Posts tagged "Collaboration"17 posts

Collaborate on Documents & Designs

Posted February 2, 2012

Projecturf offers simple ways to collaborate on files and gather feedback on designs. When uploading a new design or document to one of your projects, just fill out the message box to begin a new discussion. If you send an email notification with the new message, users will be able to reply via email. By adding a message, you can solicit feedback, add any important comments, and ask users to make changes or add information to a file. All comments on documents and designs are linked directly to the Discussions section. You will see the number of comments associated with each file to the right of the file name. By clicking on the number of comments, you will automatically be directed to that specific discussion where you can add a reply or make other changes.

If a document or design has already been uploaded, you can start a discussion about it from the Discussions section. After you click to add a new discussion, change the type to Document or Design and then select the file name from the drop-down menu. From there, you can set permissions and send email notifications of your new discussion.

Getting Approvals and Ratings on Designs

Posted January 11, 2012

Each project in Projecturf has a Designs section for sharing, collaborating, obtaining approvals, and rating designs. The designs can be grouped into categories and are displayed as thumbnails. By clicking on a thumbnail, you can view the design inline and also scroll through them using the arrows. When uploading a design, simply check off the users that you want to view the design. Anyone given permission on a design will be able to approve and rate it on a five star scale. Watch the short video tutorial below to learn more.

Also, if you don't need to use the Designs section on a project, it can be turned off in the project settings.

Online Collaboration Using Whiteboards

Posted November 2, 2011

Each project in Projecturf includes a Whiteboard section for creating, sharing, and collaborating on files. Whiteboards use a simple check-in / check-out process for updating files. After clicking edit from within a whiteboard, you are essentially "checking it out" and therefore you are the only one who can make changes to the file until checking it back in (by clicking save and close in the top right). A list of who has made changes to it along with a date and time stamp is available by clicking on the arrow to the left of the Whiteboard name. After opening the whiteboard and clicking edit, a formatting toolbar will appear, which is used to add lists or bullets, include images, and easily format text.

With the whiteboard open, simply hover over the collaborators icon on the top right and you will see who has access to it. Any users that are granted permission to the whiteboard are able to view and make edits to it. Access is easily granted by checking off names when creating or modifying the whiteboard.

Whiteboards are a simple and effective way to create lists, share ideas, develop a plan of action, organize project related data, collaborate with multiple users, and much more. Instead of emailing files around to several people and manually consolidating inputs, use the Whiteboards section to centralize, store, and collaborate. To learn about using Whiteboards with Projecturf, visit our support center.

New HTML email formats

Posted September 7, 2011

In version 3.2, we've introduced HTML formatted emails. This includes all emails sent from Projecturf such as notifications, discussions, and Daily Progress Reports. With all the system emails formatted in HTML, they appear much cleaner and more presentable, which is very important when working with clients and colleagues. The emails are nicely laid out and easy to follow for improving communication. Below is an example of the newly formatted HTML emails.

However, we also offer the option to turn off HTML emails if you still wish to receive them in plain text. This can be done by going to the account section as described here.

The new email enhancements were a direct result of feedback from you. You can continue to share new ideas or vote on existing ones by visiting our suggestion forum.

Replying to Discussions Made Simple AND New Website Released

Posted July 3, 2011

We have vastly improved the process for replying to discussions from your email. When replying to a discussion, all you will need to do is hit reply, type your message, and click send. Since the emails now say "Add your reply above this line," everything you type will be included in the reply and post to your account for that discussion topic. You are no longer required to input your message in between the lines, which makes it as easy as replying to any other email. When adding a new discussion from Projecturf, the send email notifications checkbox (as shown below) must be checked to receive the emails. Everyone added to the discussion will receive all email replies.

Website Redesign

We also redesigned our website and released it to the public on Friday, July 1st. The streamlined design offers a quick overview of our plans and simple sign up as well as a video demo of version 3.0, which is included on the Projecturf homepage. This new custom blog is also a major part of the release and provides a sleek design and quick navigation, which we have transitioned over from Wordpress.

Projecturf helps Lightrhythm Visuals Get Things Done in Style

Posted April 21, 2011

"Projecturf is visually attractive - I felt much more confident inviting clients to this interface"

Lightrhythm Visuals LTD is a Design firm that is using Projecturf to easily manage their projects and keep their staff motivated. CEO Ben Sheppee describes why he loves using Projecturf. You can learn more about Lightrhythm Visuals by visiting http://lightrhythmvisuals.com.

What problems/challenges were you facing that prompted your company to look for a new project management tool?
In the past we had a lot of troubles getting staff and clients to use online project managment software - I think this is really because it just looked so boring and drab and they saw it as another boring task to do. So Projecturf worked for us because its interfacing was nicely laid out and attractive to use - just has a better sense of design - and as we are based in visual media - that's really important with who we work with and motivating our staff to use the system.

