Project Management Software/System you use

[Foster]

We have used Trello for the last three years. The basic version is free. We are very happy with it.

https://trello.com/

Love the example they give




Buy it, then drill the holes and then measure! And they have completed the first two steps!?! Wonder how they knew what size to buy and where to drill?

Oh wait, I'm being told that is standard practice on lots of teams The comment on the task is great "Ugg, going to need a new drill bit. Dang."

Back on topic: https://www.openproject.org/ is OK for small projects like an FRC build.

[gblake]

A general comment is that "Project Management" is not one single thing. It can mean all kinds of different things to different people.

There are some common project management themes because of the way the universe works (such as "you can't assemble parts you don't possess", or "you can't finish writing an article about your complete FTC season until the season ends"); but there are many different ways to handle the rest of whatever you decide "project management" is.

Pick a method that gives you the answers you will use to accomplish your current or next activity(s). In other words, pick a method that produces results that you will "consume" in some way.

Avoid methods, or products, that record/track/produce a lot of information that might look pretty, but that doesn't affect what you do from one day to the next.

A whiteboard and a stack of post-it notes can work much better than more complicated methods for many projects. On the other hand, I know some of the other methods/products mentioned here can also work very well. I have used some of them successfully.

Bottom Line: Let the type of project (the work to be done, and the types/locations of the workers) determine the method you use. Don't let the method determine how you will organize the project.

"Don't let the tail wag the dog."

Blake

[GreyingJay]

Originally Posted by gblake

Pick a method that gives you the answers you will use to accomplish your current or next activity(s). In other words, pick a method that produces results that you will "consume" in some way.

Avoid methods, or products, that record/track/produce a lot of information that might look pretty, but that doesn't affect what you do from one day to the next.

A whiteboard and a stack of post-it notes can work much better than more complicated methods for many projects.

These are some great points.

In an ideal world we would all be physically located in a similar space, with access to all the resources that we need. Then if we needed something we'd just go over and talk to the right people.

Some teams can literally do that, and so may not need as much tracking on a website or other software tool. You'll just annoy everyone if you introduce too much process.

Post-it notes on a wall are actually a great, low-tech way to keep track of tasks and their progress. Advocates of "agile" development methodologies actually promote literally doing this. Naturally 3M is all on board too:

http://www.post-it.com/3M/en_US/post...s/agile-scrum/