Many professionals I know are not project managers by profession and yet most at some point or another have had the dubious pleasure of battling it out with a project management (PM) application—MS Project typically the nightmare of choice. It begins with lofty ideals of planning and running an organized project (for once). Yet what usually happens is that they end-up managing the project management tool, rather than have it manage the project. Granted, PM tools have made progress in recent years, with Basecamp from 37Signals leading the charge with a Web-based subscription model that sports a user-friendly interface. The fact remains though that there’s a long way to go before non-project managers can put a hand on their heart and claim that the benefits of using a PM tool outweigh its overhead.
This was that I had in mind when Israeli startup Clarizen approached me, explaining theirs is a project management and collaboration tool specifically aimed at non-project managers. There’s no question Clarizen is a latecomer to the space, but they seem to have the right ingredients: A fairly convenient interface, a smidgen of unique differentiation, and friendly pricing to boot—and $15M in funding doesn’t hurt either, of course.
Clarizen is making two great offers available for TechCrunch readers: First, Clarizen is auctioning off five (5) FREE one year subscriptions to TechCrunch readers. All you need to do is explain in the comments why you need and want Clarizen and how you intend to use it. The Clarizen team will select the 5 winners. Make sure to include a valid email address along with your comment! Second, anyone who mentions this TechCrunch post to Clarizen’s sales team when making any purchase will receive one additional free subscription for the term of their purchase.
Clarizen was designed as a PM tool for operational/functional managers (think: department heads). This is a good move because the biggest failing point in project management is probably during the set-up stage which requires the project be planned out to the “T” before it can be rolled out. This is a process that requires a high level of familiarity with such methodologies, so it’s no surprise why non-professional project managers bail on it so often.
Clarizen deals with this basic problem by allowing the project participants to assist in the planning, even if the project has already begun. The collaborative planning and execution can transpire among teams working within the same organization, or among those whose resources are dispersed between two or more companies.
Here’s an example: Let’s say my project is the creation of a Facebook app and I own entire the project. I can delegate my R&D manager to set and manage the in-house development process and its dependencies. When it comes to the user interface, though, I’ve gone with an outside contractor who obviously has his own work processes and dependencies. With Clarizen I can have the contractor enter and update all the relevant info independently, while I maintain a unified view of the project at large. As a side note, Clarizen includes with each company subscription a single free license for a partner.
One of the things I like about Clarizen is that it puts reality above methodology. Even if the full scope is unknown or the whole plan is not complete, projects can be kicked-off by activating only the parts that are ready to roll. At any point, any portion of the project can be switched back to draft mode, be paused, re-planned and reactivated. So if the graphics designer goes snowboarding for a week unexpectedly (something far too many of us can relate to), no problem, the task can be reactivated when he/she gets back. Other PM tools provide similar functionality but in a version control paradigm that involves the project’s “baseline”. Basically this creates a new version of the project each time an “anomaly” (i.e., delays caused by the real world) occur. Clarizen, in contrast, treats delays as a normal occurrence.
Another feature I found useful is that Clarizen allows projects to be updated without having to log into the application. Using the Facebook app example above, the contractor would be sent an email notification (screenshot below) with a link to a form in which the task statuses can be updated. No login is required, no subscription has to be purchased. Very convenient indeed.
Clarizen has been selling its solution for a year now with the bulk of its customer base considering it an alternative to heavy-duty enterprise solutions such as Clarity and Primavera. The company did not reveal the amount of actual subscribers it has, but did share with me that it has over 200 customers and that current contract closures are predominantly for 12-month terms.
Hi — I’m tried basecamp and still feel lost. Maybe Clarizen will open my mind… Pls grant me the free subscription. Thanks.
I just watched their demo and I think I’ll stick with BaseCamp. BaseCamp is simple and focused on getting stuff done. My clients get it instantly (even the non-techie kind) and it doesn’t waste my time.
But I’ll admit their screencast was fairly well done. It’s worth watching, just for the purpose of getting ideas of what to do in your own screencast.
