tickets is nice, although we don’t find ourselves using it that way as much as we thought we would.
c. E-Mail and phonecalls to update the client. We are there to serve them, and if we just pointed them to a url, they would not feel as though we are truly serving them the way they want to be served. Additionally, a lot of ideas/issues/concerns/etc come out during conversations with the client that they would not have otherwise mentioned to us.
d. I wish ActiveCollab had more resource-management based support. i.e. if a milestone gets pushed back, provide the option to push all dependent milestones and projects back. That said, its open source, so if I ever had the time, I could write a module :)
e. Shared contact list via Zimbra
f. ActiveCollab + Omniplan + Zimbra
g. A text editor for mac that feels like UltraEdit or EditPlus. Its the only thing I miss from switching
a. At work, I’m using backpack, but a lot of the managers are still using excel (nothing like an excel spreadsheet for a todo list to make you want to rip out your eyes). For personal projects I use Things. For most personal clients, I just use emails…For one of my contracts, we’ve been struggling with prototype for spec-ing the app, so I’m going to give “Get Sign-off” a try (I’ve listened to Boag say it so much on his podcast, I’m somehow driven to try it!)
b. As a designer, I like being able to attach big files, make comments on files, group files with a similar theme (ie. logged in versus not logged in of the same page). Allowing people to give feedback is integral.
c. I email clients.
d. Searching emails is time intensive and it’s hard to find things when you want them. With Backpack, I struggle to get people to put their todo items in it, as they often end up emailing me instead.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
f. Gmail
g. hmmmmm… I’m not a very good organizer, so I haven’t really thought about it!
Great questions. I’m always looking to try out new apps, so this is a great exercise!
Great idea for this post Adelle. I love the direction it is taking…Here’s what I use:
Bento 2 (Mac only)
It’s a great piece of software that allows you to integrate email, contacts, clients files — the whole nine yards into one piece of software.
I actually just wrote a post about Bento last week about it… if any one is interested check it out here. http://tinyurl.com/45ayyw
1. Project Management & Contacts
(ex. Basecamp + Highrise)
The following questions cover both paid and non paid services:
a. What applications do you use for project management?
I use Basecamp for all active projects I’m working on.
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
Ease of use, email and file sharing functionality.
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
I educate clients that don’t already know how to use Basecamp on how to properly use it so that everything is in one place.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
Ramping new clients up on using Basecamp.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
Combination of Highrise and Apple Address Book.
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
Highrise and Address Book. I know both import/export, but I wish there was some sort of sync feature.
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
See previous answer. :)
a. What applications do you use for project management?
Studiometry — bar far the woth the $200.
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
Ability to keep track of projects and their tasks, due dates, people involved… attach projects to invoices, people. Easy to use, upgrade or move to a new computer if needed.
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
No.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
Wish it integrated with QuickBooks.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
Studiometry
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
Studiometry, QuickBooks and Gmail.
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
Can’t think of anything at the moment, though I’m sure there is!
a. activeCollab (corporate version)
b. Time tracking, Tickets, File Management (images etc), ease of use etc.
c. Both
d. There are some functions that can get repetitive and take (for example) 3 clicks – when it could be redesigned to be only 1 click… however aC developers are quite active and are probably already working on solutions..
e. activeCollab + Outlook 2007
f. activeCollab + Outlook + MYOB/Quickbooks + other project management apps (ie- sometimes a client/contractor uses their own project management software and you need to work in both apps – it would be nice if project management apps could ‘talk’ to each other and update tickets, comments etc. in sync.)
g. not that I can think of.
a. What applications do you use for project management?
I’m a big fan of PersonalBrain, but like any project management tool you have to stick with it in order for it to work for you.
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
Division per project.
General calendar (to do today)
Deadline followup per project
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
No, I don’t and they don’t. This remains a ‘back and forth e-mailing’ thing.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
Keeping up with it systematically.
Becomes a bit complicated after a while…
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
Mac Address book.
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
More integration between PersonalBrain and Mac Mail and Mac Address book would be great. Now you have to drag the mail to a folder and then from the folder to your PersonalBrain.
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
Probably… :-)
a. MS Project / PM Tool is currently in-house
b. I have published an article about the ideal PM tool. The article answers your question.
c. The tool sends updates to clients.
d. Limited in functionality/missing a lot of MS Project features, old/dull interface
e. The PM Tool
f. The PM Tool
g. A online tool that copies all the useful functionalities of MS Project
We’ve developed 5pm (www.5pmweb.com) for our own needs. It started about 5 years ago. The concept was put together by a manager and a developer. They looked at project management very differently. The manager wanted something where he can track all the projects, deadlines, workload. He wanted reports and etc. The developer wanted a very simple tool (or no reporting at all ;-)), so he can just get in, close the task with a click and get out. No extra screens, no extra work…
That’s how 5pm was born – trying to find the middle ground between those different views. It starts with the interface – it can be customized to add/hide information from the screens. The developer may choose a very simple view. It has Reports, Gantt-like timeline, but also integrates with email, RSS, iCalendar and so on – tools the developers use.
