PMcrunch

Basecamp represents terrific “project management tools for the masses”.  It reminds me of the old Lotus Quickplace, except it is lighter weight, is purely web-based, is hosted, and is oriented to smaller users.  As such, it is “ everyman’s project management software” - but without being software at all.

For “Example“, the target audience is obviously small businesses that would benefit by connecting over the web:  web designers, internal project teams, add agencies, architects, publishers and authors, associations, real estate agents, accountants, and more.  I think the plethora of independent consultants, with virtual teams intact, are another ideal market.

The functionality includes the key information sharing mechanisms that any small team would want: 

1. Dashboard - summary info and links to highlighted content
2. To Do Lists - simple lists, with sub-task or category breakdowns, with ability to enter who, what, and when.
3. File Sharing - one of my favorite requirements, enabling the latest documents and artifacts to be shared by all, reliably in one place
4. Message Boards - allows posting of urgent or timely info
5. Milestones - simple and flexible way of adding key milestones, and displaying in tight time windows for all to see
6. Time Tracking - Date, Person, Hours and Description can be tracked for small virtual project teams

Additional features allow for further information sharing and project communications among team members and stakeholders.

Everything is “security controlled”, meaning that any post or area of the site can be access controlled by the appropriate users.

What is there is fairly comprehensive for small teams, but does not appear to be scalable to larger projects.  For example, the scheduling functionality is good but unsophisticated, which does not matter for small projects, but is important for large ones.  Similarly, the time tracking looks food for very small projects, but inadequate for large ones.  I think it is a safe assumption that the other features are equally “right-sized” in terms of scalability.  So, the functionality and scalability provided all look to be in alignment with the intended market.
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John Reiling, PMP
Project Management Training Online
Lean Six Sigma Training Online