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What Does Everyone Use For Task/Project Tracking?
JerBear0 writes "I work as the sole IT employee at a company of about 50 people. I handle programming, support, pretty much anything that is IT related, or even that plugs in. As seems to be true with many small companies, the priorities seem to shift quite frequently. As a result, I've always got multiple programming (both new systems and improvements/changes to existing systems), integration, research, maintenance tasks/projects on my To Do list, in varying stages of completion. At any given time, I need to be able to jump back to one of these items and pick up where I left off. I am currently using Outlook Tasks, and then end up referencing my notebook and email for those dates to figure out exactly where I left off. It works, but not well. If it's been a while, I'll end up losing an hour or two just tracking everything down. I looked at using MS Project / OpenProj, but they want an individual file for each project, and I want at least the project/task list all on one screen. Essentially what I'd want would be a Task List on steroids, allowing for hierarchical subtasks, attachments, and prioritization. Ideally it would be a desktop app, but a locally-hostable web app would be okay. In some of these projects I may want to include proprietary information, which I really don't want floating out in the cloud outside of my control. I know I'm not alone in this problem, so what do you guys (gals) use to address this?"
I use redmine, see http://www.redmine.org/
Indians
works pretty good for us -although it's not FOSS or anything
http://www.seapine.com/
priced pretty reasonable compared to Clearquest and other 'complete' software lifecycle/reqs packages
-I'm just sayin'
Theres no ideal solution out there yet, especially if you want it sharable and free.
You could do worse than a spreadsheet in google docs with the correct column headings, and an embedded gant chart.
Its sharable, allows easy import and export, is hosted, and free.
A combination of Bugzilla and Wiki. Wiki keeps track of backlog. Bugzilla keeps track of tasks.
You mean like this?
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
I love this tool. Used it on multiple agile projects. Free too!
I use Outlook Tasks with the GTD (Getting Things Done) philosophy. Tasks are prioritized and categoriezed, reviewed at least weekly, and sync'd to my Blackberry where I can review and mark complete while on the go. Requests are Moved to the tasks folder and my inbox is kept clean. It works very well and consolidates around Outlook which is my most-used program.
http://www.clockingit.com/ Might be worth a look. Keeps track of stuff you need to do, and will let you keep track of time spent doing it as well. Definitely a help if you're looking to prove you need help some day. And yes, you can install a copy of it on a local server.
Heck, might be a good tool for others in your office, for that matter - this isn't a problem you're alone in having in your company.
"Actually, I enjoyed this in the same vague, horrible way I enjoyed the A-Team" P. Opus
... for several webapps, quite a lot are PHP but that's not a problem. We have used dotProject for our task management before buying into something 'better'. It worked well, produces gantt charts, but will not do any kind of resource allocation for you. Still, its nice and easy to use.
There are alternatives on sf.net, ganttchart, phpproject etc. Go have a look.
JIRA FTW
Bug and development tracking in Jira which intergrates tightly with the excellent enterprise-class wiki of Confluence. Great software by great people, and I'm not affiliated with anyone who works there. Just ask around about them.
Very robust and free.
http://bestpractical.com/rt/
I used to use Mantis and create tickets for different tasks.
I have switched to OpenGoo, this is a slick easy to use web based lightweight project management software. It can be used to give visibility to others in the organization regarding what you're working on if you so choose.
Slay a dragon... over lunch!
It has worked pretty well, and quite a few people in other departments have started using it too. It's a nice way to do "brain dumps" and record those things people tend to say in passing in the hall! I still have a few people that "forget" about it and call / barge into my office to ask a question. "Did you check the wiki?" standard response now!
Nice big whiteboard w/ several color markers. Grid it out into colums/rows if needed using blue painters masking tape.
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
I use WebCollab, great tool and fits the description of a "task list on steroids" and its open source! What is nice about WebCollab is that you have one object, a task, and a task can have multiple tasks in a hierarchical organization or can be by itself. http://webcollab.sourceforge.net/
Now if you'll excuse me I'm late on 42 of the 54 tasks I have to do!
The software is specialized for programming, has a cludgy fat interface and we suffer through our monthly timelogs. That is all.
Namaste
I use tuxcards.
You might want to take a look at JIRA.
http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/
It is a powerful issue tracker and as long as you can live with the 10 user "starter" limit it is very cheap (10 USD).
I am in a similar situation (IT 4 persons out of 100) and JIRA has been a lifesaver.
But I always wash my hands afterwards.
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
Works fantastically well, but for Mac only. So chances are it won't work for you. It does everything you ask for anyway.
Free GPL Java Mobile Tetris game: Jamos
I use redmine, which is opensource, and free as long as you have a server for it.
If I liked bazaar, I would use launchpad.
If I wanted a payed, supported option, I'd go for Basecamp.
Microsoft Project.
At my last job we used VersionOne... It does pretty much what you ask for, but managing it is a royal pain in the ass. Not very intuitive at all.
http://www.versionone.com/
I use Task Coach It has hierarchical subtasks, attachments, and prioritization. I really like the ability to create tasks automatically from emails.
I work in almost identical setup and simply use two notebooks. In notebook one I keep generic todo list, which travels with me. Second notebook sits on my desk. I keep more per project detailed data on it describing how I did something or just basic notes when trying to solve something. If the project is bigger, there will be separate binder for it additionally.
The generic notebook gets decoded into excel file which has sheet for each month, so I can track what I've been doing past year(s). Also it helps when troubleshooting reoccurring problems.
There are no atheists when recovering from tape backup.
Thinking Rock (GTD)
http://www.trgtd.com.au/
http://trac.edgewall.org/ is what I use, combination of a wiki and bug / task tracking. Can easily run it on a lightweight server locally (I use python paste) or even use the very lightweight builtin one. Has a nice permission system and supports login if you wish to let others see it but don't want them to change anything. Open source too!
I know nothing of your budget or what machines you are running, so take what I say as a "I'm running a Microsoft shop" centric answer. Bugtracker.net is a pretty good solution that will allow you, with some fiddling about a bit, to empower your users to submit requests and for you to assign tasks and priorities for little or no cost on top of what you already have invested.
If you aren't a Microsoft-centric shop, any good bug tracking platform will do. Think of them more as issue trackers. Add a wiki, if needed.
Are you an emacs user? If so, then I definitely recommend org-mode: http://orgmode.org/
It's notes mixed with todos on steroids (which themselves are on steroids). There's nothing it can't do. Check it out.
There's a Google tech video about it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJTwQvgfgMM
-Enfors-
http://www.fogcreek.com/FogBUGZ/
Its great, its simple, it also cost a bit of money, but its worth every cent.
http://www.intellipool.se/ - Intellipool Network Monitor
I've worked with people in the same situation (small office & 1 person IT team) before.
They used Trac (http://trac.edgewall.org/) to keep things organized. It works really well because it has integration with the standard SVN features for software development, while tickets/milestones can be used for non-programming projects. It even scales well with job assignments if you eventually get an IT team.
Although not strictly for tracking projects, I recently started using Microsoft OneNote.
...and if there are similar things out there, let us know. It is not the specific product that is the important, but the functionality.
I find it really great for keeping lots of notes in a semi structured way. I used to have a lot of files and pieces of paper with notes. Now I have it all in a OneNote file.
It also integrates with other MS products, so you can create an Outlook task directly from some note in onenote.
Don't take my word for it. You can most likely download a time limited trial from Microsoft and check it out, or watch the demos available.
Of course it is from Microsoft and it costs money, but if you can get over those hurdles, it is a good product.
a) Read the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen
b) Find some software that emulates the GTD methodology. For the Mac, Daylight does a decent job, and iGTD was built for it (iGTD has now morphed into a commercial product)
you need to write a front end to draw lines
but it has a database backend that you can augment, has prioritization,
dependencies, user assignment, completion estimates and completion dates
it may suck, but it seems substantially more useful than the tools that were made
for the purpose
A simple to-do list and lab notebooks. The trick with the to-do list is for the tasks to be small enough that you can reasonably do them quickly, and thus you never have a partially complete task.
Of 4 people managing about 1200 machines across Canada (yes, and I'm not exagerating) - we use this program called Track-It! by Numara.
It does well enough for us, lets us assign different tasks to different technicians, give them different prioritees, expected completed dates, notes and all that nice stuff. The only thing it doesn't really do is sub-tasks. It does handle Attachments, Prioritization, and you can set it up to generate these projects based on incoming emails (emailing support@mycompany.com will generate a task for your technicians to do).
However, I don't feel like thats the one for you. For about 4 months I worked with a company called Neosystems, and they have a project called iTrak . It sounds alot like what you are using for.
At any given time, I need to be able to jump back to one of these items and pick up where I left off. CHECK ... for hierarchical subtasks, CHECK attachments CHECK, and prioritization CHECK. Ideally it would be a desktop app, but a locally-hostable web app CHECK would be okay. In some of these projects I may want to include proprietary information, which I really don't want floating out in the cloud outside of my control *
*That last part, I'm not entirely sure of. From what I recall, they push their updates to all their clients at once, which makes it sound like the business is hosting the application. However, they're a relatively small company, with a great product. It was a real pleasure working on it, but sorting out AJAX bugs just got the better of me, I was fresh out of post secondary. I highly recommend checking them out, maybe giving them a call to see if their product will work for you.
You need to read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Management-System-Administrators-Thomas-Limoncelli/dp/0596007833/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261000026&sr=8-1
It's for systems administrators, but the rules apply across all jobs and even your personal life. It's helped me out immensely at the office.
Does anyone use TaskJuggler for project management? I've looked into it before and it's overkill for most of what I do but it seems to have an interesting approach so I'm interested to hear anyone's opinion on it.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
I'm partial to AbstractSpoon's ToDoList. It's a hierarchical todo list that supports priorities, notes, attachments, time tracking, etc. Freeware, to boot!
