Solo, is a new entry into the ever long listing of Project Management tools. But this cool and elegant tool is about to rock your world & change not just your way of working, but, will give you plenty of leisure, given its simplicity in design and process that helps you get organized! Have a look at the simply designed yet info packed screenshots, to know what its all about.
Today, we don’t just need to manage our work but also our personal life! Besides, when collaborating with colleagues on any projects, managing & tracking tasks and time, are very essential if we are to achieve the goals within a specified time and budget. Thus, was born the concept of a Project Management Tool (PMT). Check out the history of Project Management, and you will notice why a certain feature is so often present in most PMTs.
And, if I am not mistaken, most of us in the early days, all employed the ever versatile Excel spreadsheets to track our tasks and time employed. The web out there has numerous PMTs, that virtually jostle for space and recognition. Many large corporates have their own in-built PMTs. But with the coming of Web 2.0, the number of web-base/online PMTs took a flying leap. For a summary or first glance, here is a comparison table of the numerous web based project management tools available. Clarizen has drawn a list for 2012 top ten online project management tools. And, for those trying to manage a project on their own, there are a few good free online project management tools that can be opted for.
However, many of these tools so far have worked out best depending on various features that are needed as must haves for most project managers. Some of the main features include – managing & assigning tasks, scheduling tasks, tracking of task and time, red alerts, report generations, and, gantt charts. With the introduction of social networking, the demand for real time updates increased, and the PMTs added these modules that include chat and twitter like applications.
However, so far, not much attention has been paid to design and the look and feel of such tools, given that they served as functional utility tools. But Thank God, someone thought differently, and has now brought in creativity and beauty to function! And the main reason for this, was that he listened to the users!!! (Product Designers and Developers, hope you are listening well). Jerome Iveson, a Graphic/Web Designer with a love for typography, has created Solo, a project management tool, solely for the “modern freelancer”!! You can read about the story of why and how Solo was created. This app has been built on the .Net platform with a mixture of jQuery, etc, for its front end. It has been beautifully designed, with attention paid to “space and juxtaposition of the elements” (as stated by Jerome). With a 14 day free trial, and later only $10 a month, this is definitely, something worth indulging into. Tracking and scheduling, and budgeting and Invoicing, your own dashboards, and a contacts page of all your clients and prospects, your deadlines, milestones, your overdue invoices, hourly ratings, etc. And, there is a hamper full of more goodies to come – blog feeds, client page – wherein your clients can login to the system to manage their invoices, meetings and project data, along with a message apps that will help keep lines open for communication.
Yes, most of these features are already basic to the already numerous online PMTs present. What makes this different from the rest? Beauty with Functionality! And that is something that will make Solo, a close companion and a winner for your project, a pleasure to work with!
