Project Progress ReportNovember 2011

MSc Student: Anatoli ZhyzhneuskiLecturer: As. Prof., Dr. Matevz Dolenc

MB&C Engineering Ltd has:• the sites in 5 countries of Ireland• the permanent and temporary offices in 3

countries • company’s headquarter is located in Co. Kerry Director, site agents, site engineers and foremen often

travelled from one site to another, between different offices and to headquarters on weekly basis.

The company personnel needs to improve their ability in getting the quick access to the planning and scheduling information, tracking the actual progress across the different sites, making the changes in project schedules, setting up the new milestones, and receiving the news about any changes in project scheduling as soon as possible.

In order to solve the described problem, the research of some collaborative web-based applications for project planning, scheduling and control will be done. Some of such applications have offered additional options as Google Docs, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar, etc.

As web-based collaborative applications will be a new approach for the majority of personnel, the best solution will be an implementation of an open source applications or software offered good opportunity during the trial period.

• WhoDoes

• TeamLab

• PivotalTracker

• MavenLink

• Zoho Projects

• WhoDoes is open source application. The subscriber can work with 50 projects and invite unlimited number of users. Tool is available in three languages: English, Spanish and Italian.

• Tool has a simple interface, which makes planning activities easier.

• WhoDoes 2.0 is the web-based project management tool that helps team members COLLABORATE with each other, SHARE files, emails and MANAGE milestones and tasks.

• Plan.Plan your projects in just a few minutes, thanks to Fast Planning, a new interface concept to make planning activities easier.

• Manage.Manage the activities to do daily, assigning tasks, defining due-dates, setting priorities, and always keeping the project's progress under control.

• Collaborate and Communicate.Collaborate and communicate easily with all team members, working in the same office or distributed around the world.

• Archive and Share.Archive and share documents and emails of the project within the Repository.

• Project Management Build teams and assign tasks. Schedule project milestones, track project

activity and generate reports.• Business Collaboration Create posts in blogs and forums, view employee details. Share photos,

bookmarks and Wiki pages.• Document Management Create, edit, save and share documents directly on your portal. Import

docs base from Google Docs, Zoho, Box.net. Integrate documents into your project module.

• Calendar Organize your personal and corporate work schedule. Set meetings,

arrange briefings, coordinate team activities. Track past, current and future events.

• Customer Relationship Management Manage your customer relations directly on your portal. Use the multi-

functional system to build efficient clients interaction.• Email Management Send, receive and organize email messages right on your portal. Filter

messages according to your own tags.• Mobile Version Manage projects from Android or iOS mobile phone. Track and join team

activities on the move. Access documents and make notes regardless of location.

• Affordable for everyone All the TeamLab features are provided completely for free. There are no

functionality, projects, user or time limits.

• Flexibility in use TeamLab is available in 3 deployment models: SaaS – you get ready-to-

use software in the cloud, Open Source – you install TeamLab on your own server, AMI – you use a private Amazon machine with pre-installed TeamLab.

• Easy-to-access data With TeamLab SaaS or AMI, you're no more tied to any place, PC or mobile

device. To access necessary data, all you need is an Internet connection and a browser.

• Effortless migration The Import option turns migration to TeamLab into a painless simple

process. You can easily transfer data from Basecamp, Google Docs, Zoho or Box.net accounts in a few steps.

• Data safety All TeamLab accounts include SSL encryption that makes your web-office

inaccessible for any third party. Data backup & restore options ensure your information safety and security.

• Multilingual interface TeamLab interface has been translated to 9 languages: English, German, French,

Spanish, Italian, Russian, Greek, Latvian and Turkish. New languages are constantly added: Chinese, Swedish, Portuguese, Polish and Dutch are on the way.

• Rich collaboration feature set Forums & blogs, corporate chat &conferences, polls, wiki, events, bookmarks –

all these instruments assist you in making your staff a strong and devoted team.

• Online editing & sharing TeamLab lets you edit corporate and personal documents, spreadsheets,

presentations and even PDF files right in the web. The docs management toolset contains version control, user permission settings and file sharing via links.