Clearcase is used for code repository, and clearquest can track tickets with code changes. Clearcase intergrates with both Visual Studio, and Eclispe. You can require code changes to associated with ticktes in clearquest.
Trac + SVN on Apache. Does everything you've described and more. Works on Linux or Windows. Works fine on localhost, plus you can access if from anywhere with a web browser, should you so desire. Shouldn't take more than a couple hours to set up in entirety.
A blank sheet of paper.
I'm completely serious. I hate bloatware.
I recently started using Task Coach http://www.taskcoach.org/ which is a GPL app. It has been good for me so far particularly in handling detailed tasks. I don't know how it would hold up to a project though. The features I use most are categories/sub categories and there is a timer that you can start/stop for a specific task. It also allows you to "complete" a task and reopen it if need be. Each task has a description box where you can denote where you left off. I find it handy so far, but I haven't really gone beyond basic usage.
and works across functional groups as well (http://trac.edgewall.org/). It is mainly geared towards software development efforts, and integrates very well with major version control systems. It also has an integrated bug-tracking system, wiki, and a host of plugins that allow for task-dependencies, project planning, binning tasks into specific milestones, setting time limits on sub-tasks, and in general everything you possibly want to do in a software development environment. In addition, you can create your own plugins, Gantt charts etc if so inclined. You mainly plan and execute projects through "tickets", which could be a task, bug, enhancement, whatever. The meta-data for each ticket can be customized, though the out-of-the-box implementation is pretty useful. And its open-source.
I'd be interested in the overall answer here. I use Eclipse with a lot of additional standard addons (ECF, WTP, TPTP, etc) and would like to find something useful to use a task management that I can share with coworkers or work towards overall goals. I bet Eclipse has something for this already built in, but I'm just not using it properly.
I'm contemplating a bugzilla setup since it looks like it integrates nicely, It might be overkill though and not fit your guidelines.
Another tool I'm looking at is jazz concert that seems to include lots of tools for just what you are looking for. I haven't used it but if I get some time after the holidays, might test it out.
import system.cool.Sig;
I'm not an emacs user, but I make an exception for org-mode. It's text file based, so you're in control. One file or many, you decide. Easy to combine with revision control. Todo lists, schedule, links, free form notes. It's like an outliner with it's tree based structure, but more flexible. Check out the tutorials and screencasts for a taste: http://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/index.php
Great question. Got me to thinking there must be an Eclipse or Firefox plugin for that. Found a few I'll have to check out now. MyLyn looks promising from IBM http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-mylyn1/ though it seems to more programming oriented than what you do.
For FireFox, maybe Quick ToDo list https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/11386 or Time Tracker https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1887
Set up a quick Drupal http://www.drupal.org/ site with pages you can privately blog to as an online notebook. Use Time Tracker in Firefox to track time on each task page.
I dunno - just made all this up.
I use a local instance of wordpress and a wiki to keep track of things. I use the blog to keep track of what I'm doing through the day with times and personal notes. I put the project/research notes, functional specs, and design specs into the wiki.
taskfreak
Unfuddle is flexible enough for what you want. Web-based.
Project2Manage.com
Very straightforward.
Confluence/Jira.
Probably not a very popular application with most of you folks but it finds a home in lots of design shops just for this purpose.
Whenever I start new employment if it isn't already there I make sure it's purchased and start developing workflows from day one. Has never failed me, very flexible software and has just enough of a techy edge to satisfy my inner geek!
I use loggingit.com -- been working at it for a year now. I find it really useful -- it's so simple!
Check it out for yourself.
Stephan
http://stephan.sugarmotor.org
TUTOS: http://www.tutos.org/homepage/about.html
# a calendar for users and groups
# Groups / Teams
# address manager for people, companies and departments
# bug tracking system
# product/project repository
* with task management
* with document management
* with installation management
* support of different roles
* support of relations to other projects
# mailboxes (imap/pop)
# timetracking on projects, installations and bugs
# Watchlists. Stay informed on changes on projects/bugs etc via email.
Might be a little overkill, but should be able to do what you want. Take a look http://www.phprojekt.com/index.php?&newlang=eng
We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
mptw works great for keeping track of everything imo.
the full power of the stock tiddly wiki (and all plugins), plus adds fully cross-referenced tagging to each entry, which is a total breeze to use.
Try this, http://www.thebrain.com/, it's locally based, supports all that you mentioned. although you need to pay to be able to attach files. Excellent to keep track of task, documents, priorities, links with other projects. It's not something like MS project though, in the sense that it useful to estimate or keep track of time.
I did a lot of searching awhile back, and found I like TaskTHIS the most. Its simple yet versatile enough to do just what I need, without much overhead. You can add/edit notes to each task and reorder them as you wish. I've gotta check out these other ToDo List apps though, what a great post.
OnStage free version http://www.onstageportal.com... Although I'm a one man team so my task list needs are not that complex.
TaskTwo is a very slick online project(and more) tracker. It's very well thought out and extremely intuitive interface.
http://www.tasktwo.com/
If you want to keep it simple, take a look at basecamp (www.basecamphq.com).
HTML is obsolete. It's time for a new, simpler and richer markup language.
I'm confused as to why the OP doesn't want to use MSProject. He says that it requires a separate file per project, which is true, but you can create a Master project and insert subprojects, and so you can then see everything all at once!
Personally I think a project management software is overkill for this guy's needs. Something like The Hit List on Mac would probably suit him just fine.
Depending on the complexity of the project, I use B-Liner ( http://varatek.com/ ), Microsoft Project (or Primavera) and sometimes I just use Outlook.
If you're going to use Outlook, I recommend a book from MS Press, "Take Back Your Life!" by Sally McGhee for the cool organizing hints she has in the first three chapters.
I would like to download the code for project.net ( http://www.project.net/ ) and see if I can modify it for "Critical Chain" use. "Critical Chain" and "Necessary but not Sufficient" by Eli Goldratt ( http://www.goldratt.com/ ). You might like all of Goldratt's books. NBNS is a cool book, but the typos and bad editing bothered me. The ideas were inspiring.
All-in-all, I prefer an app with Gantt/PERT diagrams so I can point to how far behind I am and tell people to, "Leave me alone so I can catch up."
"The mind works quicker than you think!"
You might want to have a look at Retrospectiva. It has ticketing, milestones/goals, code reviews, a wiki add-on, a blog add-on, and an Agile project management add-on. Plus you're free to develop your own add-ons. It's fully open source too...
It's a Ruby on Rails application so you really want a Linux server to run it on, but it's got everything.
Project planning, file sharing, wiki, issue tracking, charts, calendars, email notifications, and plugins to do more.
It took a real world war to end the airplane's patent wars. - Fâché Rouge -
I am not sure if you want project management or task management. For task manage I used a multiple desktop switcher. I currently have 6 desktops configured.
The advantage is if I need to work on another task, I switch to another desktop. When I am done, I can switch back to the original desktop and have my
work environment exactly where I left it. I can pick up where I left off almost immediately.
The only requirement is that you have a machine with enough memory to handle all the applications that are opened at the same time.
Try GTD. (You can also google for "GTD" and "Getting Things Done".)
But the real trick is to keep your system lean and simple - you won't use it if it's complex.
I've been using Trac for quite a while now, decent ticketing system for bugs & tasks combined with a wiki for everything else. Nice and simple.
From what you mention most of your requirements can be filled with the default install. Only subtasks might be tricky depending on what you want exactly, as I haven't needed to set up a hierarchy of tasks myself. Maybe one of the plugins would do the trick. YMMV.
This sig is intentionally left blank
Have you explored the low-tech options?
It's amazing what you can do with a dedicated whiteboard and lots of post-its (make sure you get the super-sticky kind).
And yes, I do have experience using it on single-person tams, and it's still really helpful.
You obviously need to tailor the technique to your reality, but even if it in no way resembles scrum I think
you will find the combination of excellent visualisation and direct-manipulation interfacxe very powerful.
I used one swimlane for each project, each with one note per task, all in prioritised order within their lane.
Separate (as columns the backlog) from the small subset you plan to actually do this iteration/week/whatever.
Don't plan further than one or maximum two iterations, beyond that it will change too much to be useful.
Move the task-notes across from one end of the board to the other as they progress from queued to complete,
via whatever stages your process requires.
Along with the clear picture of the situation it offers yourself, it is also great for getting others
to understand just how much you have on your plate, without you whining about it.
Use it actively in front of people when they come in with requests, putting up a new note,
soliciting their opinion on where it belongs in the prioritized queue, and show how it pushes
other things down the queue, and out of this iteration's work.
If your notes keep hanging in the limbo of started but not progressing, you probably need to split up into smaller tasks.
This will also improve estimation.
I tried and liked OneNote, integrates with Outlook tasks (and the rest of Office) etc., souple enough to generate formal documents like meeting reports, allows to integrate a task list into a report. Has synchronisation possibilities between distributed version. But in the end I dropped it for a Wiki, go figure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_issue_tracking_systems
You and your customers create issues describing what they want done. You estimate them. They prioritize them in the order they want them done. You track your time and status on each issue. You can add notes and artifacts to each issue so that you can pickup where you left off if priorities change.
This might sound like a lot of extra work. Not only is it not a lot of work, it is hugely to your advantage in two ways:
1. When the time comes, and it will, that whoever pays your bills wants you to justify your existence or justify why tasks are taking longer than they want, you can point them to this system and show exactly what you've done, where your time has went, and when priorities and requirements have changed.
2. When you're ready to move onto a larger company, having personally been responsible for rolling out and implementing an issue tracking system is a nice accomplishment to put on your resume.
In my company i don't work in the IT department, so i'm limited by whatever IT gives me. My department needed a similar system to track projects, tasks, milestones, and certain metrics, and give visibility to the rest of the org. We have sharepoint in our corporate environment, so i used sharepoint to do most of the work. Project plans in MSProj are stored in eRoom (because we have to work with external contractors) and pulled via weekly script I wrote and placed on to sharepoint lists. That's the only "custom" part of the system. From there, weekly workflows in sharepoint run automatically to process the lists and send data where it needs to go, report errors or problems, and obtain necessary approvals. It may not be an "off the shelf" solution, but it's custom to our precise business needs. It was also really easy to build. Sharepoint workflows can do just about anything and you don't need a computer science degree to understand them.
