Most companies today solve their non-trivial task by creating project teams and delegating responsibility and a budget to project leaders and team members. This is working well in some cases but sometimes (quite often) it fails and projects go over time and budget. There are many excuses and possible reasons why the expectations are not meet but impact on the business can be significant if strategic projects fail to deliver. I have been involved in project work most of my career and have seen tools like MS Excel, MS Project, simple disk shares etc. having a dominating role over and over again. It’s not that I think these tools are seriously bad but they fail in some important areas – areas that are essential for projects to be be effective. In order to be constantly effective team members must be able to locate and possibly update documents, plans, etc. see their task and provide status, take notes and share ideas, decisions and actions. There are alternatives today and this post provides a list of 35 online tools that may significantly improve your Project Management and Team Collaboration if used wisely.
Advertisement
5pm
5pm is a project management tool suitable for any web developer, regardless of team size. This web app consists of two instantly understandable panels. The panel on the left lists your projects. Once you’ve selected a project, any files, discussions or other activity related to this project is displayed in the right panel. It couldn’t be easier.
Online project collaboration
Podio creates instant value for your team and your clients. The simple and intuitive online work platform gives teams of all sizes and industries a better and smarter way to get their work done together. No IT is required for this collaboration software to shape a social online environment that is specific to your needs and work processes.
With Podio online collaboration and communication on projects and files in one centralized place is really easy. Set up work spaces for your team and client collaboration in seconds. Manage and share milestones, deliverables, meetings, contacts and all other information in their relevant context. Finally, there is a much more effective and social way to work together.
ActiveCollab
Very feature rich collaboration and project management tool that also allows you to track time and send invoices. Could be a all in one stop for a free lancer or small consulting company.
projectmanager.com
Create and share plans with your colleagues, with this powerful Project Planner. Schedule tasks, assign resources and monitor progress online. Check you’re on track from anywhere, anytime. View your progress against schedule and your spend versus budget. Create project teams and assign them tasks online. Reallocate tasks on the fly, so you’ve always got the right people working on the right tasks at the right time
Assembla
Assembla offers the whole package: repositories, ticketing, collaboration and management tools. Assembla’s repositories, stored in Amazon EBS, keep your code safe, while allowing specified users to view and edit it in a secure fashion. Tickets, which can be posted and assigned to team members within seconds, help users accomplish tasks more quickly and efficiently.
Central Desktop
Central Desktop offers users an online workspace where they can share files and documents, manage tasks and discuss projects in a group without the need for constant email writing and checking. It’s free to use in a limited capacity.
@task
@task is web-based project management software that helps companies get work done. You’ ll love how easy it is to get more from your teams and bring your projects in on time and on budget. Use @task to plan your project life cycle and provide your teams with the project management tools they need to succeed.
Doodle
A scheduling tool that has been created to help reclaim time and put an end to the endless back and forth communication that has become normal when scheduling a meeting. It is so simple and yet very powerful.
Registration isn’t required to use the basic free service (Branded and Premium versions also exist and offer more flexibility), so getting started is quick and easy. To schedule an event, you just select some dates and times and let the participants specify what works best for them. With a quick look, you’ll see everyone’s availability and be able to make a final decision that satisfies the entire group.
“Doodle is used worldwide by more than three million people per month, and features like Outlook and Facebook integration help all of these users in their quest to gain victory over meetings.” 
MonkeyOn
Your to-do list for things that you want other people to do! Concept is that you send a monkey… ie. give your monkey a recipient, a description, and a deadline. Monkey On Your Back will send the recipient regular reminder emails to make sure they don’t forget.
Remember The Milk
To-Do List manager. Receive reminders via email, SMS, and instant messenger (AIM, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, Skype and Yahoo! are all supported). Use the map to see where your tasks are located in the real world. See what’s nearby or on your way, and plan the best way to get things done. Share, send and publish tasks and lists with your contacts or the world. Remind your significant other to do their household chores.
