Daniel Raymond, Author at AceProject

AceProject 4.7 in the works

We’ve started testing phase 1 of AceProject 4.7 last week. So far, we’re really impressed with Pascal’s work. Not only is the software working as expected, but there are very few bugs to fix.

Phase 1 was mostly focused on improving task dependencies. Most AceProject users will tell you task dependencies are very rigid in AceProject. We use only hard logic: the predecessor task must be completed before its successor can start. Dates are mandatory. It makes it difficult to use task dependencies efficiently in the current system.

In AceProject 4.7, we introduce non-mandatory task dependencies. For dependency chains that can accept flexibility and overlap between tasks, you’ll be able to start a task even if its predecessor is not completed.

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Even better: if your task doesn’t have dates or has incompatible dates with the predecessor, AceProject will propose some dates to you in a pop-up, so you don’t need to remember when the previous task ended.

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We are […]

By Daniel Raymond|2009-02-09T20:44:00-05:002009-02-09|

New case studies available

We’ve added two case studies to AceProject’s web site. Those are stories from real clients, telling us how AceProject helps them work better with their clients, with their employees, and with their students.

How AceProject helps a video game creator to manage time sheets

Beenox, a video game studio from Quebec City, needed a new employee time management system. Véronique Lessard, recruitment coordinator at Beenox, explains: “We needed to be able to manage vacations, time off and banked time. Since we are a video game company, it is essential for us to be able to know how many hours were worked on each project, and even per trade.”

Teaching project management – the hands-on approach

The engineering department at Quebec’s University in Rimouski (UQAR) regroups three disciplines: mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and electro mechanic systems engineering. During their academic journey, students must pass three courses that include a real design project, during their third and fourth year of training.

By Daniel Raymond|2009-02-04T16:27:00-05:002009-02-04|

A development process without a good dose of crazyness is wrong

I saw this great comic at Stack Overflow this morning, and I though I would share it with you.

No matter how much method we want to have in our development process, there is always a part of it that looks (or feels) like the comic above. It’s normal. When it’s over, it’s funny. Some of the best ideas can come out of those all-nighters.

Even though at Websystems we feel our development methods yields a much higher quality of product that the “lone coder” ways of our beginnings, there always comes a point when we all run around in circles. Usually in the bug fixing stage: everyone wants the software to be perfect, and we all want the software to be released. Inevitably, something will happen to threaten both our desires, and that’s when the running starts!

By Daniel Raymond|2009-02-02T15:29:00-05:002009-02-02|

Estimates, guesstimates

We are currently working on AceProject 4.7. Since we’ve implemented agile-style development methods, we have been packing more into our version releases. The issue we are having is estimating how long it’s going to take to build something, and ultimately how much new stuff we can put in the next version.

Because our developers hate to be late, they tend to over-estimate the time it will take to code something. So we end up with a nice problem: things get finished faster than expected. It’s better than being late. But then, how much more could we put in the release if we had estimated better?

By Daniel Raymond|2009-01-28T19:42:00-05:002009-01-28|

Human resources management: what do you bring to the table?

I’ve been reading on HR management for my upcoming PMP exam. According to the PMI, HR management is about getting the right team for the right project, and developing that team so that the product of the project is delivered on time and on budget.

As the project manager, what do you bring to the table?

It’s is easy to know what the software developer brings to the project. It’s harder to know what the PM brings to the project. We’re usually the cat herders: we do our best to keep the project on track, the team happy, the stakeholders under control and the deliverables…delivered!

It doesn’t feel like a productive job. But without a project manager, how many projects would ever end, let alone on time?

That’s what project managers bring to the table: cohesion and coordination.

By Daniel Raymond|2009-01-26T19:24:00-05:002009-01-26|

The downfall of Internet Explorer

It seems to me it’s only a few years ago that Internet Explorer took 80%+ of the browser share from my website visitors.

How things have changed. Internet Explorer is now used by only 49% of AceProject’s visitors, while FireFox is preferred by 40% of them. FireFox and Internet Explorer are now nose-to-nose.

By Daniel Raymond|2009-01-22T18:50:00-05:002009-01-22|

Surviving the recession: chose your partners wisely

Recession is on everyone’s mind these days. Whether your organization is currently affected by the economic conditions or not, most of us are looking at your spending, to see if where we can save.

Another place to look is your partners: your business partners, your suppliers, your clients. If your main supplier goes bankrupt, it could affect your business as significantly as if your biggest client cancels all orders.

In a recession, the businesses that survive are those with the least debt and those with enough cash flow. As sales may dwindle from lower demand, businesses that are debt-free will be able to weather the storm, while those with a lot of debt would fold under the pressure of the payments.

Furthermore, recessions are good times to invest, to be ready with new offerings when demand picks up on the other side of crisis. Because demand always picks up, sooner or later. However, if all R&D activities are suspended while money is tight, the business falls behind its competition, and it’s very difficult to pick up that lag […]

By Daniel Raymond|2009-01-19T12:48:00-05:002009-01-19|

About the Websystems family

I never thought about our workplace in terms of family-friendliness. Still, there are nine of us at Websystems, and there always seems to be a baby or two on the way.

So I started counting. Between the nine of us, we have 19 children! That’s more than 2 per employee. I think that makes Websystems a very family-friendly workplace!

For Websystems, it’s important to hire the right people and to keep them. By making it easy to balance work and family, we are creating an environment that makes us happy.

For more information on happiness at work, check out the Chief Happiness Officer.

By Daniel Raymond|2009-01-15T12:29:00-05:002009-01-15|

AceProject Survey, what features you like best and least

The results from the survey are in. It was our first-ever survey here at Websystems. Here’s a summary:

Which feature do you use most?

Task management
Time Sheets
Project management
Gantt charts
Task comments

Which feature do you like the most?

Email notifications
Task Management
Time sheets
Tracking task and project status
Reports

Which feature do you like the least?

Time sheets
Email notifications
Reports
Task creation workflow (tabs)
Search

What’s interesting is that then time sheet module, email notifications and task management are present in all three answers. It seems time sheets and email notifications are either loved or hated. Among the comments we received, being able to edit the time sheet for the whole week (like a grid) and being able to customize how email notifications work were the most frequent.

However, people told us they loved to receive those email notifications. We were also told that time sheets are very easy to use.

Overall, what you told us is that you think our reports and our task creation workflow should be a lot better.

We hear you. Your comments were very insightful and we will make sure to keep the good stuff and […]

By Daniel Raymond|2009-01-13T12:30:00-05:002009-01-13|

AceProject Survey: preliminary results

This week we sent a survey to all our AceProject account administrators. Since we are planning a complete rebuild of AceProject, we wanted to make sure to keep what people liked, and to fix the things that people didn’t like.

The responses were great! You left us very detailed answers, which gives us much greater insight into what you guys are doing with AceProject.

Pie charts, everyone!

Here are preliminary results analysis. We hope to get everything processed next week. Since we had open-ended questions, we need to read everything and group similar answers together.

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It was interesting to see who is using AceProject. While we weren’t surprised to see software developers, marketers and consultants in such high numbers, we realized we were popular in the education and publishing fields. It was also interesting to see how much variety there was amongst the responses.

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Looking at the responses for the favorite AceProject feature, the top 50% includes email notifications, task management, time sheets, status tracking and ease […]

By Daniel Raymond|2009-01-09T18:10:00-05:002009-01-09|

About Daniel Raymond