Forum Posts Feed
ASANA - any new reactions
< Next Topic | Back to topic list | Previous Topic >
Posted by Ken
Aug 10, 2015 at 04:44 AM
It seems like the list of new options grows. I had not heard of half of these programs, so I appreciate the list. But, the more I evaluate these programs, the more they are starting to look like variations on a single flavor or two. It seems that the key to most of these apps is the chat feature, and while communication is important, and everybody want to be the latest “email killer”, I find many of them wanting. Perhaps it is because I do not fit into their target user profile, which always seems to be some creative 20-30yo working at some startup in a loft of an old warehouse? I have no objection to tools being created for this market, but I suspect there are a lot of us who do not fit that profile. I sometimes want to call these programs “bubble software” because they only work if you are inside their software bubble. How do these people interact with somebody outside of the company if they have abandoned their email? In trying to find reviews of these products, I cam across a Verge video discussing Slack as the latest program to make email obsolete. Thankfully folks in the comment section took them to task for providing an advertisement video rather than a review. It seems that every “reviewer” is so focused on being the person who discovered the program that killed email that they cannot even begin to give a useful evaluation of the product. Is email really that horrible and outdated? I do think that some of these programs offer good feature sets with some useful tools, but why not sell on the programs’ merits, rather than join the queue of companies that all seem to be focusing on selling the same tired claim of killing email? It is the LCD of electronic communication that is neither hardware or software dependent. That is quite an accomplishment, and an amazingly useful feature as well. I am curious as to Steve’s selection and how it is received.
—Ken
—Ken
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Aug 10, 2015 at 10:57 AM
Continued thanks for the additional comments.
Our needs are not too complex. We really do not need project management in the traditional sense of large scale projects balancing a number of necessary steps, tasks and milestones. More, we just need a common list of projects, who’s responsible, when are they due. Having the ability to comment is a plus, not a requirement.
Asana remains the front runner. What appeals to me about it is that each of us can use it to the extent we’d like. So if someone only wants to see the macro list of projects and what they are responsible for, then that’s all they need to do. But if they’d like to use it to micromanage themselves, they can. Also, it seems more intuitive to me. That is, it looks the way a task manager should (in my view, maybe not in my colleagues’). So I think there is a better chance they’ll take to it.
I agree, Ken, that it is silly that they make their major pitch the end of e-mail when, (a) that’s clearly not going to happen, and (b) they include tools for incorporating e-mail into he workflow. (Like receiving e-mail alerts from Asana and forwarding e-mail into Asana to become a task—both of which are key features that make Asana more attractive.)
I appreciate the other suggestions. We’ll check them out.
Steve Z.
Posted by Ken
Aug 12, 2015 at 09:42 PM
Steve,
I came across this today and thought you might be interested: http://www.dobambam.com/ .
—Ken
Posted by Ken
Aug 12, 2015 at 10:01 PM
I also found this review of BamBam! to be useful: http://www.noupe.com/business-online/bambam-the-one-and-only-collaboration-tool-for-people-who-really-need-to-get-things-done-79677.html if you have any interest in the product.
—Ken
Posted by MadaboutDana
Aug 13, 2015 at 08:58 AM
That does look interesting, Ken - thanks.
Although it appears to resemble Podio, which definitely takes the prize for being the most baffling piece of over-engineered project management software I’ve ever encountered.
(Of course I’d love to be convinced otherwise by Podiophiles…)
Certainly worth a look.
Cheers!
Bill