Collaborative projects need collaborative management systems and processes

Most projects don’t fail because of a lack of charts, stats or report. They fail because of a lack of communication. Where the participants are located apart in distance and the conversation about the project are held asynchronously, then there is a high possibility of poor project outcomes unless specific project systems are put in place.

Collaborative project management (CPM) is a methodology that can be applied in these circumstances. It requires a different way of working and the use of project management (PM) tools that are familiar yet used in different ways. To overcome the distance / time issue the majority of CPM methodologies use online systems to support the project team. These range from a small use to cover some gaps through to completely managing the project using sophisticated yet simple to use online systems. To continue to run collaborative type projects without using CPM techniques will likely mean reduced productivity, less documentation of progress, overuse of emails and lost time due to a higher number of face-to-face meetings.

I've listed below a few of the online systems that may be helpful in co-ordinating collaorative projects.


http://www.veoproject.com/home.aspx full online system for projects with templates, gantt charts, roles, tasks etc.

http://www.manymoon.com/auth/login more simplified online project management that combines with Google documents

www.huddle.net good for virtual team working though note specifically project management related

http://www.workflowmax.com/features/jobtracking.html a bit different to project management though useful if you have a number of people on the same project and need to keep track of inputs and outputs

http://www.basecamphq.com/ simple to use and one of the earliest online systems

http://www.teamdirection.com/ lots of features and an MS Project add-in which is useful. Also syncs with Sharepoint. Not specifically online but can support CPM

http://www.trackeroffice.com/tracker_project.html is an Outlook import that integrates with existing software and helps personal as well as group project productivity. Can also be provided on a web basis

http://www.kalmstrom.com/products/Outlook/TimeCard/ an Outlook import that can monitor time spent on a project (productivity / reporting rather than project management)

If you want to use a wiki then there is a wiki on how to do this! http://projectmanagementdemo.pbwiki.com/ Although this can be customised to suit your purposes it feels a bit clunky when compared to the tools available

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Simple online feedback system to help you improve: Rypple

I'm impressed. That doesn't happen often, but here is one of those online products that is incredibly simple to use and which can have an extraordinary impact. So you want to know how your project is progressing, how people feel about a change process, what the participants thought of your presentation etc?

www.rypple.com is a simple system where you ask a question and invite people to respond. Their answers are anonymous and you are also able to track your feedback by a graph and see a trend.

My one concern is if it does take off I may be beset by queries from people for feedback - on the other hand that may actually be a good thing.

Online collaborative mindmapping

If you use mindmaps as a way to gather and sort information, for generating new connections and ideas or for making summaries of work, then you may find the online mindmapping sofwtare available at http://www.mindmeister.com/ just excellent.

The main advantage of this software is that mindmapping moves from being a singular individual activity to one of collaboration and community. It's a fab way to scale up your mindmapping activities.

Collaborate online for productive project management

There are many online collaboration tools. One I have found that is specifically for managing projects is www.veoproject.com

The system provides all the usual collaboration tools though what I specifically like is the emphasis on project planning. Some of the features look a bit like Microsoft Project in the type of planning that is available. The gantt type pictures are particularly excellent. I think this would be good for large and complex projects involving multiple individuals and organisations.

Send text sms messages for free, in the USA

Unfortunately this is available only at the moment in the USA, however, if you want to send a text message for free to a USA cell phone then go to www.foreversms.com

All you need to enter is your email address, the receipient's phone number and your message. You do need to know their communications provider but if you're not sure then the system will autodetect this for you.

Simple and free.

Convert video file format online and easily

If you're like me you may find you end up with the wrong format video for your media player or maybe you just want to convert your video file to a different format so you can share it more widely.

You can do this online at www.catchvideo.net It is a simple process; just put in the URL of your video you want to convert and then choose your version from the 12 offered. Then go make a cup of tea - my broadband is a bit slow so the conversion does take a while.

How to spy on social media conversations

Sometimes you just need to find out who is saying what about a topic and you prefer not to have to log on and become part of the social media systems. www.spy.appspot.com lets you type in a topic (I tested it with "NHS") and then it will search Twitter, Friendfeed, Flickr, Blog Comments, Yahoo news, Blogs and Google Reader to find out what is in the social media conversations on your topic.

I found it quite riveting to find out who is saying what. I expect many organisations could use this to assess their online profile.

Revolutionising the dictionary: Wordia.com

The Open University is sponsoring a new form of online dictionary based on user-generated definitions. Gone are the antique and dusty versions of what a word means. Instead, anyone can pick a word and then upload a short video explaining your version of its meaning.

www.wordia.com is where you can participate in a dynamic form of language. Just going through the word of the day is quite riveting.

What word do you dare define?