April 30, 2009

ProjectOffice.net: Getting Started – Part 1

Posted by Brad Egeland

As with any new piece of software or online tool, I highly recommend taking the tour that is usually offered through the online option or reading the user guide that comes with the software.

Yeah right! I never do that…I jump right in and use the software and that is what I did initially with ProjectOffice.net…finding it pretty easy to get up and running. However, for the purposes of us learning together – because I have A LOT to learn about ProjectOffice.net, I’m going to go back and start with the tour that is offered…and I highly recommend that any new users do the same.

Dashboard

I will say this – on first glance, the Dashboard offered by ProjectOffice.net is pretty impressive. I’ve been working with IWMS (Integrated Workplace Management System) companies and software for the past 3 years and all are web-based and all offer full-featured dashboards that are configurable to make it as easy as possible for each specific user to see what interests them most and helps them perform their job functions.

The Dashboard offered by ProjectOffice.net is no different. One section shows all of your projects with links to your team and your tasks. Recent changes to your projects and tasks are highlighted in another section. Your individual assigned tasks for an upcoming time period are listed in another section. Remaining Dashboard sections provide the user with a Quick Add feature, License info, a user To-Do List and a Calendar function.

Next Up

In the coming ‘Getting Started’ articles I will cover what I’m learning from the tour and getting setup with using ProjectOffice.net. You and I both know that starting to use the software is faster than this because it is the nature for most of us to just jump right in…and you can do that with ProjectOffice.net. I already have. I’ve tested its import / export compatibility with MS Project and it is compatible. But I want both of us to have a more in-depth knowledge of the software so we’ll go through it more methodically.

And so you know…I’m a lifetime Windows user who just converted to a Macbook (but I still have a Windows XP machine). I’ll be using it on both and giving you both perspectives. If you have any questions or thoughts, please comment here or email me at brad@bradegeland.com. Thank you.

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