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Project Tracking Software

rsharpe75rsharpe75 United Kingdom
in Other / Off Topic
Most of you will very likely be doing the very same things I am.  Like hiring writers, designers, developers. etc.  Basically outsourcing your tasks.  I use to manage keeping track of outsourced work via an excel spreadsheet but the more people I hire, the harder it is for me to properly be on top of all this using a spreadsheet.

My tracking needs are rather basic and this is how it currently looks like in my spreadsheet:

1. Name of Person
2. Input field for Platform or site url
3. Job Type (Writer, Developer, Designer, etc.)
4. Short Description of Job
5. Date Job was assigned
6. Specified Deliver Date
7. Actual Delivered Date
8. Cost
9. A Rating (this helps when rehiring)

Does anyone know of a hosted or self-hosted solution, that is free or paid, that would help? What are you using?

Thanks

Comments

  • SvenSven www.GSA-Online.de
    if you cant find something let me know...sounds like a new GSA project otherwise.
  • rsharpe75rsharpe75 United Kingdom
    Hi @Sven - have tried all the usual suspects, like basecamp, asana, and a few others.  Most of them are overkill for what we're doing which makes it clunkier than my Excel files.

    I personally do not have any need for "teams" and conversation tracking, or any of that fancy stuff.  I want to know:

    - What projects I have pending
    - Which project is late (in my Excel file I also have a column for extensions)
    - Costs (this not only helps with budgeting but when used with the rating and delivered column, helps me when it comes to rehire)

    Like I said, most Project Management apps out there are overkill and aren't necessarily geared towards people like me who hire a lot of freelancers for small jobs on fiverr and upwork.

    I'm sure the community here will give you a lot of feedback should you decide to roll something out.  You can also feel free to reach out to me, obviously. 


    Thanked by 1Deeeeeeee
  • SvenSven www.GSA-Online.de
    ok but there are tools out there already...personally I never been into this and it's all new for me...though maybe worth a look.
  • rsharpe75rsharpe75 United Kingdom
    Oh there are definitely tools out there.  The issue, as explained, is that if I wanted to go to space, I'd use a rocketship.  If I wanted to go to my local supermarket, I'd use my car.

    Imagine messing around with thrusts, ignition sequences. etc. when all you want is a pint of milk.
  • SvenSven www.GSA-Online.de
    sure I see your point, however we also have to look at the profit here. If we decide to develop such an app, is that striped-down project management finding its customers?

    Also marketing is not something we are good in. We have several top tools that don't sell well, just because noone knows about it.

    Anyway, I will think about it. Meanwhile can you paste some URLs of such windows based tools (even if overloaded) ?
  • rsharpe75rsharpe75 United Kingdom
    I'm not aware of any windows based tools.  All I've seen are web based SaaS products.

    And for sure, it would be pointless for you to develop such a tool if I was going to be your only customer.  I would never expect you to pour time and resources into something if there wasn't a win situation for you too.

    For now, I'll simply plod along using clunky Excel :)

    Thanks @Sven
  • DeeeeeeeeDeeeeeeee the Americas
    edited February 2018
    @rsharpe75: I am liking this idea! :) I use excel files too! (now OpenOffice Calc to generate)

    Hmm..Maybe besides simple * ratings have a notes section?

    I've found that with my hiring of freelancers, the better my notes were, the more useful the contact was later. When I used more simple ratings, I was later left with too many questions to make the rating at all useful.

    Maybe a series of ratings for different things (timeliness, quality of work, etc), like the popular e-commerce sites?

    "We have several top tools that don't sell well, just because no one knows about it."

    @Sven: That's crazy! But I guess more ppl know about CrappyBurgers lol than some crazy good burger joint (Sven'sBurgers?) making the best lunches in town? (Wow...another terrible analogy! lol - sorry guys!) :|:|:|

    I'm sure the rest of the users that have a CLUE feel the same way that I do: That GSA deserves our respect as one of the most professional software solution providers out there, definitely a model for how things SHOULD be done!

  • SvenSven www.GSA-Online.de
    thanks for your warm words @Deeeeeeee . I will talk with my partner about this tomorrow and we decide if we make this a project or not.
  • DeeeeeeeeDeeeeeeee the Americas
    edited February 2018
    You're quite welcome, @Sven.

    You guys definitely deserve success for these incredible programs! Def created out of a love of programming!! :)

    I know a big part of all this is knowing exactly WHAT to devote time to. Besides all the work for GSA's current family of software solutions, there's always time for new stuff. But which projects? And in what order?

    Here's my own big hang-up. lol Getting stressed over what to do next, instead of just flowing and doing SOMEthing, ANYthing! lol Stress is mal-adaptive and helps like zero percent! lol

    You really can't know WHAT will sell big. So, the more projects, whether in the realm of investing, programming, or even SEO, the better. The gig economy (and hiring sub-contractors) is THE big thing and such a tool could be used by many, many ppl in different lines of work, not just SEO.

    But is this tool worth it for GSA right now?  I guess only Sven and GSA can know.
  • s4nt0ss4nt0s Houston, Texas
    edited February 2018
    I'm all for project management, but the market for it seems pretty saturated already.

    There are literally new project management tools popping up on product hunt all the time: https://www.producthunt.com/search?q=project management&topicName=Task Management

    There are hundreds of project management tools available for big and small projects. More here: https://www.capterra.com/project-management-software/

     A lot of them offer Saas, Iphone and android apps so you can work and sync between devices.

    I'm all for project management apps, but I'm not sure this would be a massive seller considering whats already available unless this had some really unique features.

    Here's a few examples of project management software that are free and a lot of them are even open source:

    http://www.projectlibre.com/product/projectlibre-open-source
    http://taskjuggler.org/
    http://www.ganttproject.biz/
    https://community.mycollab.com/
    https://www.orangescrum.org/free-download
    https://www.tuleap.org/
    http://2-plan.com/free-project-management-software-2-plan-desktop.html

    So I guess the question would be ... what could the project management software offer that these free tools don't offer already and would spending the time coding it be worth it?




    Thanked by 1Deeeeeeee
  • DeeeeeeeeDeeeeeeee the Americas
    Very comprehensive list, @Santos! Thanks!

    Guess there are already tons of programs like this.  I def don't know anything about what's already out there or what features they're missing.

    But seeing what areas of focus you guys usually work at, maybe integrating both digital screen shot via a assigned key with a quick sorting menu right after for digital receipts,  and for paper receipt-keeping, OCR for cheques/reciepts  user takes pics of with phone?

    Def OCR without the added noise and assorted stuff will be easy for GSA. :)

    Or is that more like a feature found in a type of receipt//tax deduction//payables/receivables tracking software ?
  • SvenSven www.GSA-Online.de
    Oh thanks for the analysis @s4nt0s ... thats all a big NO to invest in this I guess.
    Thanks for your time spending here.
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