Project Pier Project Tracking
After looking around for a while I've decided to give Project Pier a try for project tracking. It could be a good choice for me for a number of reasons:
- It's free, I like free (though if it works out very well for me I'll donate)
- It's multi-platform, so I can put it on Linux
- It's open source and has open APIs (an API is essentially a translator that helps programmers make a program that talks to your program) so if I can't get the devs or community to make a plug-in, I can potentially make it myself or have it made
- It runs on a Web server so I could access it from anywhere
- It happens to fit in amazingly smoothly with the current set up on the Web server that I already have
- There's someone working on a plug-in that integrates with an invoicing/billing program
My husband does most of our Web administration, and he said that he's never installed new software so easily. We had the right version of everything. And the initial setup was also simple. But keep in mind that this is a geek household. For someone with their own web server and the ability to install software on it, they may really like this option.
If you like the idea of Web-based tools but don't want to install them yourself, there are quite a lot of pay services out there. I found this series of Q&A article/discussions kind of interesting, you may find it worth checking out.
I'll report more after I've used it for a bit.
Comments (2) . Tagged: linux open source project management projectpier freelancing freelance invoice billing . Category: Technology Linux Freelancing
Comments (2)
Dee Ann, This is likely an ignorant comment, but what exactly does Project Pier do? By this, I mean how extensive is it.
I'm doing some freelance work now too (unrelated to what you do) and am just using a spreadsheet at the moment. But I have a request for a second job, and can see this starting to scale up. Right now, I am just using some stopwatch software I can start and stop to keep track of my time when there are interruptions. A bit clunky. I was interested in some of the time clock software I looking at, but wasn't sure it'd meet my needs. I don't really need project management software at the moment. Any thoughts?
It's not ignorant at all, it just points out that I didn't explain it very well. :) Mostly because I myself was finding out what it does as I used it. Project Pier allows you to create projects, tasks, and milestones, assigning things to your people or to a client, and setting things like due dates. I don't see any time tracking features, which is something I may have to find if I take on any projects that I'm billing by the hour. Most of my freelance work is milestone-based instead (first draft, first 3 chapters, whatever).
I've got friends recommending a lot of other things to try, so maybe I'll post a summary of the different types of solutions people I know are using (project management, time tracking, and invoice/billing). So far it sounds like there's a market opening for someone who wrote something that did all three for the freelance market.