Project Management | Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware

People

Marc Laporte (I think PM is more a Use Case & profile than a feature)
Mike Kerr (kerrnel22)
Régis Barondeau
Bernard TREMBLAY (Trebly as id known or BTy to be short for sign) project manager and consultant on project management since a long.... time
sylvieg
Geoff (I think that PM has some core functionality requirements that mean that it needs to be a Feature, building upon the existing user Task features whilst allowing trackers, spreadsheets etc to be part of the mix )
carsten.aevermann
Xavi
and you ?

Tiki already can be used for wiki-based project management using trackers wiki categories and watch. But there is still many ways to make it a better tool.

Proposed Approach (Geoff: 18 Sept 2010)

The following proposed approach is being drafted for additional comment and volunteers to help make it happen in a collaborative development effort! Several phases of development are inevitable but the initial goal would be to try and have a very basic system available for Tiki7.

This proposal has been prompted by the recent discussion on the 'devel list'.

Tiki already has an existing Task system that provides a code nucleus for Task management and assignment that could be built upon into a richer Project Management Feature.

Project Management however, as opposed to the current simple 'To Do List' style of Task management, requires several additional sets of functionality as follows:

To be able to establish multiple projects that can be in a hierarchy so that 'programmes' with multiple projects can be defined and maintained: see here for more details
Each Project should have a number of Tasks associated with it - and the Tasks importantly need to have not only a hierarchy but also a defined sequence/dependence. This will then allow (in due course) more complex features to be added such as WBS, CPA, Pert & Gantt charts etc : see here for more details
Each Task should also have Resources associated with them - so that more complex Resource management and load levelling features could be added (in due course): see here for more details
'Real' Project Management however is more than just Planning and Resource management, which require the features discussed above; it also involves the management of a wide range of documents, budgets, meetings, actions, risks, issues etc., etc. This wider need tends to have a style and 'flavour' that is dependent on both the project and indeed the project manager, and this is where a Tiki based Project Management approach will have the unique capability of being able to integrate other standard features e.g. Trackers, Wiki pages/Structures, Calendars, Spreadsheets etc. This mix of features can be utilised in a very flexible customised way to suit the specific needs of the project.

The proposed approach therefore is to:

design an expanded data structure to underpin the development of the additional set of 'core' Project Management Planning and Resource management features discussed above: see here for initial draft of proposed db table design
progressively add features starting with basic project definition and management
identify and promote ways of integrating Trackers, Calendars etc., in useful ways

A detailed set of requirements are being drafted at Project Management Requirements Introduction

To do

Missing

Tracker plugin to get title and make link to tracker item
Timesheet with time tracking (stopwatch)
Schedule planner
Task/action markup for meeting notes and plans (like Twiki Action Tracker Plugin)
In / out board
Gantt Charts
Developpers profiles and roles (as community builder)
Resource planning (Could be done via calendar and trackers)
- Done in a multiweek scale, but missing in a multimonth scale. See wish4391
Add 3+ filters to PluginTrackerCalendar

Ideas

Use the http://www.taskjuggler.org engine and put a tiki front end on it.
- I don't see how this is future-proof --MarcLaporte
http://openproj.org/ offers an open source MS Project compatible tool and they do have a web frontend with SaaS offerings. Maybe can we reuse their engine.
http://clockingit.com open source engine can eventually inspire some functions such as the great time tracker.
http://demo.ideatorrent.org/ can also inspire idea brain storm and voting aspects
If it can be done according to the PMBOK Processes it will be more suitable to match the international PMBOK standards. PMBOK stands for Project Management Body of Knowledge. See PMBOK Resume online

Ideas for better group management:

http://doc.tiki.org/Module+Users_List + wikiplugin_subscribegroup
Adding relationships between tracker items and/or tasks (for use in a Gantt chart)

[''kerrnel22: While the trackers still have untapped potential (eg. basic reporting) it is my hope that we don't develop it into a workflow model thereby having redundant features. Trackers can and should have some integration with the workflow and I maintain that the workflow feature is the way to go here...project management is just another layer of abstraction needed in the workflow core once the base issues are resolved. Let's try not to shoehorn a Doc Martin into a Nike...]

Note from kerrnel22: It is my hope that the Workflow Manager (Galaxia) morph into something from which project management metrics and structure can be integrated. I'd rather integrate it into something we already have than write a whole new tracker system for PM.