[Darur]

Hey folks,

Not sure if this is the right forum, but it's worth a shot

I've been tasked with setting up a Project Management system for my summer workplace (Chancellor's Office and a local College) and I'm in need of some recommendations. They've used several different programs in the past, such as dotProject and Microsoft Project, but user adoption has been lacking, partly due to the learning curve and partly because of apathy. I will also no longer be working here by the end of the week, so whatever is proposed will be left to them to implement.

Considering all this, our plan is to suggest an entirely web-based program with the absolute simplest interface possible, something anyone could pick up in a few minutes without tedious documentation or instructions. Additionally, we don't want them left with a program that will cost hundreds of dollars and be useless, but paying for use does not seem to be a major concern. The trial will be limited at first to just the Chancellor and some staff members, with the aim of expanding it across the campus. My plan is to set-up the first users browsers so that the project management page comes up at start.

The latest method they have used is a wiki-style program that seems to work alright, but no one uses it. So we aren't looking for something with a lot of bells and whistles, persay.

So far the two options I have considered, and really like, are Google Groups/Docs/Calender/Pages and Clarizen.

The campus is considering moving its mailing system to Google, so a Google option would mesh nicely. Google Groups is nice for the built-in notification tools, file upload options, discussion board and wiki-like functionality. Google Pages also has a Wiki template which looks fantastic for their needs. I also like the additional calender and mail tools attached, my hope being that the users could be brought to depend upon them and encourage use.

Clarizen, on the other hand, seems very flexible and powerful, which will be handy if they do expand the use of the software, and it also seems to stress ease-of-use. Although it is pricey, I like that we could get a one-month trial to see if it will work.

Beyond that I don't know much about Project Management software options. It seems to me that virtually any web-based program suite would fit their needs, so I'm mostly looking for something that can succeed and has succeeded in the past.

Any suggestions? Do the options I listed above sound reasonable? I really appreciate anything you can contribute. Cheers!

[I.M.O.G.]

This would be a good place to start, fewer options are better given your audience, as long as the green options fit what they need:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari...ement_software

[matpro]

I did quite an extensive investigation a few months ago. The purpose was to find the best Project Management Software for our purpose. We looked at a lot of systems and finally found what suited us the best(VisionProject).
This system has a lot of functionality but is yet very easy to work with.
The only negative thing I found was that some of the functionality (that I didn't think was there) was quite hard to find.
However, after getting some education from them and after getting used to the system, I am now really satisfied.

[Darur]

Thanks very much for the input, folks!

IMOG, I was actually browsing that list the other day, which made me realize almost anything would work XD

Matpro, that will definitely be added to my suggestion list. But at the moment, I think we're going to go the google route. Google Sites has a wiki template that is exactly what we are looking for. I'll be sure to leave that name with the management though.

Thanks again folks!