Monday, June 4, 2007
ezManageOnline Quick Launch Utility
It seems that not all users of ezManageOnline understand, what ezManageOnline Quick Launch Utility is. So I will try to describe its in a few words. Well, Quick Launch Utility is one of the new features of ezManageOnline 2.0. It is an application, that appears in system tray of your desktop. ezManageOnline Quick Launch is a little (99,7 kB) program, which can be downloaded from ezManageOnline site here. After ezManageOnline Quick Launch starting you should enter only your login, password and one of your ezManageOnline companies (using drop-down list). Then an icon in system tray will appear. If you click on it twice, utility will open To-Do list using default browser of your operating system. You can see task that you should to do. By right-button clicking you’ll see menu, where you may choose one of the pages or function of ezMO: To-do list, to-control list, and new task creation. So you should nor enter site address in your browser, the utility will do this for you. ezManageOnline Quick Launch Utility simplifies working with ezManageOnline greatly.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
ezManageOnline 2.0 Is Released
This day has come! March 29 is the date of producing a new version 2.0 of well-known system ezManageOnline.
ezManageOnline 2.0 has an enormous number of new features. There is a built-in calendar in which you can create, edit, or delete assignments, view comments and control task execution.
Now creating tasks may take place using wizard or professional mode - all items on single page.
Now you can enjoy ezManageOnline 2.0 through communicators: manage tasks and monitor the status of their performance in PDA-version.
One of the good things is the icon in tray, when user clicks on the icon the to-do tasks will be opened.
Moreover the service has no longer the limitations on the number of users and tasks. The service is absolutely free now.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
How the Idea Appeared
Well, the time has come to tell the story about how the idea of ezManageOnline appeared and how the service was developed.
It was a long time ago... :) To be more exact - 2 years ago. One of our valued customers happened to get definite troubles in managing several teams simultaneously working on different tasks and projects. The customer requested us to provide a system that would allow him to harvest regular status reports from all the teams not bothering himself with endless remindings to those missing the due time. The customer's request looked like "I want to submit tasks for each team, to set reporting periods for each team and then to receive reports on time.
Nothing more, very simple process. I just want not to load myself with remembering about all the due dates for each team and with checking whether a team has met the due date or not". The customer's request seemed to be quite usual and not difficult for us. We thought that we would find some existing project- or task-management system and would use it for customer's needs. However, we had to waste days trying to find an appropriate system. No effect. All systems that we found were very complex, with hierarchic data representation, PERT- or Gantt-charts and so on. Even Microsoft Project Server that includes similar functionality was too complex for the customer's exact needs. His main concern was: "I do not want to be plunged into complex, boring and unnecessary stuff, I want to have a simple tool". I absolutely agree with the customer's position. Why squeezing through menus with dozens of complex features, if you have only half an hour per week to review all the status reports?
The only one way to make the customer happy was to create our own system, very simple and easy with only "periodical or scheduled tasks" and status reports, without plans, sequence tasks, percentage of tasks' execution, time sheets, etc.
We spent 6 months to produce the first pre-released version (0.9) of the system. During the development we periodically struggled against a temptation to make ezManageOnline one more project- or task-management "monster". Sometimes we started to implement complex features with complex UI logic and then we had to return to our main purpose to create simple system for managing scheduled tasks. "Make ezManageOnline as simple as possible". That was our main slogan at that time. As a result, we got a management tool for scheduled tasks, which could be assigned to several persons in charge. ezManageOnline became the perfect tool for our internal routine tasks and projects. Now everyone in our company can assign tasks to some other person in the company. For example, I created the task in ezManageOnline for one of my subordinates to check the position of ezManageOnline in Google and send me status reports on Tuesday every 2 weeks. Cool? Yes. And what's very important: I submitted the task and forgot about it. ezManageOnline automatically reminds my subordinate about the status report submission - I only review status reports. It is not necessary to use project management tools or MS Project Server, it's enough to make several clicks and I won't loose the information about the task.