Campfire
“Over 100,000 people have used Campfire to send more than 60,000,000 chat messages to their clients, in-house colleagues, and remote teams.”
Campfire is a web-based group chat tool that lets you set up password-protected chat rooms. Invite a client, colleague, or vendor to chat, collaborate, and make decisions. Link to a room on your intranet for internal communications. Read past chat transcripts anytime you want. Campfire keeps a history. Upload a GIF, JPG, or PNG, and it shows up right in the chat room.
HighRise
“Highrise prepares you for your next call, next meeting, next pitch, next follow-up, and next sale.“. Track communication and conversations with leads, employees, clients, colleagues, vendors. Monitor pending sales leads, proposals, wins & losses. Outlook, Excel, CSV, vCard, ACT! and Basecamp contacts. A history of calls, meetings, and conversations with your contacts.
Ta-da Lists
Ta-da Lists is perfect for those who write so many “to do” lists, stickies and notes that they can hardly keep track of them all. It’s far superior to an ordinary text editor that you may or may not keep open on your computer while working, as Ta-da List information is on the cloud and accessible from anywhere.
Toodledo
Simple and easy to use web based to-do list wit ha lot of features. It offers a iPhone app.
Basecamp
Basecamp is the world’s leading project collaboration tool, with thousands of very satisfied web developer customers. Write communal and personal “to do” lists, store and share files (up to 75GB) effectively between team members, write on your group’s message boards, add milestones to keep track of what’s due and who’s responsible, and track your own and others’ time.
SpringLoops
Designed specifically for web developers, SpringLoops enables groups to code together and safely share code between each other. It ultimately saves time by eradicating repeated activities performed on a day-to-day basis. It even backs up old versions of code, allowing users to quickly undo poor decisions.
Zoho
More than 20 Business and productivity tools. You will find office tools, conferencing tools, invoicing, CRM etc….
Tenrox
Tenrox is perfect for web developers who not only have to manage their own work, but that of a small workforce, which might even spread around the world. Tenrox eliminates time wasted constantly constructing and circulating emails, letting a whole team view and edit all necessary documents. With Tenrox, you can keep track of time and expenses, perform cost and revenue accounting and track everyone’s progress.
Genius Project
Genius Project helps users manage every stage in the web development process, from project selection to execution. Group, compare and rank actual and potential projects, plan with interactive Gantt charts, maximise utilisation of human and other resources, track time and expenses, manage costs and budgets, generate invoices and much more.
Eclipse
Eclipse is a web application which deals with three key areas: portfolio management, project management and resource management. It lets you consolidate information from various projects in one accessible place, organise your schedule and prioritise every activity, track and report in a consistent manner and keep detailed tabs on all resources. Eclipse is simple to use and can be integrated with existing project management software.
workspace.com
workspace.com provides eight distinct applications, useful for all web developers, especially those who work as part of a team. These eight applications include “Requirements”, which ensures that you’re constantly working with the most recent version of a project; “Plans”, for planning schedules, budgets and resources; and “Tests”, which tracks and manages your testing process. The price you pay depends on which of the eight applications you require, as well as the size of your team.
Klok
Ever find yourself performing unnecessary tasks just to fill the time? Does each project end in a mad rush to get things finished? If the answer’s yes, then Klok is the app for you. It’s a simple work timer which lets you time manage each project in fine detail. Compare recent with past projects to make sure your efficiency is improving.
Less Time Spent
Another time tracker, Less Time Spent does exactly what its name suggests: it enables users to organise themselves more efficiently, saving hours and minutes which, after all, equate to potential dollars and cents! It tracks your operations in real time and supports Google ID login.
Nozbe
Nozbe is a great time and project management web app suitable for individuals and small teams. It lets users arrange their tasks into projects, focus on what needs to be done next, group tasks by context (home, office, phone etc) to maximise productivity, and collaborate with a team. What’s more, you can send notes to Nozbe from Twitter and Gmail, and manage Nozbe from your Mac dashboard.
