Project-on-Demand

I wrote I was missing a web based Microsoft Project-like application. Some good soul directed me to Projity’s Project-on-Demand. They provide a web-based project management application. Something I was looking for? Not exactly.

I don’t seek yet another MS Project, but working solely in my web browser. I don’t want a web copy of MS Project. I’d like to have light, limited in features (can be), fast and easy in use web application allowing me to run some basic project stuff.

During last weeks there was a discussion between people, whose opinions I highly value. The subject was the simplicity in the software. While Joel Spolsky insists that simplicity is overrated, Scott Berkun defends simplicity in the software. I take the Scott’s side and Project-on-Demand is a good example here.

For me, it’s too complex and too rich with features I don’t need. And because I was looking for the software having feature of “not having too many features” (paraphrasing Joel), the POD fails.

Yes, I wanted the web “GProject”. While I said it should cover just basic functions I didn’t said that it shouldn’t have all of them, although I meant that. However, when you want to build big, feature-rich solution from a scratch you have to go with really long stabilization phase. Unless you go with little steps adding a couple of new functions every time the rest is looking stable. The latter is the better solution and I believe that you’ll end up with a better product on the end using this scenario. Of course, when you go step by step, you have to forget about competing with leaders of the market with your first versions, but it would be a science-fiction to believe you can challenge Microsoft in these areas anyway.

I think guys from Projity went the wrong way. They shouldn’t have tried to match all MS Project functions. They should have offered simple but limited, web-based interface allowing doing basic things. They should have offered “lite“ version which is very cheap or (most likely) free of charge. They shouldn’t have played big unless they are ready to keep the line (and they are not). They shouldn’t have chosen “more features” as their differentiator.

Much better choice was to exploit the niche, because there is one. However, it’s not the one the Projity team thinks about. They won’t earn many advanced MS Project users, simply because they’re worse than the Microsoft product. They won’t earn people looking for basic things either, because of their complexity. Where’s the market then?

Maybe I wasn’t specific enough. I need a web application, but the one which is simple and easy. I don’t need to cover all features of the MS Project, but I need fair level of stability and usability instead. Projity’s Project-on-Demand unfortunately isn’t the choice here. They have chosen to fight with features in the area where they aren’t likely to succeed.

If you run web-based service exploit your availability, usability and ease of use. Variety of features neither is your asset nor will it be in a close future.