Issues and Risks

Hi there,

I am an ex-developer who has also worked as a project manager on several projects over the years. I have also worked on several extranet applications including an organic one I helped a previous employer develop and most recently as basecamp. I would say the key elements to any extranet are:

1. A common timeline/schedule/calendar to show milestones and tasks
2. A common place to share files
3. A published system of record for decisions and assumptions
4. A list of "tracking items" that include issues, risks, etc...
5. A contact list of everyone involved in the project

Clearly #1 is covered with "milestones" and "tasks". A calendar view of these items would be great, but I would say it's a "nice to have".

#2 is wear this application does a great job, although the list view might make more sense as some kind of tabular layout or an option to see less details in the list view in order to see more of the list within a scrollable area.

#3 is covered with "messages" and the fact that people can add comments helps a lot in order to refine the "message". I think messages might be too narrow as a label, but I think it's fine for now.

#4 to me is the most important missing feature. In all of my projects my project managers have weekly reviews to review schedule but also issues and risks. I remember reading that you could create something in "Forms" in order to do that... but I don't think it's important enough. This is more similar to bug tracking because these items are updated and even require a tracking log for each item. I have spec'd something like this out in the past and more than willing to share this with whoever wants to see it.

#5 is covered perfectly into the "people" feature which is also nicely integrated with login profiles.

I'm sure you've all heard more than enough opinions about these things. This type of application is something I believe is key to the success of a lot of projects so I'm relatively passionate about finding one that delivers these key areas.

Hopefully it's taken as useful feedback and not just the ranting of yet another opinionated user ;-)