So much to do!

[Steven F]

As we grow, I noticed that I am getting very disorganized. While I have a great idea of what needs to be done, I occasionally forget something or forget to inform my employees so there's some miscommunication somewhere and everything goes awry. I was thinking about a case/task management software and was wondering if any of you guys had any ideas?

I like the idea of a Wiki type setup as part of it. This works pretty splendidly, actually, because we're looking at a few Atlassian products. I was thinking that Jira and Confluence would work well in this situation, plus they would integrate with our other Atlassian interests.

My concern is that Jira looks very scary. I'm also open to alternatives, so any experiences/ideas/what you guys do?

 

[MannDude]

I'm open to suggestions. I have a whiteboard on my wall and one on my fridge. I'm bad about writing stuff down and then not crossing it off. It's easy to get overwhelmed with what needs to be done when you've got a ton of stuff that needs addressed.

 

[KuJoe]

I use Any.do for my own To-Do list and use MyBB for internal communications, To-Do lists, and "save for later" items.

 

[HalfEatenPie]

Back when I worked for my university ITS, we had our own internal wiki plus an internal communication software.  

At Catalyst we have an internal wiki (been a little neglected), but since it's only two people it's mostly just HipChat and Skype.  

JIRA is nice, but is very coder-focused iirc.  Even then it's pretty complicated since they have it open for customization for any workflow.  I love how they incorporated it, it's just really intimidating for a newcomer who don't fully understand the software.  

Personally, I'm running an internal version of Zimbra.  However, thinking about either OpenXChange or something else.  

 

[rds100]

A text file? Little yellow stickers? Or just use your billing / client management system to open tickets for some imaginary client. Your staff will see the tickets and do the work.

 

[DomainBop]

I like the idea of a Wiki type setup as part of it. This works pretty splendidly, actually, because we're looking at a few Atlassian products.

OpenProject...as an added bonus besides project management, tasks, calendars, reminders it has wikis and forums to allow your staff to communicate...also documents and meetings...and it's free.

 

[tmzVPS-Daniel]

White board (BIG ONE) and internal wiki. Otherwise everything will be out of place!

- Daniel

 

[drmike]

I am in the same overwhelmed and must manage boat.

Software packages are pretty darn daunting.  Big curve, very specific and might miss some random thing you need and who knows about exporting your data.

There is other issue with data sharing - do you need to share your data with office staff / employees / co-workers? Do you need to allow clients to access subsets of the data?  Getting pretty complex

I use KeepNote myself for my own internal notes and pieces of things.  It is a glorified Wiki-like software for Linux desktops.

I also have a paper immediate must do today task list.  This is in lieu of whiteboard (which I have in some of my other offices) but am not so fond of these days.

A wiki is good generally for some of this stuff - with a small team.

Hipchat is alright, not great, but not bad.   Bitrix24 also should be considered when looking at hosted solutions - similar offering.

 

[DomainBop]

There is other issue with data sharing - do you need to share your data with office staff / employees / co-workers? Do you need to allow clients to access subsets of the data?  Getting pretty complex fond of these days.

Better software, like OpenProject lets you create an unlimited number of roles and permissions so you can fine tune who can access what data/projects/features, what they can do, etc.,

example: https://www.openproject.org/help/user-guides/administration/manage-roles-permissions/

Bitrix24 also should be considered when looking at hosted solutions - similar offering.

F*** SAAS (sorry Salesforce.com/cloud industry). I prefer self-hosting for 2 reasons: 1. I like to be in charge of my data 2. I don't want to wake up and discover the SAAS provider has gone belly-up and I've lost my data (which will happen to the majority of these new SAAS startups).

My company relies primarily on Odoo (ERP/CRM, Python), Alfresco (document management, Java), and OpenProject (project management, Ruby) to manage things...all open source (and all hosted on dedis because I'm paranoid about security )

 

[drmike]

F*** SAAS (sorry Salesforce.com/cloud industry). I prefer self-hosting for 2 reasons: 1. I like to be in charge of my data 2. I don't want to wake up and discover the SAAS provider has gone belly-up and I've lost my data (which will happen to the majority of these new SAAS startups).

I feel the same way.  Only recommend the hosted solutions since they are entirely no brainers.   People like that stuff and honestly Bitrix and Hipchat are pretty compelling hosted solutions.  Some nice functionality, cross platform, all that jazz.  Freemium model of Bitrix is nifty

 

[Aldryic C'boas]

I've been very impressed with Bitrix.  They do let you self-host, but the buy-in cost can be a bit daunting.

 

[VENETX]

Ive been growing too and the best thing I had to do was buy a bunch of notepads (big size 8.5 x 14 )

Sticky Notes, White board (HUGE) and bunch of little things you could get for an office at Staples or Office Depot.

Then try to organize yourself with this and if you need something to get done, write it down or if you need someone else to do it pass them a sticky note and write it down. 

 

[drmike]

Ive been growing too and the best thing I had to do was buy a bunch of notepads (big size 8.5 x 14 )

Sticky Notes, White board (HUGE) and bunch of little things you could get for an office at Staples or Office Depot.

Then try to organize yourself with this and if you need something to get done, write it down or if you need someone else to do it pass them a sticky note and write it down. 

8.5 x 14 = Legal pads.

White boards are meh, since the material stains if left on surface too long and the huffing of the pens gets to me.   I know why folks like those boards

I've been very impressed with Bitrix.  They do let you self-host, but the buy-in cost can be a bit daunting.

Bitrix has that free entry tier for a handful of folks and a few gigs of storage.  Not bad if you have small team.  Plus they offer more disk as ala carte without the buy in (I think).  Probably best route for most folks around here.

 

[Steven F]

I've been very impressed with Bitrix.  They do let you self-host, but the buy-in cost can be a bit daunting.

That might be the best answer to my question. It has so many features that I hadn't considered, but we'd be able to make amazing use of. I'm going to have to take a look. Thank you for the suggestion!

At everyone else:

I do have a white board, but I need something where we can keep track of what's going on and who is saying/doing what. A white board is great if you're alone, but I have employees.

 

[Hxxx]

I think that vTiger suits you perfectly. Download the open source and have a ride.

From leads to tasks to invoices to many things. One thing i like is that you can set a schedule so that it send every employee what they have assigned for that day. I think it suits you perfectly.

 

[robbyhicks]

Google Drive can do wonders if you have some good organizational practices too

 

[Hostwinds]

Wrike has been helpful to me. You can assign tasks, check them off when done, etc. Pretty easy to use! But I always have a backup notepad on deck in case I'm away from my computer.