And by “developer”, I just means any office worker. 5pm was made to work for any industry. We have big companies and small non-profits using it.
Feel free to check the website http://www.5pmweb.com and let us know what you think.
Sergei´s last blog post..Project Management Apps / Creative Freelance Series
a. I’ve started using Bento2 http://www.filemaker.com/products/bento/overview.html and love it so far, it keeps my contacts, iCal & projects all in one place. For me cost is also a major factor. I prefer one price for the app. compared to the monthly fees.
b. Quick and easy to use.
c. We tend to email more back and forth.
d. None.
e. Bento & iPhone
f. Bento + Pages
g. Bento on the iPhone!
Veronica Domeier´s last blog post..Project Management Apps / Creative Freelance Series
a. MS Project
b. Time line for setting milestone goals. Also a resource distribution chart.
c. Using email.(although they all should get on twitter imo!)
d. It’s Microsoft…
e. Outlook address book.
f. MS Project and Outlook calendar.
g. Using MS Project as a frame work, I wish it can incorporate calendar and a mini blogging CMS, for publishing updates via intranet.
My company uses ProjectOffice.net.
- It has project and task management, time management, wiki collaboration, issue tracking and basic resource, contact and expense management.
There are so many features, I can’t remember them all thus check their website for features.
- The company offers superior support, unlike others. Every issue that we have faced has been resolved ASAP.
- We add clients as guest in the space where their project is so they could view the progress of their project. We are open and we provide “real time update” to our customers. This actually increases their trust in our work.
- About Projectoffice.net I don’t like fact that it doesn’t have task summary, chat and scalable Gantt chart.
Overall, this tool has excellent features, great support and a price of $16,99 (for us).
Katja´s last blog post..Project Management Apps / Creative Freelance Series
I am using DeskAway which is a simple, yet powerful project management app. It provides the features of a normal project management software plus automatic email reminders, project templates, calendar, blog, reporting/analytics, full export/backup etc. It is a great tool indeed.
Priyanka´s last blog post..Project Management Apps / Creative Freelance Series
a. We use Intervals for project management
b. Essential components are time tracking, task management, collaboration, and reporting.
c. Our project management app handles client updates, and allows them to login and get updates whenever they want.
d. We need milestones and mobile widgets, which are coming soon.
e. Our project management app has basic contacts in it (phone, email).
f. It would be nice if pm apps had better integration with traditional small biz apps like quickbooks, outlook, etc.
g. I wish there was a tool that told me what to do and when. Prioritizing is still very much a human thing.
John´s last blog post..Project Management Apps / Creative Freelance Series
a. What applications do you use for project management?
Harvest, Campfire and Email
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
Managing Clients, Projects and tracking time.
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients? Email only.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
Too many steps at the moment.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
Thunderbird
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
None that I can think of
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
A web development program such as Coda that is integrated with something like Basecamp to manage the sites.
We use basecamp and highrise. Just great tools.
a. What applications do you use for project management?
basecamp
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
to-do lists
messages
files attached to messages
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
Use the app. Email sends it extra junk like signatures we don’t need.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
Not any really.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
Highrise
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
Quickbooks online
a. We primarily use Basecamp as a means of liaising with clients and managing their projects online. This allows us to give our clients access to the PM software too and since Basecamp is so simple to use, most clients get used to it fairly quickly.
b. I think the most important components (and Basecamp doesn’t provide these) are things such as Gantt charts and basically providing the project manager with a visual representation of what projects he/she has on and whether they’re overdue. Also the ability to track resources in such a chart to determine whether they’re overworked or underworked. As Adelle said earlier, it would be great if Basecamp + Highrise + Backpack were all integrated and Basecamp introduced some sort of Gantt chart solution. This, I think, would be awesome.
c. We try and send all communications through Basecamp so we have one central location of tracking anything relating to that project. The good part about Basecamp now is that clients can just reply to messages sent to them via Outlook and the message still arrives in Basecamp as a comment even if they do attach a file. It works quite well!
d. As stated earlier, my biggest beef with Basecamp is the lack of a visual aid or Gantt chart and possibly the ability to manage capacity through the application. My biggest issue at the moment as a business owner is managing our capacity as a whole and I need to find an application that will address this. Any suggestions???
