Earlier this week I talked about my
project management tool set for my own projects. When it comes to
working with others instead of alone, there are new issues: sharing
files, managing collective tasks, writing together, and just
keeping each other informed on progress. "Collaboration" becomes
the key word in this endeavor.
Inevitably there are times when I (and everyone else) must work
on projects with other people. There are three levels of this type
of project:
- Basic collaboration. This is when the essence of the project
can be summed up in a few emails and a phone call or appointment.
Sometimes this can even be a series of appointments, emails, or
whatever - but the point is, you don't need any tools beyond the
ones already available and discussed in my previous article.
- Mid-level collaboration. When you need more than just email
and, say, a word processor to collaborate, but the parties involved
don't have the regular need for high-level project management
tools.
- Upper-level collaboration. These are the folks that live in MS
Project or its Mac equivalent. I may address these in a future
column, but for now they are not my focus.
For the mid-level collaboration, there are any number of helpful
tools to get you through the job. I'll discuss those that I've
found useful and invite readers to let me know about which ones you
like and/or use regularly.
Writing with Others
There are times when you need more than just a document attached
to email to get the job done. While there is more power in this
than many realize - checking out Microsoft Word's "Track Changes"
or Pages 2.x's "Comments" can pay big dividends for collaborative
writing - there are times when other tools are more helpful because
they offer options and real-time changes. (And if you don't own or
use one Word or Pages, your only option is to look elsewhere.)
Writely
One tool that has gotten some press recently is Google's
Writely program. It has received a lot of attention as a
full-featured online word processor, and it functions adequately:
It can read and write .doc documents as well as a few other
formats, and it has all of the standard formatting tools and
features.
In many ways, Writely feels like any other word processor -
except that it is inside your browser rather than a stand-alone
application. I agree with many of the press, however, that Writely
is not going to replace Word anytime soon - not until universal
WiFi is a reality at the very least.
...you can all edit it at the same time and
see each other's changes.
Where Writely truly shines is as a collaboration tool; in fact,
this was what it was designed to be. Keep your main documents
installed at Writely, and whenever anyone edits it, you can see the
changes. Writely allows real-time, multi-user collaboration. What
this means is that once you and your collaborators log into Writely
and open the same document, you can all edit it at the same time
and see each other's changes.
Add to this an audio or video chat via iChat or a teleconference
through VoIP, and you can write collaboratively in the comfort of
your own chair - even if your collaborators are across town or
across the country.
Writely tracks multiple generations of edits so you can go back
and compare one generation to another. And when it's time for
publication, Writely makes it easy to get the final draft out and
into a format suitable for circulation.
Writely's interface is a little stifled, and it doesn't feel
very Mac-like, but it gets the job done. Be sure to load up Firefox
or Camino if you want to work in Writely, because there is no love
for Safari.
Writeboard
If your document isn't too long - maybe two pages or less - you
can use a Writeboard, which functions in a
manner very similar to Writely. A service of 37Signals, Writeboards are also
shareable web-based text documents. The editing window is
considerably simpler, and the features are not as rich, but the
basic functions are there.
Further, I find Writeboards offer a cleaner way to compare
editing generations. You can export the contents of a Writeboard to
a plain text file or email it to any address. There are no limits
on the length of Writeboards, but I find that I prefer to work with
longer documents in Writely.
Over and Above Collaborative Writing
If you need more collaboration than just text and writing, you
might find that 37Signals provides what you need. They have a range
of services, all shareable, online tools, that enable different
levels of collaborative interaction. Try Ta-da Lists for shared task lists or
Campfire for group chats
(think: a hybrid of a chat room and Instant Messaging).
Or jump up to Backpack,
which combines task lists, Writeboards, notes/memos, images, links,
and file-sharing all into one package. Plus, with Backpack you can
have personalized reminders sent to your email or mobile phone.
There is also a Backpack widget that gives you direct interaction
with reminders, task lists, and notes from your Tiger
Dashboard.
All of the 37Signals services are either free across the board
or have a free option. With Backpack, you can pay for additional
projects and file space.
Basecamp
Next up the scale on 37Signals's menu is Basecamp, which is geared toward a
professional context for project management. In addition to
messages, file-sharing, and Writeboards, you can set task lists and
milestones personalized for each member of the project team or for
the whole team. Basecamp also has a calendar function that is iCal
compatible: You can subscribe to it just like any shared
calendar.
While Basecamp has a free option, some of the pay levels include
some great features: secure data encryption, time management, and
the ability to personalize the template so that clients can
interact with your progress in an environment that matches your
website.
All of 37Signals's pay services are fairly priced and offer
various scales of pay rates. Even better, you can pay on a
month-by-month basis and upgrade or downgrade without penalty;
thus, if you have a project or client that needs a little more
service, upgrade for the duration of that project, then drop back
to a lower pay rate - or a free account - until you need the paid
services again. And those you collaborate with can log into your
paid service pages with a free-level account as long as you send
them an invitation. Good stuff.
I like 37Signals's services a lot. They share a lot in common
with a Mac: They are well-designed, the interface is friendly and
inviting, and they "just work". For the most part, Backpack
services my needs completely, though I've played around with using
Basecamp with the consulting group I work with.
There are hints that 37Signals is planning to implement a
calendar feature, which would be trés handy. (Folks who need
shared online calendars now might try Airset (which is iCal-compatible) or
simply publish their iCal calendar through the Calendar menu's
"Publish" command.)
However, if you are already a .mac user, you may find that the
relatively new .mac Groups feature can meet your collaborative
needs. With these you can share calendars, photos, files, messages,
and announcements. You get all of this with the usual .mac
goodness, which means it will be a clean and pretty interface.
Members will need a .mac account, but it's okay to sign of for a
trial membership only - you can still use your .mac username and
password to access groups after the trial membership expires.
More Tools for the Project Toolbox
When I'm working with others, I find it helpful to use a
Gantt chart
to set up goals, milestones, and contingencies in a visual manner.
If you're not familiar with Gantt charts, they are good tools to
represent the comprehensive picture of what needs to be
accomplished and let you see realistically how the progress must
proceed. They can also be helpful to double-check how realistic
your deadlines are and how your resources are allocated.
Depending on my project, I use one of two applications. GanttProject is an
open-source, Java-based application that does a good job at laying
out the basics of a project in a graphical way. The interface is
pretty bare-bones, and you won't find OS X elegance in this
program, but it does the job pretty well, and it can import
Microsoft Project files if you need such functionality. Being
open-source, the price is right. I use GanttProject when I'm
working with someone who uses MS Project.
When I don't need MS Project compatibility, I use another
application that has more of the Mac's native feel and
intuitiveness. ChartConstructor
does everything that GanttProject does, plus it can create PERT
charts as well. ChartConstructor uses an Inspector to help you set
up your project tasks and allows a lot of drag-and-drop friendly
functions. I find it a lot easier to set up a Gantt chart in
ChartConstructor, so I prefer this environment when I can use
it.
That rounds out my project management needs. My guess is that,
in most cases, it will cover your needs, too. One day, some day,
I'll look at the heavy-hitter applications that tackle big-level
projects.
Next time: Finding a good replacement keyboard. 
