Simple project scheduling software?

T

theoconbrio

0
Hi, all--

I'm the publications director for an academic division of a large university. At any given time I'm tracking (and usually directly responsible for) 10-15 book projects in various stages of acquisitions, editing, production, etc. Traditionally, I've done all of my tracking using simple layouts in Excel. But since I've "gone GTD" I've realized how inefficient the whole thing is. (So inefficient that I dread updating my schedules, and often end up just handwriting on printouts because the formulas are so hard to work with and such a PITA to adjust--I'm not very sophisticated technologically, I'm afraid.)

I'm now looking for some good, intuitive project scheduling software. Most of my projects are fairly linear, the task structures are replicable, and they only rely on a few people (mostly freelancers). So I don't need the horsepower (or the expense and steep learning curve) of MS Project. But I haven't found anything else out there that seems to be a good alternative. Project KickStart is nice for what I need, but it doesn't allow for dependencies. Since I can't typeset a book that hasn't been edited, if the editor is late on a project I want to be able to run out the rest of the schedule automatically (or tweak it), which PKS doesn't do. It's absurd to have to go in and adjust 65 tasks by hand because something at Task 2 gets delayed.

Does anyone know of a program that might do what I want? Gantt charts are nice but not essential. Compatability with MindManager is nice but not essential.

Thanks!
Nathan
 
Simple Project Planning

Nathan,

I wouldn't actually call Effexis Software's 'Achieve Planner Pro' a simple planning software package... but I wouldn't classify it as heavy duty project planning software package... It is worth a look... with a 30 day full trial... I recently purchased the Pro Package... Good luck, hope this helped.

http://www.effexis.com/
 
JCVGantt2

You mentioned that you have MindManager. So have you tried JCVGantt Pro. This might do what you want, with enough grunt, and a lot less hardcore than MS Project. Not sure give it a burl.

http://www.iaresearch.com/store/products/JCVGantt2.0/JCVGantt2.htm

The other option might be combining ResultsManager with MindManager. If these projects you could create a typical template for a book project in MindManager and then import it as each new book project arrives. Ive been using a similar technique just recently with this program for structural drafting projects I have.

http://www.gyronix.com/resultmanager.php

I believe you can get a trial version of each program. Download them and try applying them to your situation

Cheers,
Scott V
 
Thanks so much for the helpful replies. The Achieve Planner is very cool, but since I'm doing pretty well with Outlook + MindManager, it might be more than I need. It looks pretty comprehensive, though.

I think JCVGantt Pro will do exactly what I want--I'm not sure how I missed it. And after an hour playing with it last night, I can say that it IS quite easy to use. Many thanks!
 
And for the Mac environment?

JCVGanttPro looks pretty cool...but is Windows only. Any recommendations for something similar for the Mac?

Thanks,

Katherine
 
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