I find that the software/technology isn't the limiting factor anymore. It's usually the people and business processes that lag far behind the technology and are usually the largest barriers to making things more efficient. I spent way more time convincing the decision makers and slowly edging people towards a sustainable process than i did building the system.
Trac with Subversion on the back end. The built in wiki is right handy and there are lots of nice plugins help round it out.
6F 9E A9 1E 96 9F 74 27 ED B8 81 6D 0C 4E 1E 78
My other Sig is a 229.
Emacs org mode is hierarchical todo list on steroids. You can run a significant amount of work from it.
You'll probably spend more time reviewing the suggestions and comments that appear here than it would take for you to whip something together (since you mentioned that you code).
I went through the same thing about 18 months ago when I became the sole IT guy at a new employer. While there likely were tons of available tools out there, I spent about a half hour throwing together a simple task tracker in Access. My development skills are very limited. My database does not have subtasks, but that would be just like an order details subform (and associated table) in an orders/inventory database (I think there's a template with that logic included with Access, or it is in the wizard). It's nothing fancy, but it let me quickly log all tasks, and allowed for easy reporting to the boss man.
I use irony whenever I can, but my shirts are still wrinkled...
Ever since I learned about Agile/Scrum, I can not imagine a successful Software development company preferring either MS Project or Open Work Bench, it just does not make sense.
Of course many companies do not do Agile/Scrum correct. Even more do not maintain a sustainable velocity in order not to burn out their staff.
Joel on Software use to blog about KISS, yes, Keeping it Simple S------, you can use whatever word that begins with "S" for the second word. He had a very simple spreadsheet that would let you very rapidly work up your Tasks, Projects and plan the big picture. It was extremely effective and very, very fast.
The real joke, and I have been on a number of these, are projects where you are the sole developer, tester, etc... for all the work, yet your Mgr still requires you to put all your information into a project schedule program (I have used most of them even Primavera...) so that your Manager can email a copy to his Manager (none of who will ever look at it). When a project like that does NOT roll up into anything else, Project Management software is way over kill.
Not sure if Joel on Software still keeps that blog post up as they have software that they push for others to buy these days, but it made a heck of allot of sense.
So a simple spreadsheet (OOo Calc, Excel, heck even VPPlanner or SuperCalc would work, if anyone still uses those, awww VPPlanner's Dimensional Spreadsheets (think pivot tables back in the old DOS days and you get it) would work) would be what I would recommend for you to plan your task/projects big picture. And straight to Agile/Scrum from there, so no MS Project, Openwork Bench or P3 would be needed.
For Agile/Scrum you could use any "white-board like tool" (there are many of these) that would let you collaborate in real time together online. This information could be copy/pasted into OpenOffice.org Writer if you wanted, with graphics, links, code snippets everything and you would not need any software. Tie it in with a Wiki page and you have a very inexpensive Share Point. I started copy/pasting anything and everything into OOo Writer a couple of years back and have never looked back. It was funny, because MS started pushing Share Point junk and I thought, wow, I am already doing that now.
There was a small hic-up with the OOo 2.5 upgrade that was fully worked out and eliminated by OOo Writer v. 3.0.0 and above. So my method would be:
Plan with Spreadsheet
Create a master file in OOo Writer (v. 3.0.0 and above), either outright copy images (or links to images, databases, wikis, etc) into this file.
Implement Agile/Scrum correctly
Arrive at a sustainable velocity and prevent anyone, esp upper management from screwing the pooch by trying to artificially inflate the velocity.
Keep my developers, testers happy and productive, publish frequently and publish often. And thanks to a lower turnover of staff, develop superior products as compared to my competitors who allow non-programming Mgrs to push their people to death.
You have not developed a pair until you have had to tell a Director, Vice President, President or CEO that they can not have their way and here is why, once shown the facts, thank you and give you a raise for doing your job effectively.
Hint to all: Does your Human Resources monitor Turn-over under specific managers, its the most over looked metric that will identify poor performing Managers and get them the training that will prevent them from ruining their group, other groups and valuable employees for the company. Especially if they have calculated what it costs to on board an employee, as every time a poor manager churns through an employee, that should be viewed as a negative cost on their part towards the productivity of their group and the company. While many type A Managers get into Management for the wrong reasons (anything other than developing people while maximizing profit to the company applies here) and no one bothers to h
Is your Internet Throttled? Install DD-Wrt, OpenWRT or Tomato to learn the truth! Google: 1Gbps/1Gbps: 5 Communities
Basket
http://basket.kde.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Notetaking_software
So everyone else gets a good view of what you are doing. Has the advantage of making you look busy.
Why don't you give Agilefant 2.0 alpha a try?
It's a FOSS tool designed to solve just the problem you have and it has most of the features you need, except file attachments, which aren't there (at least just yet). Currently Agilefant lacks some of the customization options commercial software like VersionOne or Rally have, but many of our users have been quite happy with the current functionality.
Agilefant handles multiple product, projects and iterations simultaneously with ease. In addition to normal backlog lists, it has a personal job queue for each user so you can see what you were planning to do next. If you enter your effort estimates for tasks, Agilefant will calculate how much work on average you have planned for the few next weeks.
Agilefant runs on Tomcat and MySQL and is really easy to install.
Disclaimer: I'm a former Agilefant developer and currently working on a project very close to Agilefant development.
It might be worth looking into. The customizability it offers is a nice touch. :)
This is a product which used to be project workbench for windows which does everything a project manager needs it to do.
It is windows only and is not a web application but for a real project plan is tough to beat.
http://www.openworkbench.org/index.php
At home (on my mac) I use omnioutliner. I love it, and it perfectly describes what you are looking for.
I was unable to find an equivalent on windows though.
At work, we used clearquest for a long time. A while back, my company did a big internal search for something different. We evaluated about 5 different tools, and eventually settled on Jira. I absolutely love it. I'd suggest taking a look at that tool.
(Note: We still use Clearquest for core dev, but added Jira for internal tools.)
[...]so what do you guys (gals) use to address this?
Admit it. This was just an excuse to get the "gals" who read slashdot to respond to you. I can smell pickup lines 1024 IP addresses away.
You may want to look into Tasktop. You can connect the task list to one or more task system back ends or just use local tasks. The advantage of Tasktop is that it can track context for each task. That way, when you want to return to a task that you haven't touched in two weeks, restoring the task in Tasktop can get you right back to the web pages, e-mails, etc. that you were accessing while working on the task last time. It also has integration with Eclipse if you do your development in Eclipse.
I use this: http://www.myclientspot.com/
Full Disclosure:a friend of mine built the application and runs the site but I'm a client and happily pay my $15/month. It's made my time tracking for managing tasks for multiple clients very easy and makes generating timesheets for quickbooks in order to do invoicing very easy.
try Alliance Collaborator: http://www.thoughtrealm.com/ While it is a hosted solution it does not use a browser or any web stack so does not have any of those security issues. There is a small 4meg download to install the secure client (windows only for now). You can have multiple projects, tasks, discussions etc. open at the same time and it even allows you to track time at a task level. Free to try.
"Task Coach is a simple open source todo manager to manage personal tasks and todo lists. It grew out of Frank's frustration that well-known task managers, such as those provided with Outlook or Lotus Notes, do not provide facilities for composite tasks. Often, tasks and other things todo consist of several activities. Task Coach is designed to deal with composite tasks."
http://www.taskcoach.org/
It's open source (GPL v3), runs on Linux, Mac, or Windows, is desktop-based (not web-based), and comes in a variety of different languages . It even has some useful features for your situation, like the ability to track the amount of time spent on any task or subtask. I've used it for a while and found it to be easy to use and very helpful.
Pivotal is freakin' awesome. Easy to manage stories and priorities, and our customers love it too.
I use "ToDoList" http://www.abstractspoon.com/tdl_resources.html . It's a nice desktop app with tasks broken down into subtasks. You can also have multiple task lists to keep things organized.
Tasks can be given priorities, a record of how much time has been spent, a time estimate (to calculate % completed).
Tasks are displayed in a tree structure that can be expanded/collapsed to keep everything readable.
Tasks can also have attachements and comments.
Task lists are stored as .xml as well, so easy to share data with other apps.
It's released under an Eclipse Public License, whatever that is.
Please read the title =)
--exa--
Could check out TASKey (http://taskey.com/) -- not the prettiest, but hits all your requirements (they push the online version, but they offer a locally installable one)
I think what you're looking for - with one exception - is Hiveminder.
I've been using it for a little over a year - the free version is good and the Pro version is (if I remember correctly) $30 / year. It supports:
Task dependencies - so if you can't do task B until A is done, it will (by default) hide task B.
Task priorities
Due dates
You can add comments to each task, describing where you are at as you go
The pro version supports up to 500 Mb of attachments
Other things I really like:
It is also collaborative, so others can assign you tasks (even over e-mail in the pro version)
It supports a "hide until" date - so you can ignore some tasks for a few days while you concentrate on others
Recurring tasks
The downside is that it is an online service, not a desktop app or locally hostable web application. Whether that is a deal-killer will depend on your needs and level of paranoia, but the pro version does allow everything to be done over ssl.
(Just a happy customer, btw - not affiliated in any way with the company)
I use SharePoint. It schedules, tracks, and prioritizes all activities for and between employees. It also has decent security, good attachment options, good version control, but weak document repository controls, like distribution. I like that it generates nice management reports. It is lacking at integrating with outlook and should have a better alert/email system, but it is easy to setup with TLS which makes it accessible.
I use Natara Bonsai - Windows version, but there's also versions for Windows Mobile (touch or smartphone) and Palm.