Google Apps
With all the excellent project management apps currently available, it’s easy to forget that Google Apps offers a range of tools for web developers who want to move everything to the cloud. Google Groups and Google Sites can be used in conjunction to ease communication and encourage secure sharing of calendars, documents, videos and lots more. Admittedly, Google Apps is unlikely to be as suited to your needs as some of the other apps in this list, but it is highly accessible, well designed and completely free to use.
Redmine
Redmine offers a host of really useful tools. At its simplest, it lets users manage a great number of projects simultaneously, defining personal roles and assigning tasks to specific team members. At its more complex and customisable, it lets users manage tasks as subprojects of main projects, automatically creating Gantt charts and calendars.
Writeboard
As simple as it gets really.This this service provides free web-based text documents you can share, that save edits, so you can collaborate, roll back and compare.
ConceptShare
If you need to share your designs and get feedback this is a cool tool. Feedback can be given with visual annotation tools. Allows you to setup secure online workspaces for sharing designs, documents and video and invite others to review, comment and give contextual feedback
Wridea
“Idea management service and collection of brainstorming tools”. It’s a free tool for writers focusing on idea generation
GoPlan
Goplan is an online project management and team collaboration platform. It offers note-taking, calendaring, task management, issue tracking, file management and online real-time chat etc.
Function Fox
TimeFox is the time and project tracking system of choice for professionals in advertising, design, web, communications, and all realms of creative service.
myclientspot
ClientSpot is a Integrated Project Management and Time Tracking for Busy Teams which handles project and task tracking, time tracking and reporting, calendars, and file sharing.
statuswiz
Very simple and sleek tool for sharing tasks, create reports and more.
aceproject.com
This is a very feature rich project, ressource etc. management tool that are free for up to 5 users.
freshbooks.com
Invoicing, Expenses, Time tracking, clients and staff etc. Automate invoicing and collections. Streamline your business through recurring invoices. Set up auto-billing to automatically charge your client’s credit card. Give your clients online access to their invoices and account history.
FastDue.com
FastDue is a FREE, secure online suite of business productivity tools with instant invoicing and collections, a robust easy-to-use tracking and management system and the only live, interactive contract negotiation and execution on the web.
WORKetc
It’s a web based business management software that makes managing projects much simpler. Because it’s a combination of CRM, PM, and billing, everything directly integrates with one another and this allows for collaboration on all three aspects as well as automated tasks. For example, secured sales leads turn into projects right away with all existing information, and timesheets turn into invoices with a single click.
{ 49 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Great list! These types of lists really help those looking for a good project management and collaboration solution.
I’d like to add one to the list if I may – OnePlace combines detailed project management with many team collaboration features for increased organization and success. OnePlace can be checked out at http://www.oneplacehome.com
Thanks for the extensive list of project management and collaboration tools.
For those of you interested in further lists and reviews of online (or desktop) project management software, see the Task and Project Management Software List.
Note: also includes GTD software, task management and to-do list software.
I think Feng Office (formerly opengoo) should be on that list. The community edition is free to download and setup on your own web server.
http://www.fengoffice.com/web/community/community_index.php
Great post, but you left us off the list! Check out ProjectSpaces – http://www.projectspaces.com – for another online project management tool. We focus on simplicity and ease of use above all else, and still have the functionality needed for a successful online project management or collaboration tool. Sign up for a free trial today!
I’ve got one more for the list – LiquidPlanner!
LiquidPlanner is an excellent online project management tool, the only one that can help teams manage the uncertainty inherent in projects. Team members can enter estimates for their tasks in ranges, building a more realistic schedule that will not suddenly be irrelevant (like with many other project management tools).
LiquidPlanner also comes with a full set of collaboration tools, so teams can stay organized and in touch over critical issues.
There’s lots more great features (http://www.liquidplanner.com/tour/) including a free iphone app!
I might be wrong but assembla looks so much like activecollab (that you can download for free). Again I might be wrong.
Choosing a PM software can be no fun, but it’s still much better than implementing it. Here’s an excellent article on how to choose a project management software.
