Project management made easy

If you have ever been involved in a SME project then the chances are you have used Excel.  For all the sophisticated project management tools available Excel has the advantage of being familiar and easy to use. 

Getting new users to learn project management software is a problem.  For the average person in a SME the regular job will still need to be done.  Placing the project on top will increase the time pressure.  Small wonder that the thought of learning new project management software is unappealing. 

For the project manager Excel is not the best tool.  There will be a constant round of emails to update tasks and the timeline created in Excel.  Different versions will be passed around and there is no instant view by the project team of the level of progress.

A good solution would be an online tool that organises tasks and creates the project timeline automatically.  All users are able to log on via the internet and the administrator can set the system to send automatic email reminders for tasks to be completed.  Once the task is completed the user logs into the system and clicks their task box to say it is completed.  All users then have an instant view of the progress to date. 

I've been looking for a system that will do the above AND be very easy to use.   Wrike is the closest I've seen (thanks for the tip Daniel).  It is not prefect, but it is very good.  It is extremely easy to use and if you're undertaking an SME project coming then it is well worth finding out more.

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Comments

[Nick Matteucci]

Hi there,

My name is Nick Matteucci and I co-founded VCSonline 9+ years ago because I too was frustrated with project management software. It was too complex, expensive, and cumbersome for the people who were trying to get work done and not just satisfy management ridiculous reporting requirements. Sadly, for many people not much has changed.

I would welcome you to try our software, VPMi Express. It tracks projects, issues, documents, email updates, and time reporting all for only $5/user/month (free for first 30 days). No additional charges for space, projects, etc. No minimum number of users. No selling your name to spammers or other games (like our VC infested competitors do who care only for their profits and not your success).

This has been my life's work and we will still be doing successfully long after the VCs are done playing.

I wish you luck in whatever you land on and you can feel free to write us with any questions you might have.

Best Regards,

Nick Matteucci
Partner and Co-Founder VCSonline.com
Simple - Sensible - Supportable Web 2.0 Project Management

Web: http://www.vcsonline.com
Email: information@vcsonline.com

[Tim Howell]

If you're looking for an easy to use service which ALSO works with Microsoft Outlook, have a look at ActionThis - see www.actionthis.com. Its focus is on execution - making sure all of those tasks and projects get done. A free trial is available.

[Mike Johnson]

Try Project-ON-Demand from Projity. It is only $19.99/month and can open existing Microsoft Project files and it is available in my browser anytime/anyplace.

[Daria]

Philip,
Thank you very much for the reference. We're happy to see that more our users spread the word about Wrike and we are glad that you like the application. We understand that project communication and collaboration in the majority of small and medium companies is based on e-mail that is why we developed an application that helps saving time while managing your business. By the way, we post useful tips on managing projects in Wrike for our customers in our product blog http://www.wrike.com/blog.htm. We designed Wrike for making SME management processes simple and we are happy that our efforts are recognized by such a competent person.

[Daniel]

Philip,
I'm glad to hear that you appreciate Wrike. As I already wrote you, the the best thing I like about the service is that I can create tasks via email. That saves me much time.

[Philip Woodgate]

Thanks for all the comments and especially for Daniel for getting in touch about Wrike in the first place.

From what I see most SME owners I deal with want instant benefit and ease of use. Looking at the above there is a lot of competition for their attention. Online tools are developing that are easy to use and give a real edge to an SME's activities at low cost. That's really encouraging.