I recently started using TaskMerlin http://www.taskmerlin.com/ It is small, and point and click simple, but does what I need it to do.
Ditz for per-project tracking. It just sits there in your repository (which you should have). I used Git for a repository. This meant that the change that fixed a problem would also close the bug, making things much more closely tied than something like Trac could hope to be. (Ever wanted to know which branch still has a given bug open? Now you can.)
I've also used Ktimetracker, back when it was called Karm, to track billable hours. The advantage of a GUI/desktop time tracker, in addition to being KDE-based, is that it can do things like notice which desktop I'm on, notice when I become idle, and punchin/punchout with a global keystroke -- these kinds of things are more difficult (though not impossible) with a tool closer to Ditz.
I have not, however, used both of these at the same time.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
I'll take care of your question right after I get some post-its so I can make a note to remind me to deal with this.
Today I saw a video presentation of a new product called Firefly by ActiveState (The folks that publish a popular Win32 perl). Not FOSS, in fact, they host the whole thing on their server. At least there's nothing to install. You can get a free account and set up projects but if you want to set up a private project (i.e. one that's only accessible to your group) you'll need to pay. They cater to many development methodologies. Also they allow you to use a couple of choices for version control--Mercurial and Subversion. It includes a ticketing system and a feature that allows you to see what code changes were done in the fixing of an issue. http://www.activestate.com/ I think it's usable.
That was the turning point of my life--I went from negative zero to positive zero.
We use Microsoft's SharePoint where I work.
Pretty easy to set up lists and views to be able to flip / flop your data for different groups.
May not be well suited to the heirarchical tasks issue, but it was an easy win for us here b/c we were already using it to search documents on our domain, and we had a mess of users sending around excel spreadsheets as project tracking.
Here's a novel approach:
Take massive quantities of LSD, combined with strobe light therapy, aka MK Ultra stuff - until you develop Dissociative Identify Disorder aka Sybil Effect and then assign each one of your personalities a non-competing task. Note: you may have to go Memento on this, and write the tasks on your body for the next personality to see.
What you should find is that you cycle personalities often enough to load balance the work properly. Take Thorzine as needed to adjust timing.
I think you will find that.... errerggshdgs... wait, what? Ignore that advice!
Everyone uses their brain.
You're welcome, have a nice day.
Trac is a Bugzilla, Wiki, and then some - plus it has thousands of plugins. Also easy to administer and manage. Great tool, I use it for many projects.
It allows for linking of files in any order you want as well as dates, tasks etc. It's very flexible and you can structure the data any way you like. They have a trial version on there site if you want to give it a go!.
Don't forget trac hacks.... it makes the vanilla trac actually usable (ie, stored user logins, user-defined custom fields, you name it).
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
I've been using Tranglos KeyNote for exactly that for many years, for dozens of projects. Having searchable, rich text documents arranged in tabs and trees seems about the only way to go. Of course, issue trackers and shared to-do lists would be an entirely different question. KeyNote is just for my own notes and lists. I have it open in a second monitor all day everyday.
Don't go for a single user solution. The fact that you are spending so much time managing your tasks tells me that it's nearly time your group got another one of you. And then you need a task management system that scales to more than one techie.
We use RT. Everything I and my two techies do gets logged into RT. Sometimes these are tickets from users, sometimes they are things we've put in (systems work). You can have priorities, due dates, assign tickets to techies, etc etc etc.
I don't think it has the hierarchical concept where you might break up a task like "Get Fred a new PC" into "Spec PC : Buy PC : Install PC : Setup OS" or whatever, but hmmm maybe it does... I think you can have tasks dependent on other tasks and so forth... Check it out.
RequestTracker, RT, from BestPractical.
And it's open source and written in perl.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned ToDoList, at http://www.codeproject.com/KB/applications/todolist2.aspx. Hierarchical tasks, attachments, priorities, plus mroe, in a desktop app.
Post-it notes and a big wall. They just win. Make headings with A-4 papers and then arrange the post-it notes chronologically.
taskwarrior.org. It's a CLI task manager, OSS, lots of platforms, lots of features. Doesn't get in the way.
Standard part of Fedora core 10, 11. Cygwin 15.
Isn't this something Google Wave would be perfect for once it's fully operational? Just create a wave for each project / todo etc. Replay function being nice to track back stuff. I know I myself will try for sure :)
This is what I use: http://www.axosoft.com/ontime
Windows and web client are available. Can be hosted completely within your environment. Free trial and free permanent license for 1 user (Express version). Much more details and how-to videos on their website
We use Mantis for bugs, and we've integrated that with WorkLenz, a PPM tool. WorkLenz has a fairly robust taxonomy capability that can mirror Mantis pretty well. It does Agile as well as waterfall, all within the same taxonomy.
Dude, just knock up your own little application.
If its just for you and one or two others, Access (boo hiss) is your friend here. Ive found a PROJECT(or system)->TASK->HOURS table structure works out well and because its Access you can pretty much bolt on the extra bits as required.
tip: Don't forget to include a field in the TASKS table for the not just the client, but the client area. That way, at the end of the year or at review time you can show exactly where all your man power costs are going.
Yes Access is the bane of my existence from an existing system support role, but it *does* excel at these sort of small quick and dirty systems. It also works well as long as you design it properly - plus, you can move the back end to a real DB after a couple of years
It's tiddlywiki modified to acts as a GTD organizer: one page of html and java.
There are no ideal solutions yet. Although there are an unbelievable number of non-ideal ones available.
"The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool" - Jane Wagner -
Work on project:
Tasklist:
Effectiveness: Crap.
Its actually a cool job. And this is before you get burnt so enjoy it and the optimism your question contains.
In a small company anything that plugs in means you are a bitch. Get some fucking standards, boy. Don't touch the cellphones, pdas and certainly anything that is not company property.
This is your problem and close out everything else and read this.
You must accomplish something. Not the stuff on the lists, something you can take with you otherwise you are wasting your time. All these change orders whether from a skirt or tie can do is fuck you and prevent you from accomplishing projects. This causes a very typical asocialization and detachment of IT people though with a simple extension of context, it can be remedied. Its not worth finding out the hard way like most people do after getting screwed that everyone involved needs a plan and needs structure. Your evaluations will be SHIT at the end of the year and will continue to be SHIT not because you are not valuable trustworthy or smart, but the big picture things never get done or maybe its the proposals. All the change orders and short term requests that you at the terminus can't manage - this is the futility of your question - will keep you from accomplishing anything.
Adding software to ENHANCE THE ENCODING OF YOUR OBLIGATIONS is the LAST thing you want right now in this flexible environment. Its fun to be useful and some personality types need it like smoking a cigarette. And others will exploit this till your ears produce hairs.
What you need to do is figure out how to get a raise or how to get a much better job and for this you need cred. Being a bitch will never move you forward. The list of things you succeed and fail at in your job - this should come from your supervisor, or you make them together. If they are not agreed upon, that is disadvantaged position. At review you are wide open to get hit with demerits and if you don't have all that and more to prove what the f^%$ random stuff you have been doing, you get talked out of a raise.
So the issue is not what goes on the list - if you are smart you will put everything on the list, but who has control and what momentum you can build with your accomplishments.
Some additional advice is to either work through a supervisor who mediates work requests, or always have a team setup to plan long term objectives. Doing something long term for one person can cause consistent collisions. And make sure all your work and role is throughly advertized to every person in the organization. If they don't do it, then bring it up in every conversation. If someone tells you not to, alarms go off and you are designed to get screwed. For example, being hired in the middle of a system civil war.
You individually, morally, have to be ready to accept big responsibilities and set aside being a bitch. And if you will make that shift and take on riskier projects that require more investment and 'ownership' of the project then be damn well sure there is a reward involved.
The question of how you manage that stuff is not in a tool, it should come from your ego. Don't get involved with small time shit unless she is really cute, or it is really worth your while. Be studied, have prepared responses to common questions and have some dignity. Its not an accident you know answers to questions and have talent to solve problems.
It might seem cute at first that anyone in the office can bring you a problem. But can you bring a problem to anyone else? Why is that? The degree of bitch in your equilibrium with these order generators is inversely proportional to your individual gain. It means you don't exist yet because your bitch to everyone means you are spread out in the social space and proximal and equidistant to everyone. Your objective as a sapient and sentient being is always to improve your standing in this network. So your first move is to create some space and occupy that space and make the path to you assymmetric. How? Pick your topology.
In my opinion, the easiest type of TODO list to manage and edit, is one stored in a text file, rather than having to go through GUIs to edit details or move things around, save backup versions, etc.
When I get some new task, I'll quickly add a new task entry to the top of my main todos text file. I'll either complete them quickly (and remove from the top of the text file), or later I'll organize things and integrate into my TODO wiki articles, which I keep organized into sections (in order of priority, by date, recurring, low priority, and randomly split some low priority things off into other articles). This part is necessary, because massive TODO.txt files get hard to manage, and wikis are much nicer to browse and read TODOs in, and keep things organized, even if they're harder to edit than a text file.
For major wiki TODO updates, I'll copy the article back into a text file, move parts around, edit, etc, and then save them back into the wiki. This also has the advantage that you can save your text file during extensive editing, rather than saving a lot of temporary versions in the wiki, or risking losing your work if the browser closes unexpectedly.
For coding projects, each has it's own TODO.txt file, rather than being stored on the wiki (the wiki would have more detail on overall tasks, if it's a complicated project). The project itself would be listed in the prioritized section on the TODOs wiki page (do some work on project foo). The projects themselves and their TODO.txt files, are managed via git revision control.