One of the things I like about Clarizen is that it puts reality above methodology. Even if the full scope is unknown or the whole plan is not complete, projects can be kicked-off by activating only the parts that are ready to roll. At any point, any portion of the project can be switched back to draft mode, be paused, re-planned and reactivated. So if the graphics designer goes snowboarding for a week unexpectedly (something far too many of us can relate to), no problem, the task can be reactivated when he/she gets back.
Work in product development for a homegrown software system – people toss around doing agile vs. using MS Project (shudder) vs. something else…if this tool is as flexible as it sounds it might be something to roll out in my group as a viable option for our projects. We almost always do not have the full picture of the project and can just start with pieces and ramp up as we go… Please Pick me!
here’s a great option, easy to use, easy to install and FREE!
http://www.projectpier.org/
it’s used by a lot of webmasters…
I used Basecamp for a year or so until i started playing around with Google Docs. Now, the company i work started using Google Docs, specifically the spreadsheet and collaboration tools. and we love it. Very simple and straight forward.
Now, it may not have most tools projects managers use, but it definitely provides everything that is needed for non-project managers.
I second this, Google Docs is a really good way to project manage. Wont be surprised if Google comes into this space soon.
HottestJobsAround
http://tinyurl.com/7uj5ay
I second that opinion, but that is self serving.
My company, gganttic.com has developed gGantt – the Gantt editor for Google Spreadsheet. What it does is simple. It shows every line of a spreadsheet as a task or milestone, and allows dragging around to modify time, duration, progress etc. We are currently in public Alpha, check it out if you want.
Very Good
Mid size fast growing electronic discovery, SaaS based firm with strong project development and management expertise looking – with continuous improvement in mind – for solution to increase already strong agility in meeting customer needs – with capability to rapidly integrate, project, plan, and track customer related requests (from feature needs to project status). Hence the interest in Clarizen and request for consideration from Clarizen for licenses.
Yay, a user friendly PM Software. =)
We have used a bunch of Project Management SaaS solutions. Clarizen looks to be the best fit for our Solar Energy Finance company Photon Energy Services. http://www.phot...rgyservices.com
We need to manage multiple projects that each have unique aspects to them with different teams in different areas. It’s becoming a bear to keep all the balls in the air as they say. We look forward to using Clarizen as we help make schools and businesses green as they save money.
Hi There, I’d love to try this software out. We’re rolling out new ad products and we do not have any dedicated PM teams. That means, I need something to me organized and on-task while I do my regular job.
After struggling with Sharepoint and having to teach Customer Service reps how to use as well we need to find a tool that will be easy enough to use for several members of our team, and a tool that can be implemented with ease, and training on the tool to be quick and to the point. Clarizen looks like the tool that we could potentially use for our Webdevelopment Project management. We would love a free Subscription for year to test how it meshes with our system.
Clarizen looks awesome. I’ve been a Basecamp fan for quite a while, but this looks like it will make me switch.
So why give me one of the free accounts? Because if it turns out it’s a cool as it looks, which I’m sure it will, I’ll be evangelising Clarizen to everyone I know
Feels more like a MS project type tool then a online project collaboration tool. I see the collab features but the way it feels is MS Project nightmare.
I work for a small military contracting firm in Central New York. We manage contracts with the Department of Defense.
We have under 10 employees, and find managing each stage of the contract process can lead to different problems.
We use multiple different tools for proposals, managing the contract, working with engineers ect. but struggle to find one tool that helps us “manage the project” from start to finish.
I just graduated from college and am lucky to have found a job. I am managing accounts within our company, and it would give the company and myself a large advantage if I were to be able to manage accounts and relationships, while also managing projects.
I feel I am strongly suited for the free trial because I am not a project manager, but need to manage projects.
Having a real project management tool available via the web is a requirement these days. I manage projects for several organizations and need a tool that will allow me to unify scheduling, while keeping access separate.
