[Eril-l] Project Management platforms

Wed Oct 21 13:00:02 PDT 2015

Trello is wonderful for managing project-related information in a visually oriented way, and its simplicity makes it worth a look for ease of training and maintenance. But as far as I've seen, it doesn't include many of the features you're hoping for. You can see at a glance what stages your projects are at, you can keep important files attached to the relevant project, you can set deadlines and view them in a calendar, and you can associate multiple checklists with each project. You can't run reports in Trello (though this Code4Lib article talks about a possible workaround: http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/10034; also, you can make a projects board publicly visible but not editable), you can't view timelines with resource allocations and dependencies, and you can't see at a glance the relative time individuals need to contribute to one project versus another. It is a very flexible program, so you may well be able to create workable workarounds, but it does not tend toward managing the level of complexity you're describing.

Unfortunately, I'm not personally familiar with the more serious project-management tools, but you may find this site helpful to get you started: http://wiki.code4lib.org/ProjectManagement. As the main wiki explains, it's a "list of project management and issue tracking software that are frequently mention on the Code4Lib mailinglist." So you could explore the features of each of those as well as check the library literature for relevant mentions.

Good luck!

Robert Heaton
Electronic Collections Librarian
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
(435) 797-8042
robert.heaton at usu.edu<mailto:robert.heaton at usu.edu>

From: Thomas, William Joseph [mailto:THOMASW at ecu.edu]
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2015 1:49 PM
To: Lash, Metta; Robert Heaton; eril-l at lists.eril-l.org
Subject: RE: Project Management platforms

Have you tried Trello? There was a presentation on ASERL about how librarians at NC State and Duke are using it for electronic resources acquisitions. See http://www.aserl.org/archive/.
Joseph

Wm. Joseph Thomas
252-737-2728
thomasw at ecu.edu<mailto:thomasw at ecu.edu>
[orcid_16x16]http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3503-6615

From: Eril-l [mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org] On Behalf Of Lash, Metta
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2015 3:47 PM
To: 'Robert Heaton' <robert.heaton at usu.edu<mailto:robert.heaton at usu.edu>>; eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Subject: Re: [Eril-l] Project Management platforms

Thank you for the question Robert.

Our needs are a few steps above a simple spreadsheet but not as in depth as a more robust program like Microsoft project.

*         We need to chart and track goals and activities for specific projects

*         Generate timelines to keep things on track

*         Keep track of personnel assets/staff - so we can see who is available for new projects

*         It would be nice if the staff piece was also visual - as in, here are all the people working on project A.

*         It would be nice to visually track associated projects, some projects are contingent on other projects or may run concurrent but are connected, like project org chart

*         It would be great if the software did not contribute to our issues of understaffing, requiring too much additional work to maintain

*         We'd like it to have an outward facing component, report generation that was visually appealing that could easily be incorporated into annual reports

*         Ideally it could be learned by staff at all levels in minutes or hours, not requiring extensive training

It does not need to track budgets or set permission levels.

I will gladly collect the answers I have gotten and report out. Until tasked with this I had no idea how many new PM platforms there are now.

Metta Lash
Reference Librarian/Collection Development
Montgomery College Library, Germantown
HS212C
240-567-7857
metta.lash at montgomerycollege.edu<mailto:metta.lash at montgomerycollege.edu>

Follow MC Libraries on Facebook [im_facebook] <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Montgomery-College-Libraries/107197579313568?v=wall&ref=ts>

From: Robert Heaton [mailto:robert.heaton at usu.edu]
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2015 3:26 PM
To: Lash, Metta; eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Subject: RE: Project Management platforms

Hi, Metta,

This sounds like a question that many of us would love to hear others' answers to. Can you give us some of your functional requirements for the project-management tool? You mentioned ease of use, but what else?

Do you need to control user permissions at various levels? Does it need to include budgeting information? Have mobile apps or be Mac/PC compatible? Allow you to create subtasks that can be assigned to individuals right in the tool? Show dependencies, timelines, deliverables, etc., at a glance?

Or are your needs really more basic? I look forward to seeing your clarifications and people's answers.

Robert Heaton
Electronic Collections Librarian
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
(435) 797-8042
robert.heaton at usu.edu<mailto:robert.heaton at usu.edu>

From: Eril-l [mailto:eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org] On Behalf Of Lash, Metta
Sent: Friday, October 16, 2015 1:52 PM
To: eril-l at lists.eril-l.org<mailto:eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Subject: [Eril-l] Project Management platforms

Our institution currently uses Microsoft Project as their PM platform. I'd love to hear experiences from other institutions using other platforms. We're looking for something a little more user friendly that all staff, with different skill levels could use.

Thanks,
Metta Lash
Reference Librarian/Collection Development
Montgomery College Library, Germantown
HS212C
240-567-7857
metta.lash at montgomerycollege.edu<mailto:metta.lash at montgomerycollege.edu>

Follow MC Libraries on Facebook [im_facebook] <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Montgomery-College-Libraries/107197579313568?v=wall&ref=ts>

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