What other project management tools did you review? Why didn't you select them?
We used r.project for a while and basecamp - both of which were clunky in layout and akward to manage. They were also missing vital features that Projecturf offered such as Gantt Charts (missing in basecamp) and reports (in r.dot project).

What types of tools/features did your company specifically require for your project management needs?
Gantt Charts were a must, but we really like and utilize the Designs Module which works wonders for us to present and get feedback from clients

What specifically did Projecturf bring to the table that made it the right solution for your company/organization?
Projecturf is visually attractive - I felt much more confident inviting clients to this interface.

How has Projecturf been received by your employees to date?
Everybody on the team is now interested in getting organized - its amazing

Business benefit/bottom line results from implementing Projecturf at your company/organization?
Better communication between staff and with clients over the overall workflow.

Why would you recommend other organizations use Projecturf?
Because it motivates staff to actually get organized and specifically for us it engages the clients into the creative process.

Open Multiple Projects

Posted April 1, 2011

In the upcoming release, you will be able to keep multiple projects open at once. This will allow you to easily navigate between different projects which in turn will speed up your workflow and provide instant visibility into any projects. You can simply leave projects open on your screen or close them at anytime depending on which one's you are working on. This feature will be implemented in a straightforward and intuitive way using the Projecturf style you are used to.

This next release is a major update and will be available to all users. We've been adding new features and improvements along the way and have a lot in store for you! More to come on the new project management software features and enhancements - we plan to release this update in a few weeks and will provide an overview on all the new features at that time.

Projecturf listed in Google Chrome Web Store

Posted March 10, 2011

Projecturf has been added to the Google Chrome web store under the productivity category. Now you can install and access your project management app using the web store by clicking here: Chrome Web Store - Projecturf App. After you've installed it, the app icon will appear with your other Chrome web apps. Simply click the icon to login to your account.

How Persource Enhances their Productivity with Projecturf

Posted February 24, 2011

Persource is a mobile application development house that is using Projecturf to easily and effectively manage their projects. Director Sarin Shah describes the benefits they are seeing and how they are using their new project management application. You can learn more about Persource by visiting http://www.persource.com.

What problems/challenges were you facing that prompted your company to look for a new project management tool?
In previous tools we were not seeing the flexibility of charts and time based entries and post planning that is offered by many desktop suites but not on the web. Our old web based system had become simply a digital time card without much use in planning projects.

If you didn’t have a project management solution in place, what methods did you use prior to selecting Projecturf?
A whiteboard and Daily Task sheets.

What other project management tools did you review? Why didn't you select them?
Basecamp - worked pretty well but all we used it for was time entry. Microsoft Project - it was great but not useable over the internet and therefore very difficult for our sales guys on the road to check in on projects.

What types of tools/features did your company specifically require for your project management needs?
Task/Subtask Planning
Time Entry
Resource Management
Exportability of Information
Clean/Easy to Use interface that was easy to learn.

What specifically did Projecturf bring to the table that made it the right solution for your company?
The ability to generate detailed reports and have resource management information such as charts available with the task planning.

How has Projecturf been received by your employees to date?
Our manager loves it; they don't worry about losing 'time' anymore; and our sales reps love being able to update clients on progress and use report information to estimate production load on our teams before agreeing to hard deadlines.

Business benefit/bottom line results from implementing Projecturf at your company?
Projecturf allows us to accurately plan a project as well as get post project information. This process saves us at least 5 administrative hours per project. In the saved time we have project breakdowns to see where we could have improved, based on the charting information provided by projecturf. Projecturf increases our efficiency by a factor of 5, allowing us to communicate, stay on track, and never feel lost.

Why would you recommend other organizations use Projecturf?
Its a great piece of software that is easy to use, looks great, and gives companies instant progress statistics. Projecturf also does a good job listening to users and implementing new features.

Create a Projecturf Desktop Application with Prism

Posted February 11, 2011

In a recent blog post, we outlined how to add Projecturf as a desktop application to your Mac using Fluid. A similar application called Prism allows you to create desktop apps on your Mac or PC. To use Prism, follow the simple instructions below.

1. Download the software here: Prism by Mozilla Labs
2. Open the application and type in the following URL followed by your unique Projecturf web address (in bold): https://UniqueWebAddress.projecturf.com
3. Fill in Projecturf for the name and choose which settings you want
4. Create shortcuts to your Desktop or Applications Folder if you are using a Mac. If you are on a PC you can create shortcuts on your Desktop, in your Start Menu, and in your Quick Launch Bar.
   
   
5. Save this icon locally and select it in the "Icon" section:

Prism provides an easy solution for running your project management tool off your desktop and only takes a couple of minutes to set up.