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M2: Analysis of Comparable Project Planning/Management Offerings
M2 Section Summary: Reporting
Copyright (c) 2000 Jim Salmons and Frank Castellucci
All Rights Reserved
Associated project: Specification Writing for Web-based Project Planning Software
Project URL: http://sohodojo.com/techsig/project-planning-project.html
sXc Project detail: http://sourcexchange.com/ProjectDetail?projectID=24 (SourceXchange is out of business.)
Project coordination: Sohodojo
Sponsors: Position open
Sponsors (M1-3): Opendesk.com and Collab.Net
Core Team: Jim Salmons and Frank Castellucci
1 Introduction
This document aggregates the feature and underlying model analyses of comparable products and services in the domain of the project specification requirements. During the comparables analysis phase, nine product and service offerings were examined.
1.1 Format and Key to Abbreviations
Each of fourteen sections of the Comparables Analysis Data Capture Outline has a Section Summary file such as this one. Section 1 of each data collection form is an Introduction statement explaining the project and the assessment. Section 16 is a reviewer profile. Since all data was produced by the core project team members, section 16 does not have a summary section.
In a Section Summary file, we aggregate the analysis data within each subsection of the raw data collection forms. Each data point from the raw assessment outlines is presented in the following alphabetical order and prefixed with the following identifying abbreviations:
Note: The HTML versions of the deliverable use bullet lists with more readable prefix identifiers than the two-character source identifier used in the text versions.
The aggregated section data in each Section Summary file is the last section of the file. In addition to the aggregated data, each summary file has an optional section for the capture of summary insights or comments.
1.2 Section Summary Insights and/or Comments
====== SECTION SUMMARY DATA ======
12 Reporting
12.1 Pre-defined, user-defined or both
Enact Enterprise System [ Full data ]
Both. The ActionView component is a major subsystem which provides a quick and easy way to create Viewpoints, project-specific websites which project dynamic Team Member, Management and Partner (Stakeholder) views.
eProject Express [ Full data ]
There are limited on-screen list and item views, pre-defined.
FastTrack Schedule [ Full data ]
A hallmark of FTS is 'presentation quality' project planning documents and reports. A vast array of project reports and user views are built into the default FTS product configuration.
What isn't there is easily addressed by a powerful and easy to use report definition and generation facility. A wide variety of export and report formats are supported.
ManagePro [ Full data ]
Both. ManagePro has a flexible and highly customizable report definition and generation facility.
Microsoft Project 2000 and Project Central [ Full data ]
Between Project 2000 and Project Central, users can view reports on all aspects of the project in real-time using pre-defined reports with full customization capability. In addition, as the data is centrally stored, organizationaly defined reports can be created.
Opendesk.com [ Full data ]
Functionality not supported.
SourceForge [ Full data ]
Reporting is limited to regular tools display. There is some sorting options, but no filtering per say. For the remainder of the system, SourceForge itself has instrumentation (suspect at best, and I am on record for saying as much) for Activity, Page Hits, Downloads, and Message counts. Cookies track the last configuration on a per-member basis where applicable.
WebProject [ Full data ]
The following report categories and types are pre-defined by WebProject:
Project:
- Project Overview
- Project Detail
- Project Pinboard
- Project Discussion
- Archived projects
Task:
- Task Lists
- Task Details
- Task Discussions
- Open Tasks
Resources:
- Assignment reports
- Assignment Details
- Resource Assignments (Leaders/Admin only)
- Resource Pool Reports (Leaders/Admin only)
X-Community [ Full data ]
Both. The X-Community plug-in provides a wide range of dynamic views onto the information structure of the Business Center. A number of these are aggregation and summary views that would be considered 'report views'. Most 'report views' support 'quick click' access to open an item editor on a selected Information Unit.
12.2 Publisher-push by project manager or team member dynamic views?
Enact Enterprise System [ Full data ]
The ActionView Viewpoints are dynamic website views onto the state of a Project.
eProject Express [ Full data ]
There is a simple 'change/update' email notification system in support of the on-line interactive system.