Very good list of online tools for project management. I have been using Microsoft Project 2007 for the collaborative project management and find it very useful. It has features like calendar management, gantt chart, resource management for scheduling and tracking project. You can get more details on microsoft project 2007 site.
I’ve got one more for the list – Mavenlink!
Web based project management software tool for managing & tracking projects & tasks.Mavenlink is an excellent online project management tool, the only one that can help teams manage the uncertainty inherent in projects. Team members can enter estimates for their tasks in ranges, building a more realistic schedule that will not suddenly be irrelevant (like with many other project management tools).Mavenlink makes project management & team collaboration hassle-free and straight forward.
Thanks for the effort you invested in making this list.
However, these tools are basic when having big and extensive projects. Advanced tools such as MS Project and Seavus Project Planner provide all the features project managers need to manage big projects such as implementation of ISO Standards, or New Product Launch.
Great list! Appreciate you taking the time to build this up. I’m a fan of Basecamp myself. Moreover, I wanted to put http://www.agilewords.com on your map as well. It’s our online document collaboration tool. We have a free edition and we hope you, or your readers, find it useful!
Thanks!
@fabrice, thanks for the tip I’ll check it out soon.
Hi, Mavenlink is the first company to focus exclusively on improving the interactions between businesses and their consultants. We have started by creating an intuitive technology platform that embraces the consulting lifecycle, managing all business relationships and transactions so that your projects are a success. This is just the beginning, as we are going to continually deliver innovative technologies and services that forever change the way people work together.
http://www.mavenlink.com/
If you’d like a tool for managing your time and projects, you can use this web-application inspired by David Allen’s GTD:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage and prioritize your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
Comes with a mobile version too, and with an Android app.
Basecamp worked okay when there were just 2 of us on the team and we had one project running. But to work on a larger scale we needed a more functional tool. We signed up for Wrike almost a year ago (it’s a pity that you left it off the list). The app is awesome, especially its email integration. Emails are automatically converted into tasks, it saves a lot of time. I hope they release a German version someday, that would be totally great.
Another great online project management tool worth checking out is SantexQ. It focuses on task and time management, but also has other features like invoice creation and file uploads. Worth a look!
May I add one more on the list? Web crm http://www.worketc.com works like Highrise/Basecamp plus more features. See how comprehensive this tool is http://www.worketc.com/compare.
Don’t forget http://www.projectplace.com/. Pretty good.
you might also want to have a look at BootStrapToday http://bootstraptoday.com
Another alternative that I absolutely love and recommend is a great online tool is Dooster.
Thanks for the great list. I discovered a few that I had never heard of like SpringLoops. In the eleven years that I have been working virtually the one attribute that makes these products functional is the company that is deploying it. The software’s success depends on how much traction the initiative gets in the cultural of the business. If everyone is properly trained and each user’s view is customized to present just the essential tools required there is a good chance that moving to the “cloud” can work.
Personally I think http://www.same-page.com has got the right idea – build a virtual online office and let the users shape the environment the way that best suits them.
You’re missing an exceptional tool though! You should consider WORKetc;
It’s a web based business management software that makes managing projects much simpler. Because it’s a combination of CRM, PM, and billing, everything directly integrates with one another and this allows for collaboration on all three aspects as well as automated tasks. For example, secured sales leads turn into projects right away with all existing information, and timesheets turn into invoices with a single click.
The list is great, but needs some more diverse project management approaches.
Thanks for the tip I’ll add WORKetc ASAP
improve the performance of your projects by efficient collaboration, watch this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQMViAHsbjM
These look like very useful tools! I will probably use a few of these.
I would include smartQ into the list with their original whiteboard-style interface
http://www.getsmartQ.com
http://www.trello.com – nicer version that is also FREE !
Thanks for sharing. I’d also suggest http://www.projecturf.com – our team loves it
Thanks for the tip Brian!
another great project management tool tool it’s moonlite
http://moonlitepro.com/
Moonlite is cheaper than Basecamp. You don’t have to pay for any additional features or updates.
best
ben
Hi,
Another online project management tool is iManageProject:
http://www.imanageproject.com
Basecamp style but much cheaper.
