"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.
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.
Fortified Solutions - Helpdesk OnStaff is an IT Helpdesk support company that has switched to Projecturf for managing their business. Company CEO Zuriel Reyes explains why they chose Projecturf and the benefits they are seeing. To find out more about Fortified Solutions, visit http://www.fortifiedsolutionsinc.com.
What problems/challenges were you facing that prompted your company to look for a new project management tool?
As a national IT Helpdesk support company we handle hundreds of projects in a single year. We have always struggled with using multiple applications to handle our time management, project time lines and tasks management, project documentation, etc.
If you didn’t have a project management solution in place, what methods did you use prior to selecting Projecturf?
Because we didn't have a central project management in place we had to rely on using Microsoft Project Manager. This meant emailing our customers PDF documents of the project scope, emailing customers a separate Time Usage log, email documentation, keeping up with email messages, etc.
What other project management tools did you review? Why didn't you select them?
We searched and tested what seemed like hundreds of so-called project managers that were hard to learn for both our project managers and business customers, lacked a modern feel, did not offer all the features we needed and was not cost-effective in pricing and installation. We tested products like Quickbase.intuit, Clarizen, @task, Daptiv, Project insight, the list goes on.
Why did they not work? Outdated designs, hard to navigate, extensive learning curve. On some it took setting up a schedule time for someone to walk you through all the features to learn how to use them or to just setup the application.
What types of tools/features did your company specifically require for your project management needs?
First of all we needed online tools where all the features could be accessed by our project managers and our customers and we needed the WOW factor in ease of use with very little learning curve, say 15 minutes.
We needed task, subtask management, time management, document to project management, white board/discussion board designated to the project, access control, ticket support and calendar/scheduling control under one roof.
What specifically did Projecturf bring to the table that made it the right solution for your company/organization?
Low startup/maintenance cost
Extremely modern design
Central access to both our employees/Customers
15 minute learning curve
Go-live same day
How has Projecturf been received by your employees to date?
This has been the easiest support application we have transitioned to. Our employees love it.
Business benefit/bottom line results from implementing Projecturf at your company/organization?
Since the inception of Projecturf into our company we save on average 2 hours of paid wages per technician per day. We have technicians nation-wide so this can amount to a saving of $150 plus per day per technician. Projecturf has eliminated emailing documents, time cards, project notes to be added to the project by a project manager, setting up chat sessions, scheduling confirmations, etc.
What tools/features Projecturf are you using the most?
We have from the beginning started using all the tools within the Projecturf environment. But the Project>Task Manager, Calendar and Time Manager are our bread and butter.
Why would you recommend other organizations use Projecturf?
From that moment we have continued to receive WOWs and praises from our customer! Way to go Projecturf. We are a happy customer and proud to share our story!
It hasn't been long since we officially launched Projecturf to the public - only a matter of several months. We are very pleased to have received a review from a leading publisher, TopTenReviews. This review is fairly in-depth and provides a comprehensive side-by-side comparison and category ratings as well.
All in all, they have ranked us as #6 and mention that there are a few features that would enhance the Projecturf experience. The feature commented on, task/milestone association, has actually been developed and is going to be added to Projecturf in the next release along with many other upgrades and enhancements. Here are some more notable remarks -
"One of Projecturf’s best features is the streamlined interface. Large icons line the top of the screen presenting you with the navigation, updating and resource links you need to keep your project current. When opening your project interface, the first things to come up are your project briefs, update announcements (since you were last logged in), and the tasks to be completed that day—all of which inform you of immediate concerns regarding your project. Project navigation is simple, as each interface icon leads to a corresponding area, which in turn is divided into two or three tabs for different needs."
"Projecturf relies on its sleek interface and user forum to make creating, managing and completing projects simple. With its design section, designers will find this project management software ideal for interchanging and displaying graphics and logos for project completion."
Below is the official review (we also have RSS feeds for each project):
Top Ten Project Management Reviews
Be sure to check back soon to read about our new features!
We recently sent out an email request to one of our very first customers. The request sent out was a questionnaire to address some specific questions regarding not only their thoughts about Projecturf, but how they are using it everyday. This should help give all of you some ideas not only on how Projecturf can benefit you, but also on how important others find collaboration software in managing projects. Here are several responses from a well-respected firm - TTC Advertising:
Please explain how your using Projecturf (Size of team, type of projects, streamlining processes)?
We are using Projecturf for most of our creative projects - print ads, brochures, web sites, etc. PT is mainly used between a project manager & designer -- then once initial creative is fleshed out, it's "shared" with the Creative Director. We do this so email alerts don't clog up the Creative Director's inbox until his input is needed.
How has Projecturf Benefited you the most?
The main benefits of Projecturf to us are: the ability and ease to send, comment & keep track of the most recent project proofs & documentation of requested revisions (eliminates the possibility of sending the wrong file to printers or publishers when numerous versions have been produced -- this has happened a few times before PT); the ability to easily "share" large files with clients; and we've also set up a Project called "TTC Drop Site" as an FTP-type place for clients or other agencies to upload photos or large files.
What feature(s) do you like the most?
The overall collaboration functions.
Additional comments? Would you recommend to others?
For collaboration I would recommend PT to others. We have used BaseCamp in the past and find PT is easier to use and better designed.
Note that in our next release (hopefully in a couple of weeks) we are addressing the email notifications by allowing each users to turn them off and on for each section. Be sure to check back in a couple weeks :)