FastTrack Schedule [ Full data ]
The Mach version apparently has some 'latest and greatest' multi-user feature. The reviewer did not have direct experience with these advanced, Mac-specific features.
In a network environment, multiple users have various levels of access to the 'live project data' rather than a generated report of that project. So these users' views are certainly dynamic and real-time.
For extended 'stakeholder' views, the project manager is can quickly and easily generated HTML reports on an as needed basis. There views are static 'snapshots' of the state of the project at the time of the report generation.
ManagePro [ Full data ]
In the Solo mode and as a supplement to the Teamware configurations, ManagePro can be used to capture and present just about any report the User would want. When used in the Teamware network configuration, all Team Members have dynamic, customizable views of project data.
Microsoft Project 2000 and Project Central [ Full data ]
Both fully supported.
Opendesk.com [ Full data ]
Functionality not supported.
SourceForge [ Full data ]
Functionality not available.
WebProject [ Full data ]
Both are supported by WebProject.
X-Community [ Full data ]
X-Community is like its name says, community-oriented. The emphasis is on dynamic, user-specific views based on secure, encrypted interactive connections.
The Project Manager, using Team Groups and Guest permissions can create some 'public read-only' views onto the Business Centers 'information space'. This would appear to support a kind of 'controlled chaos' in Business Centers with large numbers of users. Everyone could see a LOT of what is going on, while subsets of users with full access permissions work away.
12.3 Stakeholder-specific views?
Enact Enterprise System [ Full data ]
Absolutely. The Viewpoint editor helps the Project Manager to create project-specific websites which project dynamic Team Member, Management and Partner (Stakeholder) views.
eProject Express [ Full data ]
Not really. This is a 'free for all, one for all, all for one' system. So, to an extent, anyone on the system is a 'stakeholder' and all views are 'stakeholder' views.
FastTrack Schedule [ Full data ]
See above. Not by default, but roll your own.
ManagePro [ Full data ]
Not by default, but the User can use Person/User and Team access configurations to create and assign Person/Users to various classes of Users with class-specific views and data access rights.
Microsoft Project 2000 and Project Central [ Full data ]
Fully supported through Project Central.
Opendesk.com [ Full data ]
Functionality not supported.
SourceForge [ Full data ]
Members of the project can access tools (report views if you will) that are marked private for the team. There is no difference between the views a non-team member and team members see in this regard.
WebProject [ Full data ]
Stakeholders as defined by the Role designation of the system. There is a catch-all Guest role, which allows more restrictive views (omissions of organizational sensitive information).
X-Community [ Full data ]
It would appear that, by using Team Groups assignments and guest permissions, stakeholder views could be supported. Further, the tight integration of X-Community with MS Project means that the powers of MS Project and MS Project Central could be employed to provide stakeholder views onto X-Community Business Centers.
12.4 Multi-project analysis
Enact Enterprise System [ Full data ]
Nothing formal. You can open and interact with multiple, concurrent Projects. However there are no tools currently for analyzing multiple Enact Projects.
eProject Express [ Full data ]
Yes and no. Each Person/User can create many Projects. But each one is 'stand-alone'. There is not across-project aggregations.
FastTrack Schedule [ Full data ]
No.
ManagePro [ Full data ]
If a single ManagePro database is used to maintain multiple projects, multi-project aggregation views and reports can be defined.
Microsoft Project 2000 and Project Central [ Full data ]
Fully supported through Project Central.
Opendesk.com [ Full data ]
Functionality not supported.
SourceForge [ Full data ]
Functionality not supported.
WebProject [ Full data ]
The Executive Information System supports a high level view of all projects that the user has access too. From the main multi-project status display, individual projects can be drilled down to the task level. Access to details is limited to the profile that you are assigned as, with greater detail available to Leaders and Administrators.