Thanks,
Florentin
nice list post!
I have a project management tip that is so simple to implement, so flexible to update it is ridiculous to even consider. After 20 years of graphic designing and 10 years of running my own business this one simple project management tip has improved my productivity and profitability out of sight.
Check out my post on it “3 Smart Steps That Will Improve Your Productivity & Increase Your Profitability” http://bit.ly/h9LhHz
Check out http://apollohq.com
I began using it a month or so ago and it demolishes every other PM web app I’ve used.
A bit new in the market…. Contrich ( http://www.contrich.com )
It is an online collaboration tool for the UI and Content teams in a typical Web Application Development Environment. Checkout the video tutorial on the homepage for a quick glimpse.
I really appreciate the work done by WorkForceTrack . The reason is- they offer bunch of useful features that are easy working. I definitely recommend you to use this team`s software.
We use WorkforceTrack’s Project Management tool and found it suitable for our business needs and budget limits. We chose this system because of its being multifunctional (Project Management, CRM, Accouting, and other 20+ business tools) Another reason is its flexible prices and available discounts for small and mid-sized organizations. If you are interested in this solution, you can get more information from official web-site http://www.workforcetrack.com
What an extensive list. We got Dooster.net in our organisation and we were given the opportunity to comment by the owners before they chose it and I recognise quite a few in the list. I enjoy using Dooster now but was uneasy to begin with. Now I would hate anything else. I think the owners went with Dooster because we are a fairly small outfit and very careful on budget even though I recall they had liked the idea of BaseCamp when they started looking at collaboration software.
Thanks for sharing your view on this Christine!
Great list. There are a few here I had not seen before and I thought I’d seen them all. Out of all I have tried so far, there are two others that are worth a look.
http://producteev.com (has offline app as well)
and http://teamworkpm.net … awesome custom branding features and Dropbox integration.
Excellent list of web applications. Some of them were unknown to me until just now. I’ll give em a try for sure.
Its a Great Knowledge about project Management.thanks for sharing
Well we looked at several of these. Basecamp, highrise etc are totally overpriced. Even if they offered a lot more features they’d still be waaay too much. $99 a month is a bad joke
The one we eventully decided to go with is dooster.net probably becuase of their strong user permission / access level feature. They’ve got other good features too. Plus they are very good on support which is where a lot of these apps fail
Really appreciated the review. Hope this feedback helps others
Very interesting list: still, the focus is on budget and time management, as usual.
If you wish to be helped through Project Documents creation have a look at Project Framework in http://www.projectframework.com.
It helps you automatically create 50+ Project Documents in Word and Excel for a very low cost, covering all Project Phases (from functional requirements to commercial proposals).
Just have a look: it is really worth the time spent on it.
Huge list and very informative. I recognise a couple from when we were choosing Dooster which has been a great success for us. The customer service is particularly good.
Do you know Kiwili ?
It works with all the platforms (Mac, PC, Linux, iOS, Android) and there’s even an iPhone version. The app allows you to manage your time, create and send bills, get paid online, organize your projects, create your reports and so on. Here’s the link https://www.kiwili.com
Thanks for the shout-out, Lars! We appreciate it
I’ve used some team collaboration online tool before but your list has changed my mind, some of them are so much awesome!
Thank you, Lars.
Great list, but I’ve recently migrated from Basecamp to Flow – easier to use, and the companion iOS app is awesome. http://www.getflow.com/
One to add especially for business owners/managers: Donedesk (http://donedesk.com). Social task and project management. Workflow with a Facebook-like interface. Unlimited delegation and redelegation, automatic followup, team workspaces, email integration. Free.
These online tools are just terrific. They are perfect for project management. Thank you very much for the great hare here. You have helped me in a lot of ways. I am looking forward to read more of your articles.
{ 9 trackbacks }