

Ask HN: Any web app suggestions for project management? - sidmitra

We have a split team over the globe. So we needed to manage tasks/ documents etc. We started with google groups for discussion. Currently i was trying out Google sites for the same.<p>I would like to start with something free, since the team is small enough(6-7) right now. Any suggestions for something better?
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stuff4ben
Give Redmine (<http://www.redmine.org/>) a look. While it doesn't have a great
website, after installing it on my Mac, it blew me away in terms of features
and functionality. It's very similar to Unfuddle.com (or maybe I have it
backwards).

~~~
mtarnovan
We switched to Redmine from Trac and so far I'm pretty impressed. So yeah,
give Redmine a try.

~~~
boundlessdreamz
Another shout for redmine. It is mostly oriented around issue management but
there are tons of plugins which add functionality

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aranganath
Pivotal Tracker (<http://www.pivotaltracker.com/>)

Disclaimer: I work for them.

~~~
stuff4ben
I like what I see. Can I download it and install it on a local machine? For
personal projects it seems fine to go with your hosted solution, but I'd like
to introduce it to our company. However they won't let proprietary info be
hosted somewhere else.

~~~
mileszs
From their 'Help' section:

\---

Is it possible to host my own copy of Tracker?

We do not offer a self-installed version of Tracker. However, a dedicated
instance may be possible for organizations with a large number of users.
Please email us at tracker@pivotallabs.com for details and pricing
information.

\---

I really, really like PT for agile or semi-agile or aspiring-agile teams.

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lancrey
I've been working with ClockingIT, the interface is good and easy to
understand, you can use the hosted version or setup on your own server.
<http://www.clockingit.com> disclaimer : I don't work for them :) it's a full
opensource , created with RoR

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jaddison
I'm not sure if it fits the bill, but check out the Trac Project at
<http://trac.edgewall.org/>.

It's free, opensource and web-based.

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jbr
Project management is a fairly broad domain and includes a bunch of different
tool types. If you're using sites, you might be interested in pbworks (was
pbwiki) or 37signals basecamp. Pivotal tracker provides a very focused (and
thus intentionally restrictive) workflow that expresses their agile
development philosophy. Similarly, thoughtworks mingle is shaped for their
flavor of development. Personally, I think that managing documents and tasks
are two very different domains unless the documents are directly linked to a
task.

\--- There's also the issue of how tasks are prioritized and how new ideas are
merged into the work queue. Stormweight is a product in private beta that
allows your team to merge their preferences democratically for brainstorming
and team decisionmaking. Email contact@stormweight.com if you're interested in
the beta. [Disclaimer: I'm a co-founder and chief engineer at Stormweight]

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jaydub
I'm currently using the free version of Zoho Projects. Works well for our
purposes: <http://projects.zoho.com/>

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blurry
Since you already have your team on gmail I would suggest this:

1\. Add Tasks from Google Labs to everyone's gmail account

2\. Add same to Google Sites (you can insert gadgets into pages, just make
sure you add Google Labs Tasks and not other task apps also from google)

What I really like about this setup is the ability to create tasks from emails
with 1 click, so you can keep track of the whole conversation from the
individual task itself.

It's not the prettiest setup but it does have the ability to share
conversations, create multiple projects and structure tasks hierarchically -
which to me is all you need. And hey, it's free and builds on what you already
have.

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emilam
Rally Dev Community version <http://www.rallydev.com> is pretty good. We used
it with a team of 6 and it worked out great.

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kirubakaran
If your team knows Emacs, you may want to try org-mode (sync-ed by, say, git).
I am not kidding. The notes-centric approach, instead of the usual task-
centric approach, will completely change the way you work and collaborate for
the better.

I can't stress this enough.

~~~
sidmitra
Sounds intriguing. Although most of my team is not emacs based, but i
personally will take a look.

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akshaye
37 Signals' products: <http://www.37signals.com/> But i'm not sure if free
versions support 6-7 people.

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adnam
Redmine/Mediawiki etc + budget web host

