I work at a coffee company, we run a few espresso bars in Sydney and although our Design/Marketing department is very small is quite busy with lots of marketing collateral to do for all the stores and also busy with the design of the new stores from concept to building.
So far we just write down what we need to do in either an agenda, in word or any piece of paper… or a white board which we started using. But I’m now looking forward to getting something much more efficient and easier to use to keep track of the projects and tasks.
I’ve seen a few online project management software such as LiquidPlanner or Clarizen and they seem to be very good cause you can access your projects from anywhere and they have apps for the iPad and iPhone (which we use). But the best part is that everyone can contribute by accessing the projects and leaving feedback, comments, new tasks, tick previous ones as done, etc. So I love that collaboration part of it. You can also upload a design and people can see it and add comments to it, which is great.
The problem with these online tools is that they are very expensive! $25+ per month per user. But the user interface is pretty cool and easy to use.
I also came across Projector, which is not online but you can install it on the iMac and the iPad, but there is no collaboration, and if you want to access a project on ur iPad you need to previously connect it to the iMac and sync it… which is not ideal. But the user interface is great, simple, beautiful and easy to use… and you don’t pay a monthly fee!
Anyhow, does anyone know about an online software or an app to install on iMac an iPad (and iPhone?) which is simple, user friendly, and not so expensive?
Hope someone can help me! we really need to start using something quick now that we’re growing!
Thanks a lot and look forward to hearing from you guys.
There are a few things you should think about before finding the system you are looking for.
One thing is how many people need to use it.
A lot of systems allow for a few users to be for free.
Another thing is if you want to have it using a web client. I believe it is beneficial, but it is different depending on who you are and what you are doing. In your case it might be very good if you want to move between the espresso bars and still have access to what you should do.
I usually go to a place where they list business software, http://www.buissy.com. That is a brilliant place where you are able to filter between the products based on different factors. I found several systems matching your criteria in about 5 seconds by going in there.
I presume, yours is a mid-sized company with different locations. In this case communication is critical for smooth operations. A team collaboration software would work well for your organization. I suggest you check out Microsoft’s project management solutions (http://www.microsoft.com/project/en/us/solutions.aspx) as it has streamlined the entire process in our company. And since it works over a connected platform we you can create, track progress and report project tasks.
Thanks for the tip, I’ve never really thought about Microsoft Project, always thought it was too complicated but will definitely have a look and see if its something we can use.