e. At the moment we’re using Highrise which does the job fairly well but it could be a lot better. The recent introduction of Deals in Highrise has helped but it has a long way to go.
f. Basecamp + Highrise + Backpack for sure. I don’t care if they’re separate. That’s fine. I don’t mind paying for them either. But I think seeing as they’re all 37 Signals applications they should at least “talk” to one another. I think if they had that connection between them, they would have a truly strong application suite on their hands :)
g. I agree with Diane. A mesh of coda/dreamweaver/basecamp would be great. I figure you could assign tasks to developers or designers and even mention specific concepts (PSDs/AI/etc) and specific HTML/PHP/ASP/etc and you could just browse straight to the file and start editing the content.
a. We use open source version of ActiveCollab
b. 1. Messages
2. Milestones
3. Task lists
4. File Sharing
c. We give the updates via the project management tool.
d. In the current app, there are some usability issues, and several features that could’ve implemented better.
e. Our contacts are managed via our mail clients (mainly gmail).
f.I would like to see better integration of project management and time trackking apps, with source control systems like Git. Also managing tasks should be accessible via any channel like SMS,twitter, IM or email.
g. A tool that could act as a whiteboard for real life brainstorming.
I currently use Deskaway . Im pretty satisfied with the tool.
I currently use the app directly. I use the app mostly because it makes me ‘feel’ better – while i use it, its better than email.
I dont necessarily think any other integration is necessary. People have tried twitter integration et al – that’s pointless!
I think reporting, analytics, time spent on each task, values assigned to that time spent etc., search is important, instant share is important. All of this DA has so im pretty satisfied with that.
My contacts are synced with Address Book and DeskAway
a. What applications do you use for project management?
Basecamp baby- this tool rocks for our in-house team as well!
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
Milestones, File Uploading/Management, Time-Tracking, Multiple-User Integration, Ease-of-Use (so that clients can use it if need be).
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
I was originally worried that using Basecamp to do this would throw people off, however I’ve found that clients are totally okay with this and it helps me keep all of my communication logged in one place. Basecamp used to suck for communication though- emails that it sent out would not allow the receiver the ability to reply. Because of this you’d lose potential communication as the client would think they had replied, but in reality the email would have been sent to a dead address. This issue has since been resolved though and now clients can respond via email to the automated messages and it will be logged into basecamp accordingly.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
Not much really- basecamp is just what you need, and nothing that you don’t. My one beef though with basecamp is this- can’t we make it look prettier? :) I mean, with designers everywhere using this, you’d think that there’d be more options to customize the look. It just feels a little too ‘edgy’ to me, and I think an refreshed interface aesthetic could do a lot for the customer base. Not a deal breaker, just a thought.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
I typically just use MACs contact.app
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
Basecamp and Freshbooks
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
Not that I can think of right now.
project management: GoPlan (http://goplan.info/)
invoicing: Freshbooks: (http://www.freshbooks.com)
Phone Line: GrandCentral (http://www.grandcentral.com/)
Online meetings: Bluehouse (bluehouse.lotus.com)
5pm (for project management) + non really using a contact manager
a. What applications do you use for project management?
5pm (http://www.5pmweb.com)
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
Easy to use and get others to use it. Easy to find information.
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
Both. We use email also also 5pm notifications.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
Finding way to betters split projects/tasks.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
not using one
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
ICQ, Skype, TheBat! email
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
I’d like something that cooks, does the cleaning and pays the taxes.
a. What applications do you use for project management?
ClientSpot (http://www.myclientspot.com). Works great for client communication, tracking tasks and time, posting files, and discussions. Also does email notifications on updates.
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
For me, simplicity – clients won’t use it if it’s too complex. Time and task tracking, ability to handle multiple projects and clients securely (permissions), some sort of notifications, and file storage.
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
Try to use the automatic email updates by adding comments to the PM app, clients sometimes just use email though. Great for working with other subcontractors though.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
Pretty happy with it overall, but getting clients to use it more would be good.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
Just use Outlook/Gmail for contacts, don’t really need anything special.
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
Well, ClientSpot exports to QuickBooks for time tracking information, which is great. Might want more integration with email, so clients could maybe email their comments into the system.
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
Yes, the Magic Automated Customer Support system.
a. What applications do you use for project management?
