I have used a number of different software packages in my work as a project manager and/or coordinator. I have posted my thoughts on each option below.

Insightly (Formerly Insight.ly)

 

Once I had finished completing pretty comprehensive test drives of most of the project management software packages below I chose this software and made deep use of it’s excellent automation functionality and google apps integrations. 

Pro’s

• Built on top of google apps means in depth integration into gmail
• Custom url for each deployment means
• Great ongoing customer support & support community, documentation, and videos
• Ability to schedule an email to be sent at a later time
• Uniform details pane speeds up the learning curve
• Unlimited custom fields
• Has a free option

Con’s

• Bad login screen need to use Gmail can sometimes get stuck in redirect hell
• Poorly executed calendar functionality that can read but not write to google calendar
• Sending email to multiple recipients is frustrating because I can’t send a thread to all but will only send to one person at a time

Links

https://accounts.insightly.com/?plan=trial  – 30-day free trial

Basecamp

 

This was the go-to option that a lot of the IT project people recommended to me. It’s simple yet powerful interface means a very fast learning curve but limited functionality and customization. Also on Basecamp, I found that communications basically had to happen on their platform to work. This meant that emails and the project management solutions didn’t interact with each other which is frustrating when coordinating large projects with partners from different organizations.

Pro’s

• Built on top of google apps means in-depth integration into Gmail
• Custom URL for each deployment
• Great ongoing customer support & community, documentation, and videos
• Ability to schedule an email to be sent at a later time
• Uniform details pane speeds up the learning curve
• Unlimited custom fields

Con’s

• Bad login screen and protocols. Each login needs to use Gmail can sometimes and the end user can get stuck in redirect hell. Also pretty frequent need to re-login
• Poorly executed calendar functionality that can read but not write to google calendar
• Sending email to multiple recipients is a nice idea, but has limited functionality. For example, the built in client cannot send as a thread to all but will only send to one individual

Links

https://basecamp.com/signup – 30 day free trial

Trello

Pro’s

• Simple easy to learn interface
• Free, hosted service with minimal  deployment effort needed
• Mobile Apps

Con’s

• Interface is too simple
• Not easy to communicate within tasks
• Event tracking and assignment are limited in complexity
• Large-scale project creation is limited in terms of built-in tools (task oriented more than project oriented)

Links

https://trello.com/signup – Create a free account

Slack

Pro’s

• Easy to share all filetypes instantly  with ability to preview certain filetypes
• Instant communication
• Many pre-built apps and integrations
• Replaces lengthier email communications
• Ability to control individuals visibility into comynications

Con’s

• Simply, apps are controlled sepeartly
• No long terms project management
• No higher order organizational scheme
• No ability to track fileviews, no collaborative document editing or creation tools
• Ideal for instant communication but not project creation and queue/task management for a team

Links

https://slack.com/get-started