X-Community [ Full data ]
The Business Center is an 'association container' that holds multiple 'projects' (AKA Whiteboards in X-Community). There is a great deal of 'part-subpart' composition combinations that can be created with the X-Community Information Units.
A Business Center is a shared space of many projects which can share Person/User pools. It does not appear that there is any 'roll-up' status reporting relationships among these multiple Whiteboard/Projects within a Business Center.
12.5 What-if analysis
Enact Enterprise System [ Full data ]
The ActionPlan Gant-timeline view provides an intuitive interface for performing informal What-if analysis. But this is a somewhat limited facility. There are no tools to facilitate defining differential scenarios and programmatically modifying the Project Plan in line with scenarios assumptions.
eProject Express [ Full data ]
None.
FastTrack Schedule [ Full data ]
Not explicitly. The quick and easy direct manipulation of the visual representation of the project encourage one form of 'what if' analysis. And the 'undo' function let's you recover from such explorations. On the other hand, since FTS does not directly model 'work-effort' resource allocations, etc., users won't be doing any 'spreadsheet-like' what-if planning that involves these kinds of resource dynamics... again, unless you 'rolled your own' using FTS's extensibility.
ManagePro [ Full data ]
None
Microsoft Project 2000 and Project Central [ Full data ]
Full resource leveling and recalculation model with two-phase commit and baseline protection to protect master project from accidental corruption.
Opendesk.com [ Full data ]
Functionality not supported.
SourceForge [ Full data ]
Functionality not available.
WebProject [ Full data ]
WebProject supports resource leveling and recalculation. Because of the two-phase commit model, multiple what-if analysis can be done without effecting the server side data.
X-Community [ Full data ]
No. What-if doesn't map too directly to the X-Community 'work product'-centric Information Unit model space.
12.6 Security features
Enact Enterprise System [ Full data ]
The Person/User management system maintains the basic username and password access authorization system.
eProject Express [ Full data ]
In reporting terms, the user views are restricted by user log-on.
FastTrack Schedule [ Full data ]
For direct-access of FTS files, password protections based on user licenses applies. But once data is exported to other formats, the user is on his or her own to maintain information security.
ManagePro [ Full data ]
Person/User records maintain access control permission settings and password data.
Transparent database integrity checking and maintenance features keep the ManagePro database in good health.
Microsoft Project 2000 and Project Central [ Full data ]
Controlled through user administration.
Opendesk.com [ Full data ]
Reports are limited by user type.
SourceForge [ Full data ]
Functionality not available outside of marking a tool area private.
WebProject [ Full data ]
Reports are limited by user profile settings and configuration by Administrators and Leaders.
X-Community [ Full data ]
X-Community used 128-bit SSL user connections to enforce the Person/User access restrictions. All database features and file access have access control with password features, etc.
12.7 Reviewer Comments
Enact Enterprise System [ Full data ]
None
eProject Express [ Full data ]
None
FastTrack Schedule [ Full data ]
None
ManagePro [ Full data ]
None
Microsoft Project 2000 and Project Central [ Full data ]
In addition to this, Project 2000 and Project Central can be fully customized, from views to the entire interface of the implementation,using templates and HTML/ASP programming.
Opendesk.com [ Full data ]
None
SourceForge [ Full data ]
Nothing to comment on other than there really is no report and analysis subsystem/function.
WebProject [ Full data ]
In addition to displaying real-time information from multiple aspects of the project, WebProject supports printing reports and saving to local CSV files. The lack of a query by form facility would have been nice as the WebProject development team may not have the domain expertise to provide enough reports to suit all potential users needs.
X-Community [ Full data ]
The X-Community current offering is 'ready for prime time'. With Notecard versioning and flexible user access controls, the X-Community service can be put to immediate use on real projects.
DOCUMENT HISTORY
Version 0.9 - Draft
Version 1.0 - Final
### end of sxc24-m2-02sect-comparables.txt (Version 1.0) ###
© 1998-2010 Jim Salmons and Timlynn Babitsky for Sohodojo except as noted for project deliverable and working documents.
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