=> DeskAway
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
=> Tasks & Issue Tracking, Clean interface and most of all Reporting & Analytics
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
=> Only use the app. Thats why we love it. It helps us trim our emails to the bare minimum.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
=> Making sure all team members are sold on the idea of using a system rather than email for pm.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
DeskAway. Its got an inbuilt contact app.
a. What applications do you use for project management? – HyperOffice
b. What components are essential in a project management tool? – Task Scheduling, Calendars, Workspaces, File management, to do lists, notifications, permissions
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients? – We use HyperOffice for joint task management. We can simply and easily set up a “workspace” for a new client which all relevant parties (from our side and the clients side) can access from any web browser. the workspace allows everyone to keep track of the project schedule, personal responsibilities, project files etc.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application? – None Yet
e. What application do you use to manage contacts? HyperOffice also has integrated ontact management functionality.
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available? I would like a tool that allows me to stream a file on the recipients system, just as i upload it.
FYI – our team has FINALLY launched ActionMethod – a rather different approach to productivity and project management for creative teams…
Just wanted to chime in, as ActionMethod is a project management system with a bias towards ACTION… You’re welcome to come check it out.
http://www.actionmethod.com
Just started trying it out, really impressed so far…
a. What applications do you use for project management? – DeskAway
b. What components are essential in a project management tool? Task List & Project List,Team Members,Calendar, Issue List, Task Reminder,Backup, Files & Document Upload & Sharing, Project Reporting & overall simplicity which is there in DeskAway.
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients? Yes. Our clients use DeskAway to collaborate with us.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application? None
e. What application do you use to manage contacts? DeskAway
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other? DeskAway.
DeskAway is a great tool & we are quite satisfied with it.
Thanks Adelle! Great article. Sorry I’m just now getting around to read it!
Hi Adelle – just stumbled onto your site and found the post interesting, I’d like to comment.
a. What applications do you use for project management?
Basecamp HQ for interaction with the client and project management, Backpack for my personal organization/intranet. Aside from the design firm, I play in a very active, working band and Backpack is the perfect tool to keep my me and my bandmates organized.
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
Messaging, file upload-download, milestones, task lists, contact management
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
I use Basecamp for all communication with the client. It allows me to keep a thread organized, and since it emails the client directly, they can reply and it’s totally transparent for them. Some clients use a regular email client and others actually log into their account to interact with me. As long as I can keep track of what’s going on, the client is free to use whichever interaction with Basecamp they prefer.
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
None, really. Basecamp is easy for the client to use, and they get used to it fairly quickly. It’d be great if Backpack and Highrise were all integrated with Basecamp, I’d pay for all three. The calendar feature in Backpack is really bare bones, it could use some extra fields and options to make it work for me, so I have to use iCal.
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
Apple’s Address Book. However, I just started a free Highrise account to try it out.
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
Basecamp, Highrise, and Backpack.
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
It’d be great if I could have 2-way push between Backpack and iCal. An iPhone app or widget for all three would be outstanding.
Thanks for reading!
Nice and usefull post, thanks, this is one for my bookmarks!
I use http://www.octabox.com and right now it gets all my needs covered, pretty nice platform that evolve all the time.
a. we use our own development http://www.comindwork.com
b. milestones, todos, tasks, time tracking, reports, wikis
c. all the communication is done with the help of Comindwork as it has good email and RSS integration
d. one of the toughest problems is speed, but the team working very hard and performance is improving constantly
e. Comindwork+Outlook
f. i believe that soon it will be possible to “integrate everything with everything”
g. i want a tool that will do boring tasks for me, so that i can work interesting stuff ))
Arturas´s last blog post..COMINDWORK/BLOG: Comindwork Wiki
After reviewing and testing a lot of project management software, I decided on ProjectPier. One of the best decisions I’ve made….check it out for yourself and give it a chance. http://www.projectpier.org
a. What applications do you use for project management?
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
I just wanted to thank you for asking these questions. (full disclosure: I work for the company behind GridIron FLOW for creative professionals) This is good insight. Thanks -Pete
a. What applications do you use for project management?
ZCOPE (www.getzcope.com), mindmaps
b. What components are essential in a project management tool?
All features around communication (ZCOPE e.g. has a project blog)
c. Do you email updates to the client or use the project management app? Do your Clients?
I use the tool (blog entries and comments are sent via email)
d. What problems do you face in using your current application?
I’d like a direct connection between the project blog and the document management (e.g. to show pictures in the posting)
e. What application do you use to manage contacts?
Mail programs. Not the best solution but I’m still waiting for the perfect one :-)
f. Which tools / apps do you wish would communicate with each other?
Microblogging and blogging within ZCOPE
g. Is there a tool that doesn’t exist that you wish was available?
Maybe this exists already, but I haven’t seen it: automatic posting blog articles on twitter from the blog software