I work as a project manager at a large international tech company. Traditional project management tools might be fine if you have a suitably complicated project involving large numbers of people, but it is entirely unsuited to the work I do, which is focused more in the social media space where nimbleness and not being bogged down by unnecessary process is key. I’d like to get a subscription to this service to see if it would meet my needs of keeping things on track without bogging things down!
Well I use Merlin on my Mac… And like project, its a bitch to keep organized especially if the project is a smaller web app – rather than a full blown long dev process. It is driving me a bit batty, and I don’t really like basecamp much. Haven’t looked into the others… But I have contractors from all over the world I sub out to and not to mention my own time and my own employees time. I need a better solution, especially that I’m 20% into the rollout of a new version of my site that coencides to an offline venue as well.
Would love to try a new service, even better if it was free to start!!
I have pretty monstrous ADD, combined with a very creative/vision based talent-set. I need a tool that allows me to centrally manage all my personal/professional “projects”, both the more mundane “email migration project” type stuff, all the way up to “create dream Vegas floorshow” dream/someday/never kinds of stuff that I just need to get out of my brain and written down. Somewhere.
If I can use your product successfully, anyone can, and that’s a good reason to pick me.
I seriously considered retiremented because I could not manage my project. It turned out that softwares could have helped. Please consider this and give me a second change at life.
For the past two years, I worked on a telecom project with a highly unorganized ‘team’. This project was my company.
Being the guy who ran the company, I was doing everything. The project itself, and everything surrounding it. It was hard for me to focus on the project’s milestones because there was so much to do in the infrastructure side.
I tried to dabble in different forms of Gantt to understand how I can organize the project and have a bird’s eye view of all accomplishments, etc to no avail – it was almost like having to plan to learn Gantt to plan the project. No time for that.
Now, if all goes well and God willing, I will have a similar project to do and this time I would like to make use of a PM software and see how far it would take me. So, folks, pick me for the trial!
My partner & I created a new startup 5 months ago and we have no Project Management systems. We use the “old fashion” way of emails and online chats in the late hours. We have 4 developers helping us on our projects in different time zones and we would love to increase our productivity & efficiency with the Clarizen Project Management software. We would then be able to hire more developers and keep our project running smoothly. Please consider us for the Free subscription since we are a starup and funds are tight!
Wow, this looks really sexy and usable. I have been trying some of the online and traditional project management solutions (projetct – bleh!) for some current consulting gigs I am doing (gotta make a LIVING!) and they just don’t do multiple group, multiple LOCATIONs well. I am working with three teams now, across five times zones, and we need something that we can effectively collaborate on in real time, at least with real time VISIBILTY!
Please let me try this out. I’ll give LOTS of great feedback and input!
TB
I assist our support team in Bangalore – als vendor support in Arizona, coordinates with operations group in UK and discusses issues with our developers in US. Overall, we have 13 countries that uses an application that we’re deploying. we’re the first country to deploy this application.
I have to send weekly files of MS Project, Excel and Word docs to provide updates to everyone.
Would Clarizen provide an easier method of communicating?
I have been put in charge of finishing our new Church Building-I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please chose me
Thanks
I want one!!!
There is no decent SaaS PM tool out there!. I will not spend hundreds of hours learning MS Project when I just need basic PM control tools. Being a PMP and using XLS to keep my projects on track is no easy task.
I travel a lot. I prefer to have an online PM tool instead of something I have to install (and loose if something happens to my laptop). Plus I would like to have my globally disperse team to work with me.
Gimme, gimme, gimme!!!!! (Sorry, I’ve been watching “Mamma Mia!” on my way back from Munich….)
Please gimme Clarizen!!!!!
Looking for a real project management system that is reality based – this looks like it could be it. I am the community manager at a startup. Besides the fact that the interface looks much better than most other tools I have tried, I also like the fact that clarizen seems to have kept the non-techie and the non-PM types in mind when creating the tool. Even if the PM understands the way a tool works, there are others on the team who have to use it. If they can’t understand it, the tool is a fail. Looks like clarizen may have gotten that part right. Looking forward to trying it out!