• Efficient project management TeamLab offers all the necessary functionality to maintain high-quality

management and carefully supervise teamwork. Automated reports, time tracking, project templates optimize your efforts improving productivity results.

• All-in-one web-office Combining collaboration, project and document management web tools into one

suite, TeamLab forms a unique multipurpose virtual workspace. Create your own office in the cloud and feel the benefits yourself!

• What is Pivotal Tracker? Pivotal Tracker is an easy to use, agile project management tool

that brings focused collaboration to software development teams. Built by Pivotal Labs, it embodies proven agile methods, based on experience from hundreds of successful large scale projects.

• Increase Visibility and Collaboration Bring everyone, even distributed teams into the same virtual

room. Enable a more efficient way to agree on priorities and stay aligned with the entire team.

• Plan Based on Realistic Estimates Stay on target with Tracker's continuous, automatic prediction

of milestone completion dates, based on your team's performance.

• Deliver on Customer Feedback Get the right product to the market sooner, based on

continuous feedback and prioritization. Respond to changing needs and new requirements easily.

• Transform How You Build Software Supercharge your agile project teams with focused, real time

collaboration. Accelerate agile adoption with a simple, proven process.

Google Integration• Google Calendar Integration• Google Docs Integration• Google Contacts Integration• Google Tasks Integration  

All Plans Include• Web Collaboration• File Sharing• Task Management• Project Budgets• Change Orders• International Currencies• Online Payments• Document Viewer• Email Integration• SSL Security

Project Workspace Efficiently manage your project communications, documents, schedules, budgets, and payments in one place

• Email Invitations Invite colleagues and clients into your custom workspace.• Transactions Get Paid. Request payment online and receive payment for as low as 50¢ via

PayPal.• Project History Centralize and post all team comments and documents with a time stamp.• Team Give clients, colleagues, and service providers SSL-secured access to your project.• Log a Payment Officially document who's been paid what.• Private Messaging Send messages to other users confidentially.• Permissions Give specific rights to users within a project.• Invoice Integrated invoicing based on tracked time, expenses, and additional items.• File Sharing Upload multiple files at once and share up to 20GB across projects.• Schedule Create a timetable for projects and set hard or soft deadlines.• Change Orders Modify the terms of a project and get acceptance in real-time.• View Files See documents instantly through integrated Scribd technology.• Budget Negotiate and assign dollar amounts to each project, in nearly any currency.• Real-time Messaging Messages will instantly go out to everyone in a workspace via

email.• Filter Choose what you want to see. Sort by messages with attachments or those linked to

your tracker.• Time Tracking Track time across all your projects. Assign an hourly rate to entries.

Project Tracker Easily create, assign, and track progress using tasks, deliverables, and milestones 

• Manage Project Activity Clarify what needs to get done using tasks, deliverables, and milestones.• Status Progress Communicate how things are going each step of the way.• Assign Responsibility Collaborate effectively by letting everyone know what work they need to get

done.• Link Conversations Associate with tasks, so team members see relevant discussions & docs instantly.  Email Integration View and respond to project or network activities from your email on

your computer or mobile device• Notifications When a client or colleague updates your workspace, an email is sent to the team.• Reply Directly No need to log in. Reply to the group from your email.• Email Digests Get all of your Mavenlink updates in one email.• Smartphone Stay connected replying directly from your mobile device.   Dashboard Easily monitor all project, network, and financial activity in one simple

location• Project Feed View all your projects in one collaborative feed.• Activity Feed See all activities from your clients, colleagues, and service providers.• Dashboard Bar Easily navigate projects, payments, and messages.   Google Apps Integration Seamlessly work in the cloud using our integration with

Google Docs, Calendar, and Contacts• Google Documents Easier file sharing and online document collaboration with Google Docs in your

projects.• Google Calendar All Mavenlink milestones and project dates are synced with your Google Calendar.• Google Contacts Your Google Contacts at your fingertips when inviting clients and colleagues to your

project.

• Task Management Project tasks and tasks lists make it easy to keep your work organized and

manageable, all in one easy-to-access location. With project milestones have a full control of what members are doing, how it is progressing and get a clear picture of key deliverables.