As we produced first version of ezManageOnline, we had several issues with positioning the system at the market, because from one hand ezManageOnline is a task tracking or task management tool, but from the other hand it does not have all the variety of features that regular task tracking and task management systems have. Some visitors of the ezManageOnline web site mistakenly expect to see full featured complex task tracking system. My message to them: - ezManageOnline was created with only one purpose: To manage status reports and scheduled tasks assigned to several persons in charge, and to do it in an easy and convenient way.
It was a long time ago... :) To be more exact - 2 years ago. One of our valued customers happened to get definite troubles in managing several teams simultaneously working on different tasks and projects. The customer requested us to provide a system that would allow him to harvest regular status reports from all the teams not bothering himself with endless remindings to those missing the due time. The customer's request looked like "I want to submit tasks for each team, to set reporting periods for each team and then to receive reports on time.
Nothing more, very simple process. I just want not to load myself with remembering about all the due dates for each team and with checking whether a team has met the due date or not". The customer's request seemed to be quite usual and not difficult for us. We thought that we would find some existing project- or task-management system and would use it for customer's needs. However, we had to waste days trying to find an appropriate system. No effect. All systems that we found were very complex, with hierarchic data representation, PERT- or Gantt-charts and so on. Even Microsoft Project Server that includes similar functionality was too complex for the customer's exact needs. His main concern was: "I do not want to be plunged into complex, boring and unnecessary stuff, I want to have a simple tool". I absolutely agree with the customer's position. Why squeezing through menus with dozens of complex features, if you have only half an hour per week to review all the status reports?
The only one way to make the customer happy was to create our own system, very simple and easy with only "periodical or scheduled tasks" and status reports, without plans, sequence tasks, percentage of tasks' execution, time sheets, etc.
We spent 6 months to produce the first pre-released version (0.9) of the system. During the development we periodically struggled against a temptation to make ezManageOnline one more project- or task-management "monster". Sometimes we started to implement complex features with complex UI logic and then we had to return to our main purpose to create simple system for managing scheduled tasks. "Make ezManageOnline as simple as possible". That was our main slogan at that time. As a result, we got a management tool for scheduled tasks, which could be assigned to several persons in charge. ezManageOnline became the perfect tool for our internal routine tasks and projects. Now everyone in our company can assign tasks to some other person in the company. For example, I created the task in ezManageOnline for one of my subordinates to check the position of ezManageOnline in Google and send me status reports on Tuesday every 2 weeks. Cool? Yes. And what's very important: I submitted the task and forgot about it. ezManageOnline automatically reminds my subordinate about the status report submission - I only review status reports. It is not necessary to use project management tools or MS Project Server, it's enough to make several clicks and I won't loose the information about the task.
As we produced first version of ezManageOnline, we had several issues with positioning the system at the market, because from one hand ezManageOnline is a task tracking or task management tool, but from the other hand it does not have all the variety of features that regular task tracking and task management systems have. Some visitors of the ezManageOnline web site mistakenly expect to see full featured complex task tracking system. My message to them: - ezManageOnline was created with only one purpose: To manage status reports and scheduled tasks assigned to several persons in charge, and to do it in an easy and convenient way.
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Introducing
Let me introduce myself. My name is Vladimir Pecherskikh. I am a project manager of the online task tracking system ezManageOnline and I will write this blog.
I decided to start this blog to open and describe everything that is hidden in development of the service. I hope it will be interesting to know, how the idea of the service appeared, how is going on current development process. You can ask me everything you want to know. Also ezManageOnline Google user group was started, you can also post your questions and comments there. As always you can submit your questions directly to support team from this link: http://ezmanageonline.com/SupportPage.aspx .
Do not hesitate to try ezManageOnline, if you hear about it for the first time :).
See you!
I decided to start this blog to open and describe everything that is hidden in development of the service. I hope it will be interesting to know, how the idea of the service appeared, how is going on current development process. You can ask me everything you want to know. Also ezManageOnline Google user group was started, you can also post your questions and comments there. As always you can submit your questions directly to support team from this link: http://ezmanageonline.com/SupportPage.aspx .
Do not hesitate to try ezManageOnline, if you hear about it for the first time :).
See you!
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