(Work related) - Project management software?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Okay, time to pick the collective brains of the FOFC again.

After years of being very self-contained, our company finds itself in an arrangement that basically has us acting as the liason between our client and a web design/development company they've selected to do some work for them. And what began as one project with the possibility of a larger project down the road has rather quickly mushroomed into 10 separate projects with a steady stream of add-ons, tweaks, expansions, and further new elements are possible.
It's becoming a bit of a challenge to keep everybody on the same page with both latest requests and current status on all of these very fluid situations.

What I'm looking for are some recommendations/advice/tips on dealing with what I'll broadly term as "project management software".

Basically I'm looking for something that:
-- allows everyone to status updates on each of the projects (and elements within a project) at a single location.
-- if the info can be accessed/changed by multiple users from multiple locations that's a plus but not an absolute must (in theory I can update the status as new info comes in, since everything in both directions in flowing through here anyway)
-- Low-cost, nay, preferably no-cost. This is pretty much a convenience item for everyone, and I'm not really gung-ho to personally foot the several thousand dollar pricetag that I've seen in my preliminary search for this sort of application.
-- Idiot proof, or as close to it as possible. Several of the parties involved in this spiderweb make me look like I invented the internets. We're talking very low level of technical ability here, as in "filling out online forms is a daunting task". Anything beyond log-in & click here might be a stretch for some of the intended users, so simple is key. It can be harder on the updating the info side.

What it doesn't have to have is:
-- storage of actual content, nor live editing capabilities to actual content. In other words, I don't need people to be able to mark up, edit, or alter in some way any of the things we're discussing. All of the files that are part of the actual work aren't meant to be accessible through this, just status reports, timelines, and such about those files.
-- it doesn't really need to be a provider of communication between the various parties. We're doing just fine with email & phone & a steady stream of face-time meetings, so that sort of thing is sort of redundant in this instance.

Truth is, what we're trying to accomplish could probably be handled with nothing more complex than a large spreadsheet with tabs for each project and just keeping the most up to date copy of that online somewhere for them to download & review. But I thought there might be something a little slicker out there that fit the bill, and it would also prevent people from looking at an outdated copy of the spreadsheet or anything of that sort.

Okay gang, thoughts, opinions, suggestions, etc. are welcome & appreciated.
--

[MacroGuru]

A couple of the ones I have worked with in the past are:

dotProject
PHProjekt

Both are PHP/MySQL drive and are free. However, set up might involve a techie or someone that knows what they are doing.

Out of the two, dotProject was my favorite.

Hope this helps.

[Marc Vaughan]

I use GanttProject myself because only a minority of people within SEGA have MSProject and I like as many people as possible to have access to the plans I create (the more people who read them the better the chance someone will find the mistakes I've made and help me correct them ).

Its fairly 'limited' in scope, but allows exporting into various different formats including html which I use for publishing such things on our internal wiki.

(oh and its free which is always nice )

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thanks to you both, I'll start taking a look at them. The PHP/MySQL bit scares me a little though, since I'm the closest thing to a techie that's involved in this at this point. (The fact that it gives me cause for concern should tell you just how "low-techie" I am, and how technically challenged those involved are)

[gstelmack]

Avoid Microsoft Project like the plague, unless you are building a house or something equally well-known up-front. If the dang thing changes Actual Hours Worked I've entered one more time when I add a new task and assign someone to it, I swear to god I'm going to kill something...

[Crapshoot]

Jon,
why don't you look at just setting up a project wiki of sorts? You or someone else could set it up, and idiot-proof it for most people to add two or collaborate.

[Warhammer]

This might be a little out there, but it sounds like Lotus Notes had something similar to this.

Also, I've seen an Access database set up so that you could do this. However, I think everything on that you had to be on a local area network, so I'm not sure how the off site people would interface with it.

The basic setup was that you had a front page set up with all the details. You would set up what needed to be done and the dates, etc. for it. As these items were completed, you would check a box and the date and it would close that item. So anyone in warranty could go into the database, go to the ticket and see what was happening on it at a glance. There was a separate section for notes in there as well.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

It's becoming a bit of a challenge to keep everybody on the same page with both latest requests and current status on all of these very fluid situations.

This sounds like you're looking for a change/issue tracker software, which is a bit different from PM software, but is also more abundantly available on the web.

However, this:

-- allows everyone to status updates on each of the projects (and elements within a project) at a single location.

...possibly sends you more towards the PM end of things.

The software above that others have recommended are probably fine. Just to add to the list I'll suggest FogBugz which used to be just a bug/issue-tracking system but now has morphed into more of a PM system. I should note that I've not actually used FogBugz for a few years, but the strength of the system has always been that's it's very clear and easy to use, partly as the guy behind it (Joel Spolsky) is a pretty well-known usability/programming guru.

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Avoid Microsoft Project like the plague, unless you are building a house or something equally well-known up-front. If the dang thing changes Actual Hours Worked I've entered one more time when I add a new task and assign someone to it, I swear to god I'm going to kill something...

I haven't come across this. Is Project changing Actual Hours Worked for resources as you add new tasks? That sounds like a bug I'll have to look out for. I'm sure you've already had the Fixed Work/Fixed Duration/Effort-Driven fun and games while adding resources to tasks. Good times. Although once I understood the pitfalls I'm pretty good at avoiding them.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

I haven't come across this. Is Project changing Actual Hours Worked for resources as you add new tasks? That sounds like a bug I'll have to look out for. I'm sure you've already had the Fixed Work/Fixed Duration/Effort-Driven fun and games while adding resources to tasks. Good times. Although once I understood the pitfalls I'm pretty good at avoiding them.

Yes, I've had it change actual work hours when adding new tasks. I belive it's a 2k7 thing related to the bits you mention above, where it goes in and re-levels and tries to make things make sense. I've also had it do it where something takes less time than planned, and you want to mark it 100% complete, and it thinks you've changed Actual Hours by doing so. There's also the fun of it scheduling things in the past, especially on non-working holidays, when you enter new tasks.

I end up fighting the thing on a daily basis. It works much better when you aren't trying to track actual work hours, but are rather just forecasting how things will line up, or in other words it's great for planning but lousy for tracking.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I end up fighting the thing on a daily basis. It works much better when you aren't trying to track actual work hours, but are rather just forecasting how things will line up, or in other words it's great for planning but lousy for tracking.

100% Agreed. Trying to do it with Project Server is even worse.