• Document Sharing Create project files directly on your browser, without having to install any

additional software. Upload your Microsoft Office, Open Office, Star Office, AutoCad, Photoshop, ZIP files and any other kind of document that you might need for the project.

• Time Tracking & Billing Time is money, and you need to know where your time is going, which projects

you are working on, so that you can easily identify actual working hours. Timesheets streamlines the performance of a project and helps identify time spent to complete a task. In addition, quickly export all your timesheet data and send invoices for payments.

• Bug Tracking Software Bug Tracking module is a powerful issue submission software using which you

can define a structure and organize how bugs are to be handled. By being able to clearly analyze the life cycle of a bug, members are motivated with a sense of awareness in fixing the issues, instead of letting them slip away.

• Project Reports (Gantt Charts) Reports visually represent length of an activity and time spent on it. You

can assess how long a project will take to complete, determine the resources, and prioritize the order in which tasks are to be carried out. With this you can work out quickest possible time and this makes your project reporting a breeze.

• Project Wiki (Team Intranet) Zoho Projects offers an integrated, effective wiki interface for your

projects with seamless navigation. With wikis create, share and collaborate your project related contents like documents, spreadsheets, presentations, embed YouTube video clips.

• Project Chat (Group Collaboration) The built-in chat rooms allows everyone on the project to quickly come

together to discuss important topics and make decision faster. Best of all, it runs entirely on your browser so there's no need to install anything, and most importantly, the transcript always stays there.

• Project Calendar & Meetings Project calendar helps organize all your project's events, appointments,

shows key deadlines - all in a centralized place. You can schedule team meetings, gather notes, post slides and manage all important events of a project from a single place.

• Project Forums Forums are interactive message boards where one can put a topic up for

discussion and let ideas flow back and forth. Unlike emails, all the topics are easily accessible by anyone involved in the group - all from one place.

WhoDoesFree software (50 projects, unlimited users)

TeamLabFree Basic Plan (unlimited projects, unlimited users, 1 GB file storage)£ 30.90/month – TeamLab Premium (unlimited projects, unlimited users, 10 GB file

storage)

PivotalTracker60 Days Free Trail$18/month – Startup Plan (10 projects, 7 collaborators, unlimited viewers, 3 GB file

storage)$50/month – Pro Plan ( unlimited projects, 10 collaborators, unlimited viewers,

unlimited file storage)

MavenLinkFree Basic Plan (3 projects, 2 premium users, unlimited participants, 500 MB file

storage)$39/month - Expert Plan (unlimited projects, 2 premium users, unlimited participants,

20 GB file storage)

Zoho Projects Free Plan (1 project, unlimited users, 20 MB file storage)$20/month - Express Plan (20 projects, unlimited users, 5 GB file storage)$35/month – Premium Plan (50 projects, unlimited users, 15 GB file storage)

Who Does absence of customer support absence of project report features,

like Gantt Chart, etc. absence of document import option

from such applications as Google Documents, Box.net, DropBox, etc.

absence of smart phone version lack of security features

TeamLab small capacity of file storage on Free

Plan high cost of upgrading from Free Plan to

Premium Plan absence of email management feature

Pivotal Tracker small number of collaborators on the

both Startup and Pro Plans absence of project report feature, like

Gantt Chart relatively high cost of plans

MavenLink small capacity of file storage on Free Basic

Plan limited number of premium users on the

both Free Basic and Premium Plans absence of project report feature, like

Gantt Chart relatively high cost of plans short period of free trial for Premium Plans

Zoho Projects relatively high cost of plans

1. Zoho Projects (primary choice for the project)

2. TeamLab (alternative choice for the project)

3. MavenLink4. Pivotal Tracker5. WhoDoes

MB&C Engineering Limited is going to build a new 4* hotel in Co. Kerry.

The personnel of the company is involved in project, excluding a project manager will be working on other projects across Ireland at the same time.

For collaboration of personnel during this hotel construction project, Zoho Projects tool will be implemented as a new approach for project execution. Eight members of project team will be assigned to this project and they will be acted as the project users in Zoho Projects.

www.mavenlink.comwww.pivotaltracker.com www.teamlab.com www.whodo.es/home www.zohoprojects.com