I think the first question you should ask, before thinking about tools
is: *What
do I mean about project management?*

   - Are we talking about assessing the risk and cost of a project?  If so
   you'll need some budgeting tools and a way to determine the risk for the
   project.
   - Are we talking about creating a time line and tracking hours worked on
   the project? If so you'll need to create a way to determine tasks, estimate
   project hours, and track the time on a project.
   - Are we talking about determining deliverables and creating
   requirements? If so you'll want to create a project charter that lists out
   deliverables and write a requirements document.

I could go on and on, but I won't because it'll be boring.
 I'm actually working on notes for an article/blog post/presentation (I
haven't decided yet) that discusses all of the different things you
can/should/might do to manage a project, I'm willing to share the
incomplete version if anyone is interested.

I agree wholeheartedly with Gabe, you'll want to keep these things light.
 Each will likely need to be customized to meet the needs of the projects
you're working on.  I'm a HUGE fan of Google Docs and I've created a bunch
of templates for most of the items I've listed above as well as for
Agendas<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qQuQRYvJHRj5PK1576allEJdLhyYoBWikt0B7EqOGpk/edit>,
Notes<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RZ0U1MGHyBR8wmTUfnYiXETIQ2SuPezouW0mdtDjAP8/edit>,
and bunch of other tools I have in my back pocket.  What's nice about
keeping these templates handy is that I can create one at a moments notice,
so even if I'm in an impromptu meeting, I can take notes (as long as I have
my laptop).  Of if I'm in a kickoff meeting I can start working on a
project one pager with the team in the middle of the meeting.

So all of that stuff is great, but now I'm going to get on my soap box
(obligatory disclaimer: I'm a project manager).

When I talk about project management, I'm usually referring to ushering the
project through to completion.  Making sure that all the balls that are
being juggled continue to stay up in the air.  I think a lot of projects
fail because they either worry too much about the tools and not enough
about the juggling or they worry too much about the juggling and not about
the tools.  You need to strike a balance between the two.  The number one
tool that I would recommend for project management is a Project Manager.
 They can handle all the note taking, meeting scheduling, writing, pushing
back, quality assurance, ticket writing, and anything else that stresses
out the project team.  This frees the team up to do the actual work that
needs to happen on a project.  And if you hire a good project manager, they
won't get in the way and just be a paper pusher, they'll actually support
the team, allow them to flourish, try new things, and think outside the box.

Rosalyn








On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 8:27 AM, Jason Ronallo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> On Thursday, February 23, 2012, Shaun Ellis wrote:
>
> > > Simple todo's beat
> > > complex task management every time.
> >
> > https://trello.com/
> >
>
> We use Trello for some linear workflows, like digitization. I like the
> model a lot for being simple and visual.
>
> Jason
>