I've tried several different TODO and task-tracking systems in the past, and I've found them all to be much more complicated, or limited in various ways, compared to using a text editor to take down and manage tasks in a free-form way, combined with wikis for keeping larger task lists organized.
www.connectwise.com
I use http://www.mindmapper.com/ to quickly capture topics and associated tasked and info. If I need to schedule, resource, or cost, just use the drop downs to append info. If I need to put it into MS Project, just export. It also does simple outlines as well as PowerPoint. The best part is that I can add topics and then drag them into the appropriate order at any time; no having to think of order while capturing info.
www.assembla.com
It's a monthly-paid service, available in a fully-functional free-for-individuals-with-a-few-projects mode.
DevTrack is what we use. It gets the job done pretty well, but can be slow at times.
TaskFreak!
- project/task list all on one screen CHECK
- a Task List on steroids CHECK
- hierarchical subtasks (not 100% sure on this feature in TaskFreak!)
- attachments CHECK
- prioritization CHECK
- a locally-hostable web app CHECK
Not sure how secure TaskFreak! is for public internet access but it is multi-user with passwords and permissions.
Big Question: Why aren't you using the Outlook Journal to at least track projects? It can link all of the information (messages, tasks and files) into a single location. Very handy and you've already got it.
Another option that will work nicely is Onenote by MS. It's now part of Office and expands on the Outlook Journal capabilities. It uses tabs to keep things organized, you can add pages as needed, link in other documents such as research information, web links and maybe track emails like the Outlook Journal. It also has a shared notebook feature that's for networks and the best thing is, you might be able to convince the boss to get a copy since it's fairly cheap from your normal office super store. I've only been using it for 6 weeks now and it's already become the must have tool for me. Can't say how well it'll work for you but worth giving it a try
Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
If you are a one man IT shop then you can control your own work flow. Keep cryptic notes and todo lists in notebook in a journal style. File emails in different folders. It is funny but it works like a dynamic priority system. The hot projects will pop up any you will not have trouble remembering what to do. The repetative housecleaning tasks are good to do when you get tired of the 10 other things you need to do. One of the most rewarding things is going back through your notebook and cross of completed tasks. If you are good and can produce a lot of results then the management will not try to impose a "Time Management" system on you.
- Things are the way they are because they're coded that way -
At my place of work (also a small business), we use a cloud based solution called Clarizen. It's highly functional and easy to use. It's also less expensive than most competitors. We tried MS project and had similar results where it caused more trouble than the benefits it produced. I know you didn't want cloud but my reasoning was that if this company was to leak proprietary info in any way, they would go down in flames. Also they agreed to sign an NDA with us so there are legal ramifications of doing so as well. I'd reconsider the cloud if I were you. Many of these solutions provide trials so you can check it out before you buy and it will be less time for you to manage the infrastructure as well since you are a one-man band over there.
unfuddle.com - it has everything you could ask for, a free version that allows up to ten users, a SVN repository, task creation, project creation, whiteboards, messaging system and milestone. One of my clients turned me on to it since it is what they used previously. Prior to that we always used Basecamp which excels in the communication but is a little light on task milestone leveraging.
If you've got MS Office, try OneNote.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/default.aspx
Works best if you have to integrate internal and external communication with clients.
/. police, Microsoft Project does all this, and more... and correctly.
dotProject is the better option if you, based on the question, are wanting to be more project management based.
Or, at the risk of alerting the
0100010001101001011001 0100100000011010010110 1110001000000110000100 1000000110011001101001 0111001001100101
Collabtive is a pretty good open source project management system, but honestly, this is the kind of thing Google Wave was made for. I'm using it for project management with clients and it's been a godsend. It's flexible, powerful, and always available to me. You can mark up waves however fits your style, add files or notes, include others, whatever.
Thanks for I(C)T to mop up all the people that McDonalds could no longer accommodate ...
Normally, given a brain cell or two to spare, it would work as follows:
- start with pencil and paper (an unbeatable combination)
- no programming skills whatsoever -> MS Excel is more than adequate for project tracking (provided you have a basic understanding of PM)
- sat through programming 101 (remember, all that 'algorithms and data structures' stuff -> use any RDBMS and create your own SQL scripts
- can program -> fscking roll your own, it's less difficult than you think.
IT these days seems to be crowded with 'experts' who spend day in day out learning products by heart. Where do they grow these people???
...wait until my boss starts nagging me about something... then, I know it's time to think about getting to it...
"Yes, I have a Disaster Recovery Plan. It's called my Resume"
I just rely on my excellent memory. And as I recall I never have any bugs in the code I write.
There was a similar comment posted, but it lacked explanations and has not been modded up yet, so let me go into more details.
Your current task management solution does not work so well, and you are looking for a tool that, you hope, will automagically make everything work for you. Let me tell you from experience: this won't happen. You may get a small boost at first, when using a new shinny "todo list on steroids", but it does not come from the tool: it just comes from your increased motivation. And when the novelty wears off, you will find yourself facing the same problems as before, blame the tool again and start looking for a new one. Rinse, repeat...
So, rather than looking for a technical solution to your problem, you first need to find a better task management method. And as a previous poster wrote:
1) Read the book "Getting Things Done" (GTD) by David Allen.
2) There is no 2). The GTD method works very well with just pen and paper, and you can probably implement it with the tools you are currently using.
Once you are familiar with the GTD method, you may start looking for some GTD specific tool. In that case, I suggest OmniFocus. I reviewed many such tools, but I think OmniFocus is the one that is truest to the method. In particular, it is very important to be able to easily turn a task into a project when you process your inbox. And OmniFocus makes it the easiest: you just drag and drop the task to the project sidebar. All other software make you click extra buttons, input the project title again, and this extra clutter just gets in the way of a smooth inbox processing. OmniFocus is also an iPhone application, that can sync with its desktop counter-part, so you can have access to your GTD system anywhere. Only issue: the desktop version is unfortunately Mac only.
I code, therefore I am.
This is a tough question because most task management tools are geared towards collaboration. Since you are one person, I don't know of anything geared towards your situation. Trac may be a reasonable fit for you -- it does task and project tracking, it is open source, but of course it is geared towards a larger operation.
We have used Eventum for the past two years. Lots of nice features. Users email the helpdesk and it automatically creates issues. Also works great for projects. http://freshmeat.net/projects/eventum/
We are just about to launch Project Management / Professional services automation solution for German speaking market (if we get enough request, we might prepare English version very soon).
...)
The site is accessible at http://www.projektnik.de/ (ah great, the marketing guys have not localized the logo, hurray).
If anybody would like to get 30 day free trial, just fill in the form at: http://www.projektnik.de/deu/kostenlose_testversion/
Projektnik supports:
- Project planning (WBS, resurce allocation, scheduling)
- Reporting and project tracking
- Cost tracking
- Resource management (availability, allocation,
- Issue tracking (mainly intended for customer support)
- Automation of some business processes (monthly work report, absence requests, also billing and travel orders for some localizations)
I work as the sole IT employee at a company of about 50 people. I handle programming, support, pretty much anything that is IT related, or even that plugs in. As seems to be true with many small companies, the priorities seem to shift quite frequently. As a result, I've always got multiple programming (both new systems and improvements/changes to existing systems), integration, research, maintenance tasks/projects on my To Do list, in varying stages of completion
Oh brother! that's almost my current job, the difference is that i work in a manufacturing plant with the joys associated to it:
So, as you migth know, i have to deal with a lot of projects, request, etc, to try to organize all that info i have just checked some applications, and this little app seems promising although it needs some polishment which yourself can do because it's written in java
Slashdot ya no es que lo era!
Action Method Online (www.actionmethod.com) is a great task management online app with the best iphone companion app out there. For desktop capability, they offer an Adobe AIR client.
Unfuddle... and keep all my svn code in there as well.
Hi mate,
Might be worth checking out www.dotProject.net, it's an open source web-based (local) project management application.
It's fairly easy to use, not too kludgy for a small team and it came with a bunch of useful canned reports that you would expect from such a tool (burndown, velocity, etc).
Our team finds it handy...
http://www.targetprocess.com/
crazy dynamite monkey
Assembla (www.assembla.com) does a great job. It contains Tickets (which can be used for tasks, requirements, tests, etc.), a Wiki, a SVN repository, messages plus it enables to create burndown charts if you are using Scrum.
Request Tracker is actively developed and very robust http://www.bestpractical.com/rt/
Actually, one of the best things you can do is push back on the changing priorities. Take the initiative to decide what is most important, and do it to completion, even if they're telling you to jump on the new task-du-jour. In the long-term, this is much healthier, because it's been shown again and again that humans are super not handy at multi-tasking, so you get much less effective work out of coders when you switch priorities a lot. No piece of software will ever get over that underlying task-switching cost.
A lot of coders get nervous about taking the reins like this, but I have pretty specific advice regarding it: You should do what you believe is in the best interest of the company, and you should stick to it through completion, until you're either fired or promoted for it. If you're fired, you've got the perfect story. "Their real issue was that the poor customer experience was losing clients, but they kept trying to jump me around to these other priorities to close new clients that we could quickly lose, and it was a waste of time, so I put my foot down and focused on the root issue. They fired me for it." That's the way to go out, not in a dithering, clinging-to-your-job-doing-what-you're-told-even-though-you-know-it's-ineffective withering departure. Obviously, if you're promoted, it's all win.
Frankly, that great coders very rarely get fired, no matter how outlandishly they behave. Most coders have no idea how much power they hold and how incredibly scarce they are. As dumb as some of the pointy-haired types get, they almost always know that it's the coders making the product, not them. I've done talent representation for coders (sounds odd, I know, but great coders are a hot commodity), and they're consistently surprised at the terms they can get.
Anyway, I know that's detracting a bit from what you're after, but I hear this request for production management tools a lot, and partly to do with the switching priorities as a reason. But when I'm talking to the great teams, they aren't great because they have the perfect project management tools. They often use pretty simple shit. They're great because they're pragmatic, focus on doing fewer things to completion, and they get a lot less distracted by the day-to-day theories and opportunity-chasing. Capitalism rewards this, and it also leads to a much lighter load on your project management needs.
