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[padg] Re: ProjectManagement




Dear Ms Kocylowsky:
Several months ago I sent out a similar request to PADG and several other lists. My query and summary are below:

My query:
I'm looking for recommendations for a software program to help me manage multiple digitization moving through our digitization center. In particular, I would like to find a package that will help me chart the steps for each digitization project, along with the staff resources and equipment committed to that project. I would like it to tell me, for instance, whether I've scheduled one staff member to seventy hours' scanning one week while assigning another to only twenty, or that I have two projects expecting to use the same digital camera during the same week.

Bonus points for  features such as those that give me the ability to compare estimated time with the actual time, that allows all members of the department to enter data, for a program that's easy to use, and for one that's inexpensive. What do others of you use?

Replies, with notes (or summarization) if included:
o        Clearspace  from http://www.jivesoftware.com/products/clearspace  (Under review)

o        docWorks from http://www.ccs-gmbh.de/ . (Has US representative) Described as a workflow software system for digital conversion projects. Not a complete project management solution of the sort I outlined; a workflow tool to take scanned images or book scanner images through the digitization process to produce METS/ALTO metadata and all open standard digital objects for long term preservation. Has a multi-project capability to track progress and # of pages. Notes that several US libraries have used this product.

o        Trac (http://trac.edgewall.org/).  

o        MS Project: Expensive, but otherwise it meets all your requirements: Here's a review of the 2002 version: http://www.sitepoint.com/article/project-standard-2002

o        MS Project with Visio (for planning and workflow design) in *conjunction* with MS Project (for actual project management), since they can be cross-connected programmatically.

o        Zoho now offers a web-based competitor (one project is free; afterwards there is an associated fee). Having used other Zoho services, I would certainly encourage exploring their Project Management module: http://www.zoho.com

o        ProjectLoad.  http://www.projectload.com/

In addition, I thought the following resources looked interesting or provided useful information:
o        LiquidPlanner http://www.liquidplanner.com/
o        GanttProject http://ganttproject.biz/
o        “Project Management Software” article on Wikipedia, including an external link to a paper comparing various project management software packages.

What may push me towards MS Project, despite what promises to be a pretty long and jagged learning curve for me, will be our university’s reluctance to permit staff to store data on non-university servers (i.e., consider a collaboration using Google spreadsheets). While my project scheduling data won’t have the same requirements for security, privacy, and backup, where would an organization set the demarcation point? The university has established a committee to address this and I expect our policy to enable us to use third-party services within a year. For now, though, I’m learning Project.

Best,
Winston
_______________________________

Winston Atkins
Preservation Officer
Duke University Libraries
Campus Box 90189
Durham, NC 27708-0189

winston.atkins@xxxxxxxx
Ph: 919-660-5843     Fax 919-684-2855
_______________________________

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