Dropped $80 on a project timeline plugin and it saved me 3 hours a week

I bought this Gantt chart add-on for my pm software last month and it automates all the dependency tracking I used to do by hand... has anyone else found a plugin that actually cuts down their manual work?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_nancy4d ago

My coworker actually told me about a time tracking plugin that saved her team about 10 hours a month on reporting. She uses it for task estimates and it auto-fills the actual hours worked so nobody has to manually update spreadsheets anymore. I think the key is finding something that matches your exact workflow, because I tried a similar one last year and it just added more clicks for me. Maybe look for plugins that use existing data you already have in the system, that way you're not duplicating effort.

wesley6394d ago

What plugin is she using, I've been looking for something that auto-fills those actual hours without making me dig through a dozen menus every time?

evan_grant702d ago

80 bucks for a Gantt plugin sounds like throwing money at a problem that could be solved with a whiteboard and some sticky notes. I've been tracking projects for years and dependency chains are not that complicated unless your timeline is a mess to begin with, which no plugin can fix. That time tracking thing the_nancy mentioned is probably just duplicating what your project board already tells you if you actually look at it. Half these plugins are just fancy ways to avoid the 10 minutes it takes to update a spreadsheet or calendar. And once you depend on one, you're stuck when they change their pricing or stop supporting it.