I really like this service. The Linux desktop client (tasque) needs work, so right now it's mostly run through a web-browser and my cellphone (via free-as-in-speech Astrid client for Android).
Although we are always trying out new systems at work, I use this in parallel. I find it works well for me, both for personal and work task management. YMMV.
If you have a Mac, I hear Notebook works well for all your requirements: http://www.circusponies.com/
I use Ofuz (Ofuz.net) its in private beta and will open in January in public beta with an open source release.
Its a very simplified project management well integrated with email.
Google Wave
I've been investigating project management solutions at work and there are some real high quality open source solutions, but they all lack everything that goes before the work breakdown phase.
What about the requirements engineering phase? You can largely make your own solution for the gathering, but the structuring of requirements (to be later turned into tasks) is something all of the packages miss.
There are certainly requirements engineering solutions out there. I have a list of two dozen or so I'll need to review. But nothing really catches my eye.
What do you recommend, Slashdot?
Selah.ca. Pause, and calmly think on that.
If your tasks are project related, you can use Savane (http://gna.org/projects/savane). You get a group page per project and can enable task tracking, bug reporting, news annoucements, mailinglists, documentation, homepage and even source code repositories (CVS and SVN in version 3.0) if you need it. Each project administrator can enable/disable the features they want to use.
I use Chrometa. It tracks my time on the PC automatically. Also reminds me to log my idle time when I return to my desk! http://www.chrometa.com/
I recently started using memorand, it's simple, cross-platform and does what I need; http://memoranda.sourceforge.net/
We use Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. Just load up the project tracking template and off you go. Has an OK help desk too. It is not perfect, but works well OK enough for us. Works well with Office 2007. If you already have a SQL server, it is (or can be) mostly free. You could maybe run it on SQL Express too if you dont have SQL and if you keep the db under 2GB (double check this, i may be quoting the numbers off a bit)
MonkeyGTD gets me through.Obviously, it's a GTD-based app, but that boils down to simple lists. What made this particular app appealing to me was that it handled hierarchical projects (lists) very well. It doesn't support deadlines very well, but that's not part of the GTD methodology. There are other TiddlyWiki-based project management apps, some of which integrate a calendar, if that's important to you. There are separate "areas" for work, personal, etc. parts of your life. When I'm at work, I just keep the "work" realm selected. When I get home, I can switch it off, and turn the others on. It's just a single HTML file, if that suits you, but there are a couple methods to host it. You can set one up at TiddlySpot, or do what I do, and set it up on a local web server with a TiddlyWiki plugin for saving. There's also a wonderfully-helpful mailing list supporting GTD-based Tiddly apps, where hacks are discussed to customize the file to your needs.
Acts 17:28, "For in Him we live, and move, and have our being."
dotProject is a web-based project tracking tool. It may be overkill, unless you have a PMP-trained PM running the projects.
Basically, it is a web version of MS Project without the cost, but with all the hassles that entering data into web fields demands. OTOH, it integrates with our LDAP so users aren't forgetting their passwords all the time and locking an account in LDAP, locks it everywhere like it should.
We also run CRM and Wikis - those are for completely different needs. We've searched extensively for a shared, easy to use task list with owners, priorities and other group-related features - unsuccessfully. It has gotten to the point that I've already performed a UI and DB design, just need to sit down and write the code now.
If you are restricted to a Windows environment, might I suggest TaskMerlin, which is a relatively cheap option. There is both a single user and a multi-user version and I use the latter to control the projects I and my small team of four have underway.
There's some great features like a web front-end and "Taskboard View" in the pro version, but the basic version is free and does pretty much everything you want.
www.danube.com
Great ability to track the priority of tasks, when they should be complete, grouping into themes, etc.
Notepad++ supports tabs. I create a text file for each and every project I'm working on. In each of those files I have 'bulleted' sections for my accomplishments, issues, forward-plan, and references. When you launch notepad++ it reopens the tabs that it had opened when you close it. This is a simple approach and surprisingly effective as I'm currently working 6 complex projects and I don't have the mental capacity to remember everything.
It's pretty basic, but I use Treepad Lite (it's a heck of a lot better than the plain text file I used to have ;)
It's brilliantly simple: just an infinite-level hierarchical tree of folders on the left, and the content (flat text) on the right when you select a folder. I use the folders as my list of projects and the text for the details of each project. I move and label the folders according to priority and status.
The payware versions look quite a bit more sophisticated. Specifically, I think the "Enterprise X" edition may just have everything you need.
I like Tracks.
http://getontracks.org/
It is open source, implements GTD (although I don't follow this methodology personally), and supports Projects and Contexts for to-dos. I have a Work and a Personal context and then organize my tasks into projects.
It is written in Rails and it is very easy to host yourself (particularly if you are worried about security). I find having my todo list on the web is very convenient. I switch between computers a lot and having a desktop solution never worked for me. While Tracks is a web app, it has a decent Ajax UI, so it is not to ponderous to use. It's great if you are really just looking for a better to-do list, as opposed to a full-blown issue tracker.
It is as simple as a flexible index cards/sticky notes replacement, and as flexible as a Agile software development project management tool. Project progress reports on the web, subversion/mercurial/perforce integration, shared wiki pages, xmpp murmurs support, and complete programmatic API support. http://www.thoughtworks-studios.com/mingle-agile-project-management http://www.thoughtworks-studios.com/company/customers
For private (life) planning, nothing beats ThinkingRock. I use if for a long time. And nothing can come close, because nothing implements the Getting Things Done ideas in a more complete or better way.
Also since it’s Java, made out of NetBeans modules, and open source, it’s dead easy to add new modules/functions.
The best thing is, that the developer and his asssistant / forum manager are very personal and you can directly talk with them. They answer your questions, are nice people, and care for their community. You can pay them back via PayPal.
I can sync the events with every PIM that can read and write iCal files. And I generate my own data by simply working with the project file, which is in XML file format.
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
I like ZenTrack: http://www.zentrack.net/ It's open source and works well. You can have users, make assignments, see how long a task has been open, customize fields, send automated emails when tasks are completed/changed. Great tool
I've used so many groupware projects that claim to have excellent task tracking. They all wind up being projects that have a bazillion modules and none of them are much good.
We stumbled upon OpenGoo. It's a modern web app (very ajaxy), very very fast. It uses Ext, so it's nicely cross browser and is very similar to a desktop app. It has a great ui for very quickly creating tasks and milestones. That's my biggest complaint about many task managers and groupware projects, is that it just takes too damn long to create and manage tasks.
It also has a contact manager and calendaring, a document manager, time tracking, and reporting. And it does everything quite well. It has due dates and priorities, a messgaeboard for just about every item. You can drag and drop tasks between milestones (projects), you can also tag items. There are configurable workspaces (ie: entirely separate groupings for personal tasks, company tasks, and client tasks). It has a role based permission system, and it's generally just pretty damn awesome.
opengoo.org
Disclaimer: I don't work on, or currently contribute to opengoo, I'm just a happy user.
The goal of computer science is to build something that will last at least until we've finished building it.
The priorities constantly change. So there's no need for any project planning software. Each time I receive a request (all of which are Emergency Priority One), I make an intuitive decision as to whether the request is for unnecessary work (work which will be discarded before results are requested). If it is, back to Slashdot. If not, I start working on the latest request. Either way, I write it down in a list. If a repeat request comes in, I use the list of other stuff requested to explain why the request isn't done yet, then I go back to working on it until the next non-unnecessary Priority One Emergency request comes in.
Dots or Feathers?
(make sure the ac is checked, make sure the ac is checked...)
Hi,
Having just gone through replacing our old bug tracker, Arctic, we choose to replace it with FogBugz. I looked at about every bug tracker out there, and for our needs FogBugz was the best fit. It has a Tracker, WIKI, and Forums built in and supports importing bugs/wikis from some of the more well known alternatives. It also has an XML based API which we have found very usefull and well documented. I would defiantly recommend checking them out, they have a free 45 day trial.
Certainly Eventum from MySQL, and it's highly recommended
I use a freeware program called ToDoList. It's available at http://www.abstractspoon.com/ . It's got everything you've asked about, and probably a bit more. There are many features, probably a bit too many as it can be tricky to figure out how to do certain things. You can prioritize tasks, create subtasks, color code them, set due dates, track time for each task, as well as add rich text comments for each task. There is a way to add attachments to a task (or at least a reference to a local file), but I can't figure that out right now.
http://www.mylifeorganized.net/
Only for windows and Pocket PC... but I've been using it in Parallels on OSX for a while, and found that now I have an iPhone I use other apps as an 'inbox' on the iphone, but keep the real data structure on the PC.
Offers sync over FTP, which might be nice if you want it to work at home, too.
j'ai découvert une démonstration vraiment admirable (de ce théorème général) que cette si
Trac (Python-based) or JTrac (Java/Wikit Based) work great. Of the two, Trac is definitely superior functionality-wise, but, I've found JTrac easy to deploy and plenty sufficient. See here:
Trac - http://trac.edgewall.org/
JTrac - http://www.jtrac.info/
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
I developed a custom Microsoft Access database application using data entry forms similar to a help-desk or journal application, from which I can easily query and generate reports; works great for me, but might not for others since it's customized for my use and expectations. // cmd@kcmo.net
If you just want a task list, there are lots of options.
However, if you want something to help you pick up where you left off, you need Mylyn.
Mylyn integrates into Eclipse, watching the files you click on and edit, and keeps track of them in a task's "context".
So, you put your tasks into a task tracker (we use Trac, with MasterTicketsPlugin for hierarchy) and then when you activate the task, all the files you open are saved in the context.
When you update the task using Eclipse, you can upload the context to Trac, so someone else can see what files are relevant, or as a backup in case your desktop crashes.
It also hooks into subversion, separating commit changesets based on the modifications done with different tasks active.
If you do more filesystem / browser work, there's a for-pay version called Tasktop that tracks those, too (though I haven't ever used it).
