Clarizen: Project Management Without Project Managers
Many professionals find themselves leading a team and in the position of being “project manager” without having asked for the job. Often, this involves the hair-pulling “collaboration and management” tool of choice: MS Project.
Rather than managing your MS Project application, wouldn’t it be better to manage the actual project instead? That’s where Clarizen hopes to come in. This new tool to the (now) old arena of project management apps is aimed towards non-managers who find themselves needing to act as project manager.
The interface is simple and intuitive, but not short on features. The Web-based application itself takes a unique approach to project management. It starts from a collaborative planning focus and allows for launch and execution of project goals before the entire project has been laid out and planned. Most project management tools require the entire project be laid out first.
Best of all, this collaboration can take place between any people or groups who are part of the project, whether they’re in the same organization or not. So a team project requiring sub-contractors, in partnership with another company, etc., can be done collectively without one group being left out or having to liaise through another.
A good example of this could be a fairly complex e-commerce website in which one person (the site owner) hires several sub-contractors to work together to build the site itself. The Web Designer, Developer, security consultant, and even the site host can all become part of the virtual team through Clarizen. Along with any extra people they bring in to help as well.
Since all aspects of the project can be “put on hold” (called “draft mode”) or activated so members of the team can work on them, the whole thing doesn’t have to be planned and set in stone before it begins. This allows for flow around obstacles and for work to continue if a particular aspect falls through and needs retooling or design.
The app is affordable and very useable and has been online and running strong for over a year. Clarizen received $15 million in venture funding last year and looks poised to continue going strong for some time.
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