SharedPlan Connect
"I didn't really say
everything I said."
December 15, 2006
-Yogi Berra
Hello All,
Yogi
Lives!
Last month, I told you about a contest to name "IT," our new
Issue Tracker web application. We
received a couple of dozen suggestions that caused us to think differently
about the product name. We ended up
giving prizes to three whose ideas were the most thought-provoking. We're keeping the official name Issue
Tracker, but on our web pages we informally refer to it as Yogi
(You've
Got
Issues).
We have now released Issue Tracker! What is it?
Well, it's somewhat self-explanatory - it tracks issues associated with
your projects. You know, the stuff that
doesn't fit in the plan but needs to be tracked.
We created Issue Tracker because we observed how our
customers tend to manage larger projects.
The project team creates a clear, concise, complicated project plan with
many detailed tasks and dependencies.
After they reach consensus and publish the plan, it often never gets
touched again, and ongoing issues are documented and reviewed using some other
tool, often Microsoft Excel. But that
alternate tool rarely provides the kinds of services the team really needs to
manage many complex or urgent issues.
Issue Tracker is that tool, and as a web application, it is always
available to all team members. But with Issue Tracker there can be a direct
link between the project and the issues - context is king.
King Ranch Tasks
To illustrate the value of Issue Tracker, let's look at one
of the earliest and most regular users of
OpenPlanning, Roger Hicks, who several months ago entered a list of IT
tasks
for the
King Ranch.
I have been casually monitoring the progress of this list,
now on its 67th revision, and first I must say that this is my kind
of ranch, with an advanced network with backbone routers, multiple servers, a
WAN link to the Houston office, and a ranch facility with elevators, a museum,
and even a saddle shop. This is no
Little House on the Prairie.
Roger has been remarkably diligent in his use of OpenPlanning,
particularly
when it's not really the right tool for the job he's doing. It's sort of like using a dinner fork and
butter knife to decorate a saddle, rather than an awl hasp, chisel, and
creaser. (Surprised that I know
anything about making saddles? Hey, I
watch The Learning Channel!)
Issue Tracker is a much better tool than OpenPlanning for
King Ranch's needs, because:
-
Issues may be assigned to an owner, given a due date
and priority, and may be attached to particular projects.
-
Issue changes are automatically reported to selected
participants.
-
Its search and sorting tools enable viewers to quickly
identify 'hot' issues.
-
And many more reasons ...
Hopefully, you get the picture. If not, you can tour
the product
here or test-drive
it here (type "guest" in all spaces).
How to Get Issue Tracker
Here's the great news - with the purchase of a SharedPlan ProPlanning
license, you get five free seats of Issue Tracker and you can add more users as
you need. (Remember, if you're already
a SharedPlan Professional Edition licenseholder, you can upgrade
to ProPlanning for a one-time fee.)
All the best,
Tracy