If you work with people you don't completely trust, it might not be for you since it is watching what you click and open. But for singles or groups where you don't mind the possibility of something looking over your shoulder and logging it, I can't recommend it highly enough. (and just in case you're wondering, I'm not associated with the project, other than being an extremely satisfied user).
A bit of personal commentary on him using it here (Jan 13 2009)
I use post-it notes. The only downside is sometimes my passwords are mistaken for critical updates.
lol: You see no door there!
notepad or a simple blog (we use drupal)
then separate by:
high priorities
* task 1
* task 2
medium priority
* task 1
* task 2
Low priority
* task 1
* task 2
For projects:
Capture all projects with a help desk ticketing system...to me this is anything that requires more than 8 hours of work.
Capture all tasks in your notebook as people ask for them with a square box next to things you need to do, then put them in the text file (or blog) when you get back to your computer. Then review the tasks each morning and periodically.
Track projects in a blog or something that need items related to the project. We use drupal for this and a plain text box (notepadish) for to do items for the team. Each tech member blogs and I use this for weekly reports to the upper management "brass". Works great for us.
http://php-todo.sourceforge.net/
is lightweight and easy to use.
"The way you think it is may not be the way it is at all." St. Oran
...does everything you described. Works well.
Jira!
http://drupal.org/project/storm
If your an IT company you should be able to manage Drupal. Why be limited by project management, you very likely need something with far deeper scope that can be used to build a corporate Intranet in any case. And no doubt want 50 stations with access and don't want to spend any money on it.
This is about the best desktop task manager I've run across. Hierarchical tasks, powerful prioritization, very customizeable. XML output and syncs with MindManager. Track projects or tasks, assign to multiple contexts (categories). Presents an outline view and a todo view. Only think missing is a calendar view, but the todo is customizeable to the point where a calendar view is not completely necessary.
with this group of extensions a mediawiki can be easily turned into a task/project tracker and still allow the flexibility of the wiki. it works out well for us.
I'll second that! Terrific app. It also syncs with Outlook and then I sync Outlook with a web app called Toodledo which gives me my tasks on my iPhone. MLO currently has an iPhone version underdevelopment, but who knows when that'll be out. I used to use the sync over FTP to use at home and work, but now I just use DropBox. I save MLO's .ml file to my DropBox and then I can access my tasks anywhere I have MLO installed.
Many of the responses here are good and point to good software options (some I'll be checking out), but perhaps many of the suggestions are over-kill for the OP's needs. For basic tracking and task lists, in a GTD way, I use Leo
http://webpages.charter.net/edreamleo/front.html
http://webpages.charter.net/edreamleo/screen-shots.html
It runs on the desktop, requires no cumbersome setup or configuration, can be used in a minimal way to create hierarchies of tasks (ideas, etc), yet offers sophisticated features for the advanced user.
I would recommend dotProject (http://www.dotproject.net), an open source web based project management application. It is great for managing projects and tasks, and keeping track of your progress. You can store attachments, and it also has other useful modules such as forums and a calendar.
Actually you could use a simpler wiki if you want, I just happen to have started with TWiki way back and its easy for me to maintain, plus it does have a lot of useful plugins. I do a lot of different little software development projects, integration, maintaining various business processes, interfacing with vendors, contractors, and customers, etc.
More formalized ticketing and bug tracking systems are fine when you have a really stable group of people working on software projects, but for a single person managing their own time and projects where every little project is different than every other one and you're just mostly interested in collecting information in one place, keeping track of documentation, making lists, etc. its much easier IMHO to do it in a free-form way with one tool. If for some reason I need some outside visibility into a project or whatever it is possible to set it up. Basically though its a matter of flexibility over power.
I can use it like a notebook, a simple document management system, a to-do list, etc and if a specific activity can benefit from a bit more structure then I can make forms, use various plugins, etc. Its an informal approach but I find that the more structured tools are a bit too rigid. They would probably work better for larger groups but I don't need something that works for a group, I need something that on any given day when I have some slightly oddball little lump of work to deal with I can organize it ad-hoc in the most appropriate way.
I get the feeling the OP is rather in the same boat.
"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem." -- Jefferson
TodoList from AbstractSpoon should cover all your needs
Todo List is very good. http://www.abstractspoon.com/
Our developers use jira to track software bugs.
For computer trouble tickets we wrote a piece of software called CoAST which allows users to enter and comment on trouble tickets. I.T. can add comments and change priorities. It also includes software and asset tracking, and a library for loaner resources (like projectors)
-=Down Syndrome in Maine
ToDoList
Tasks on steroids, desktop app, freeware, open source
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/applications/todolist2.aspx
-- Drunk on the nectar off... -me
The packet size for avian carriers with clay tablets is just too small (read zero delivered data).
You obviously haven't tried using pterodactyls yet, who deliver even the largest flat-screen animated clay tablets to the top floors more reliably than the postal (or Santa's reindeer) service. Our tribal elders say if you put yummy media-company lawyers on the recipient list, these messenger birdies even feed on them, providing an ideal cost structure and carbon footprint.Too bad for the MAFIAA, but heck, perfection is still a few million years off in this Jurassic Flintstone hard world.
That's for a personal (or small-team) task list: a simple text file under revision control.
One line per task, indented subtasks, interspresed notes.
Moving a file to the 'DONE' log section comes down to: dd'dp[CTRL-O]
(can be a 1-key custom shortcut).
Of course, this won't be suitable for a larger team ;)
Consider Launchpad and Bazaar from Canononical (Ubuntu). I have not tested them since I only noticed recently. -bm
Achieve Planner has everything you could ever want. It has time blocks, tasks, projects, goals, charts, reminders, etc. Best of all it sits on the desktop: http://www.effexis.com/achieve/planner.htm
JIRA is awesome for tracking bugs and sprints for SCRUM
Project management is a black/lost art where I am so we are currently using spreadsheets.
I use http://www.yast.com/ - They claim to be the worlds easiest time tracker, and i think I'll have to agree Very drag'n'drop-web2.0-ajax-ish
I don't use it personally (wanting to, just not wanting to do it "now"), but I heard wonders of TiddlyWiki (http://www.tiddlywiki.com/) that is a javascript+html dynamic file (self-updates and is its own code), very customizable and orientable to tasks, and can be used online as well. At least it's worth checking.
Another one I use right now is Zim, a desktop wiki app that is very simple to use and works well...
Hi, it won't necessarily do the project bit, but for organizing lists of tasks I find freemind a great tool. http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Jira. Not free, but they are running a deal for 10 user licenses for $10.
I've used trac and Bugzilla. Jira is far better than both.
meh
I've been using the beta of Sampi Plan, it is Basecamp on steroids. You can see what things are starting to get behind, keep big files in it, and it is all about that tasks and sub-tasks aspect that the OP was looking for.
Although I do admit that I have not found the perfect solution yet, what comes close to it is MindManager, a mindmapping tool: www.mindmanager.com It allows for flexible (re)shuffling of tasks, adding notes, links, attachments, priorities etc. Furhtermore it gives you a visual representation of your tasks which helps focusing on the most important things.
... from www.tasktop.com, which extends Eclipse's task-tracking plugin (Mylyn) to non-development tasks, sounds like a good fit.
I'm in love with Trac, and one of the few things it lacks is the ability to use one trac installation for multiple projects (I have a number of cases where I have several small projects, each too small to justify creating a whole trac install).
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
You can try RationalPlan Multi Project. It is a project management software capable of handling multiple project at the same time so it surpasses the disadvantages found on MS Project: http://www.rationalplan.com/multi-project-management-software.php
Essentially what I'd want would be a Task List on steroids, allowing for hierarchical subtasks, attachments, and prioritization
mylifeorganized.net - awesome windows task list app.
This app addresses your stated problem directly. I use it myself for professional and personal tasks. You can export as XML and sync with outlook too.
Clearcontext - an outlook addin
Adds many features to outlook making it much better at handling lots of shifting work. It takes a bit of learning and setting up, worth a look though.
TaskFreak! web based task manager / todo list written in PHP
www.Gtd-php.com
A surprisingly full-featured GTD system done with PHP.
Here's a list of groupware/collab/project management tools I've either used for work or had a good play around with.
Most are commercial, since I'm sure that all the OSS stuff will already be posted here. Some of them have local hosted options
COMINDWORK - my personal favourite
Central Desktop - has outlook plugin + bookmarklets etc.
Zoho Projects - v2 is very fast and responsive
activeCollab
Assembla - would appeal to the slashdot crowd IMO
Group-Office groupware - Very slick. Also has outlook plugin.
Teamwork Project Manager
Mercurial hosting — bitbucket.org
May not meet all of your needs, but I like the ability to quickly switch between tasks to start/restart a timer. It's also easy to creates tasks/projects on the fly.
_______
I just wish I could c:\format Internet
ToDoList is an opensource application on http://www.abstractspoon.com/ hosted at codebetter.com. It's a simple easy to use and has almost everything you were looking for except true attachments. They have something close; a link to location(file,folder,website,email, or task) that once it's filled in has a view button that launches the location.
When I was the sole admin for a company I started using Spiceworks in it's beta. It's a free network manangment and help desk / ticketing system. Check it out...it's evolved into a very very power tool for small to medium sized businesses. http://www.spiceworks.com/
you could be interested in cherry tree: http://open.vitaminap.it/en/cherrytree.htm
regards
OpenGoo is now called Feng Office, and they won't even tell you how much it costs until you have an account with them!
My initial impression: The marketing people at Feng Office will kill the product. Don't get started with a technical product that is connected with people who have no technical knowledge.
We use Dotproject open source easy to customize http://www.dotproject.net/
I use http://hiveminder.com/. Allows personal tasks and group collaboration too.
OcpSoft has created an OpenSource agile project management tool called SocialPM/ScrumShark ( http://ocpsoft.com/scrumshark/ ) It's simple now, but as more requests come in, the product will become more robust. Our hope is to build an opensource community interested in making the product better over time. We use it to manage all of our internal projects and initiatives.
