Java 2 Ada - Tag workspace2009-11-27T08:34:19+00:00Stephane Carrezurn:md5:d12e23c53b2436d6becce3d51ddbdf38AWAPlanzone V2: the collaborative project management softwareurn:md5:3b58efcb48099f7574ddbf2bf64402f62009-11-27T08:34:19+00:002009-11-27T08:34:19+00:00Stephane Carrezcollaborationplanningprojectworkspace
<div class="post-text"><p><a href="http://www.augeo.com">Augeo Software</a> has released a new version of Planzone, the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">Collaborative Project Management Software</a>. The new interface design makes your life easier by providing a better workflow, a fresh and modern design, and several major improvements in the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> scheduling.</p><h2>Collaborative Workspace</h2><p>First of all, Planzone is a <a href="http://www.planzone.com">collaborative workspace</a> designed for non-techies. No need to be an expert to manage your <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a>!</p><p>Each <a href="http://www.planzone.com">collaborative workspace</a> is organized arround a <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> which is shared by several members. The workspace contains an area to manage simple todos lists, another area to share files and write online documentation, a discussion area and last but not least a <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> schedule area to plan and track the progress.</p><h4>Todos</h4><p>Beginners will start by using todos only. This is the easiest item to manage. In that manner, Planzone is very close to Basecamp. Planzone V2 brings several improvements on the todo area. First the design clearly shows what the todo is, the fact that it now has a shape makes you feel you can move and do something with it.</p><p>Second, <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> todos can now be grouped by date, priority and team member. Before a meeting, a <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> manager can group by team member, print the sheet and discuss with the team with a clear vision of tasks assigned to each other.</p><p>When the number of todos increases, it's easy to create a todo list (called <b>activity</b> in Planzone).</p><p><img src="/images/planzone/.planzone-todo_m.jpg" longdesc="Planzone V2 todos, nov. 2009" alt="Planzone V2 todos"></img></p><h4>File and online documentation</h4><p>While the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> evolves, team members will share files in the document storage area. You can upload and share any type of file and there is no real limit for the file size (you are limited by the license).</p><p>In Planzone V2, the file and online documentation are now grouped under the same area: Documentation.</p><p><img src="/images/planzone/.planzone-documents_m.jpg" longdesc="Planzone V2 documents, nov. 2009" alt="Planzone V2 documents"></img></p><p>The online documentation is provided through a simple Wiki. Don't expect to write complex documents such as those you can write with Microsoft Words. Wikis are intended to be fast and efficient to write simple text, with sections, bullet lists and minimal formatting. Two editors are provided, a visual editor which allows you to write documentation without knowing the wiki language, and a text editor which is rather basic but more powerful if you know some wiki markers and best if you know some CSS (here, it's for expert!).</p><p><img src="/images/planzone/.planzone-wiki_m.jpg" longdesc="Planzone V2 wiki, nov. 2009" alt="Planzone V2 wiki"></img></p><h4>Discussion</h4><p>The discussion area provides a central point where team members will share comments on the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> and the work to do. Discussions and comments are associated with the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> , activities, todos, milestones and documents (comments on wiki will come shortly). The major change in Planzone V2 is the ability to see in one place all the comments related to the project.</p><p><img src="/images/planzone/.planzone-discussion_m.jpg" longdesc="Planzone V2 discussion, nov. 2009" alt="Planzone V2 discussion"></img></p><h2>Project Scheduling</h2><p>When the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> grows or is complex, the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> manager has to plan and split the work in several activities. Activities are scheduled over time, they can contain todos as well as milestones (A next version will allow to attached documents). The <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> schedule area is dedicated to this work.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> scheduling contains many improvements that help the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> manager. First, the resource assignments are now made exclusively from the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> schedule page. It becomes easier to manage activity assignments and resource allocations. You expand or collapse the activity assignments and you can add, remove or change the resources while having the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> schedule in front of you. This is a major improvement which makes the scheduling area a killer feature.</p><p><div class="wiki-img-center"><div class="wiki-img-inner"><img src="/images/planzone/.planzone-v2_m.jpg" longdesc="Planzone V2 schedule, nov. 2009" alt="Planzone V2 schedule"></img></div></div></p><p>On the <a href="http://www.planzone.com">project</a> resource usage side, the timeline displays the consolidated remaining work for each resource and the expand collapse of each resource makes this part quite neat and easy to use.</p><h3>Try Planzone!</h3><p>Planzone offers a free version of the service. Of course the free version is limited but you can still manage complex <a href="http://www.planzone.com">projects</a> with small teams (5 persons). Prices range from 9.90EUR/month for the individual license to 69.90EUR/month for the business license.</p><p>Give it a try and leave me some comments. <a href="https://home.planzone.com/signup/free">Signup for a free Planzone</a>.</p></div>