JerBear0, Have you heard of PAS (https://www.pas.im/)? It's a web-based application that lets you and your collaborators build, organize, track, share, and retain it - your everyday information and tasks. PAS has an editable task list, can accommodate attachments and colored Status Indicators that can communicate priorities. It seems to have everything that you're looking for. I use it for 2 of my businesses as well.
Hey guys,
I apologize in advance for what you will see is eventually a shameless plug, but I must comment on what I have experienced in my career wrangling with task management products. Since I'm sort of an Agile developer, I've spent a lot of time studying open-source bug tracking tools like Bugzilla, custom-tailored tools like XPlanner for eXtreme Programming, and even built one of my own (I called it XPTracker). After all that, I still haven't been satisfied with tools that try to do too much.
When I started learning about the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology, read the book, and drank generous helpings of the Kool-Aid, I went looking for GTD tools. Many of them were stuck on only one platform, offered the same tired list-oriented strategies as everyone else, or just weren't very good for collaboration.
So, a buddy of mine and I got together and brainstormed a few months ago (we've been brainstorming for a couple years now, trying new ideas and rejecting them, experimenting with distributed vs. centralized storage, and so on) and discovered that our own personal systems that we use in our homes, based on a simple cork board with cards on it, or a white board with notes, works really well. What's better, if you can come up with some simple spatial rules that describe really quickly and easily who's doing what (admittedly we borrowed ideas from Mingle on this), and what is left to get done, you can build a great tool that's extremely functional, but doesn't really get in your way.
Along came our idea -- Pegby -- an online app that allows you to create an unlimited collection of virtual "boards" that, once we're done building out all the functionality, will allow you to collect all the stuff in your life (work, personal, hobby) into a single coherent system. The coolest thing about it for me is that as all your friends join in with their own boards, everybody's systems start to overlap with each other, and the whole group of people starts to get much more productive all at once. At least, that's the hope!
Anyway, I hope you'll check our stuff out some time -- I realize it's in an early alpha phase right now, but we're making steady progress, and hope to have a real beta out early next year. As it stands, we're using it successfully to plan its own development, and it's been a real joy to have everything so easily accessible. So at least we've proven to ourselves that the system works!
Stephen Starkey
Co-Founder
pegby.com
It's what we wound up using on the team I worked for a couple years ago at AT&T. Uses mysql, is easy to install, lightweight, and I know for a fact it's not hard to write code (php - it's all php) to make certain areas login only.
mark
> His best tool must be his mind: he must use it to set his own procedures
:).
:)
He also said: "I want at least the project/task list all on one screen. Essentially what I'd want would be a Task List on steroids, allowing for hierarchical subtasks, attachments, and prioritization."
Maybe he could just chuck everything into a directory (and subdirectories), including the notes and stuff and use git or some other version control tool to keep track of it
Then the filesystem would be used for grouping subtasks storing attachments etc.
MediaWiki is great for a one-person shop. I have pages for each little project which includes tasks, web links with reference info, hints about what I grabbed or configured for that project, etc. I've got pages for hardware bits, little software projects, etc. If something is in the brain-storming phase, links to alternatives, to Wikipedia background pages, etc. all are gathered. If there were more than one person on the team, I'd add a formal tracking system as others have suggested. But, for just me, keeping tasks on each project's wiki pages works well enough.
e.g.
http://www.infoq.com/resource/articles/agile-kanban-boards/en/resources/Fig1_task-board.jpg
The details being recorded in whichever bug/ticket tracking system you fancy.
Deleted
I don't think ProjectView has been mentioned. It is particularly good for projects where you have to attach and keep track of files, like design documents, specifications, etc. http://www.projectview.com/
would definately give openworkbench a try. see if it has the features you need, works good in a production setting for me.
I liked Coclarity's product, Goshido, when I tried it. Obviously YMMV.
Full disclosure: I don't work for Coclarity, but I do know the owner.
Darren Bane
I work in an environment where I have many appointments, projects and phone interruptions. I like ManagePro and MproLite. I have projects that are quick and projects that last years with multiple steps. I can easily pick right back where I left off. I have notes on where I left off in as progress notes and what the next task needs to be. I know every conversation I had, who was my contact and every email we exchanged. I drag the email from Outlook right into ManagePro and also I can sync with Outlook. I attach my documents and keep everything in one place. I have all my projects for years in one database and can search for anything in seconds. It actually is a task list on steroids and much better tracking. It can be desktop app or a web app. I sleep better because I use it.
I use taskjuggler. It can do resource leveling, tracking and uses text files, i.e. you can generate tasks from bugzilla entries and store everything under revision control.
We use CounterSoft's Gemini bug tracker for managing tasks. It's easy to use and what's most important for us is that you can define your own workflow, not be bound to what works for other people.
We use Chrometa: www.chrometa.com Best thing is it's all automatic - runs passively in the background while I work. Then I pull it up once a day to categorize my time - and boom, done in no time. I never had the patience to start/stop a timer, keep a time log manually, etc.
I use jedit in outline mode (collapsible outlines so I only see what I need at a given time) heavily for this, having similar problems to you--multiple tasks, watt to be able to restart in the middle.
Jedit runs anywhere, seeming to me as easy as notepad, and as powerful as emacs (I used to use emacs outlines, Inspiration, and Word collapsible outlines).
I keep a comprehensive todo list, grouped and sorted to whatever suits me.
A Free, fast personal organizer for touch typists: onemodel
I'll suggest another MS solution, just build your own database. Because of my personal scenario I have few options for software. Access is already installed at my workplace so I just built a database for jobs. Recurring stuff just goes in my Calendar. But anything new coming in that is a project to a quick task goes in my database.
A form makes a convenient view to record who the job is for, what kind of job it is, any special tags you want to assign the job, and you have choices for what boxes you want for different types of data. Do you want to record the updates on the project/job? Do you want to record when you received the job and when you finished? I find 4 slots for milestones/sub-goals is plenty for me. You could add a date for the milestones if you wanted to.
This all makes it easy to view only unfinished jobs, or certain types of tasks, or to run a report by milestone dates.
Prior to using Access I just had odds and ends here and there and it was too hard to track. One note wouldn't be a good solution for me because many of my tasks are quick, but I still need to record them. Using OneNote would not be as convenient, nor as easy to turn into an end of year report detailing how time was spent.
I forgot to mention: the files in question are plain text so you can use whatever editor is handy in a pinch (vi), no special formatting required except whitespace for indentation, so works great for notes and everything. apt-get install jedit, or download a jar. Has many plugins for different things that one can use or ignore. Works nicely for keeping track of notes on topics etc in hierarchical form.
A Free, fast personal organizer for touch typists: onemodel
While I don't know about the other products recommended by people previously posting, but a program I've used has helped me quite a lot.
It is called "Personal Brain".
the link to their website is:
http://www.thebrain.com/
I did a previous employer's ISO-9001 interrelationhips chart all on one screen. They have nice (read: understandable) tutorials on their website. Price is fairly reasonsble too.
Hope this is helpful for you...
RB
Definitely try ToDoList from AbstractSpoon Software. I think it does everything you mention and more. It's Windows only, but it's free, EPL licensed, small, fast, reliable, flexible and will update automatically. You could use it in a very simple way by ignoring or disabling the features you don't need, or you could use the plethora of features that are similar to those you'd find in a full-on project management tool. Over many years I've tried many of the products listed above and many more too. This is the only one I still use.
I second TiddlyWiki, or rather the MPTW version of it which supports tagging of tags (each tag is an editable wiki page). It's the best note tracking/organizing tool I've found (yet). I can't praise it enough.
Main benefits:
* Single html file. No need to contact the IT department and ask them to setup a server for you (or explain what a server is).
* Works anywhere (if you have a decent browser)
* Easy to write long or short notes (tiddlers) and organise them (tags).
* Small enough to put in version control with the rest of your code (single html file! again!)
Drawbacks:
* Can not be safely used by more than 1 person at a time (single html, remember)
* No integrated bugtracker/svn/cvs etc. You have to organise yourself.
I use Textpad to track my tasks and projects. A typical day looks like:
Friday, 18 December
[.] Today's Time
[.] Tell Andy when he gets back : Install plan needs to update cleanup scripts for new directories in InFlight
[x] Member Management Integration Project - Code it up based on the design document.
[x] USERUPDATE will also need to be able to process a change of company for a user.
[x] This is still "in the works". Follow up with Jeff about how this will work with messages on queue.
[x] See when this will be going in
[x] February 3, 2010
[x] Update MemberManagementConnectorWorkerThread.java (and it's unit test) so that it can process the message
[x] When I detect the user has changed companies, delete the user from their old company and then add them as a new user for the new company
[x] This way the user doesn't inherit any old permissions, etc.
[.] Reporting Project - Code it up based on the design document. - Due 13 November
[.] Create the schedule that kicks off the report every hour
I keep the entire month in one text file and day-to-day just copy the previous days items and remove anything with an [x]. Scrolling back through the file I can see how I got to certain places, leave myself notes for the following day, and it's searchable using Textpad's built-in directory search. My directory goes back years and the files look like "Month End Report -December 2009.txt".
What about finding a CRM solution? I always found SalesForce quite customizable. Even though it's cloud-based, there is offline functionality. I'm sure that they have a solution that could work across your LAN.
... and not a single mention of JIRA? For shame. It's not open source, or free, but it's worth the cost.
I use it for any reasonably sized project. It has great support for tracking time (or not), iterations, defects, and backlogs.
Yeah I 3rd this.
The FTP sync works great for small remote team development.
If you have a windows mobile and want to sync your hieriarchical lists then get MLO.NET
Working at a small startup, around 40 employees. Dev team is now up to 4 people. We use Atlassian's Jira and Confluence. Their recent price structure changes make them very affordable for small teams. Check them out. http://www.atlassian.com/