For me Clarizen is still complex for a “non project manager” tool. I like much better Plaznone cretaed by french guys (ok they are my frien so what ?) for my project management http://www.planzone.com
New to the project managing side of life… I’m constructing for a community radio 3 projects at a time. I did try the MS project with a lot of pain…
So citizen would be a good try for our radio
So great this facebook connect tool !
I have been looking for an easy to use project management tool.
I tested out serveral (hate ms project) and started to use zoho’s pm tool but find it very limited…
I work for an IT Consulting Compnay as PM and all we do is implement projects for our customers. Having a proper PM tool would work wonders for us!
I believe that Clarizen is the tool we have been looking for.
Please do provide me with one of your free subscriptions.
Hi,
I started a small software development business with 2 other programmers (non-Project-Managers!), and we now have several concurrent projects running. We would like to be able to hire someone to help us out part-time when we get overwhelmed with approaching deadlines, but it is difficult with our mish-mash of projects to determine which pieces can be separated out and completed by someone else. I think if we had a piece of software like this, since it appears to be easily shared among a team, it would make my job much easier! Thanks!
Renee
P.S. I have already tried Basecamp, and it was a nice tool, but didn’t exactly fit my needs. I’m hoping Clarizen will fill the gaps and help me get our projects organized!
I evaluated Clarizen on behalf of a client and not only is it quite a user-friendly application, the sales team were extremely helpful and professional.
This looks like a deeper solution than most competitors in this space. But it is very expensive. If you need this depth, you likely have 50+ people who would want to use it. Cost for 50 users? Almost a $1000 A MONTH with a year commitment. Wow.
Hi,
I am a 4th year university student and I am currently working on a semester-long consulting and marketing project for a major beverages brand. My team consists of 8 other people and given the size of the project, we could definitely make good use of a project management system that helps us stay on track, and that we can access from any computer. I think that Clarizen would help us keep moving with the project even when we can’t meet physically..
As an International PM Consultant, I’d like the opportunity to test & stress its claimed features and benefits when it comes to Multi-vendor, multi-lingual planning & multi-media reporting capabilities, effectiveness and user-friendliness.
I also welcome other available competitive online, collaborative PM tools vendors to contact me. This type of neutral analysis and objective endorsement would help my clients make the right choice.
Project management sucks. Always has. It takes too much time, taking away from the actual project. Give me something that just works with me while I’m on a project, and is not a project itself. Okay, I’m tired of typing the word project, goodbye.
The Cubs suck too.
We are an internet startup with and have to coordinate the activities of product development, design, sales and business planning. There are always a lot of changes in projects and we were not able to found a solution that satisfies all our needs. Basecamp’s is just too limited, a Wiki is too complicated for the business guys, MS Project is too complicated for the IT guys (and the design guys like neither). So we ended up with excel sheets and a lot of emails.
So, yes, we would appreciate a free subscription.
I wouldn’t mind a year subscription. I have ac couple of projects that I would like to drive that use contract resources. I don’t really want to setup a ms project server just to keep them in the loop, and everyone hates project so it would be nice to take a swing at something new.
I’ve tried Basecamp, PlanHQ, Eloops and others. Trouble is, it takes me longer to learn the program than it does to manage my project. I reverted back to pencil and paper for the moment. However, I have 2 clients that would like to to take their user generated web business to market this year and sincerely need your help. Spare an invite if you can. I promise to put it to good use.
i would love one as well
It would be great if Clarizen could enlighten me. Basecamp nor Activecollab can full fill my needs.
We’re all about great user experiences. And yet, it’s so hard to organize our work to CREATE great user experiences. Ironic, no? That’s why I’d love to to try Clarizen. And in return? Lots of lovely user experience feedback, just for you!
Why a free 1yr subscription? — because it will help us to evangelize Clarizen inside our company and with our partners by getting us access to another user.
Anything we can do to spread the word!
Great tool.
I work in a web team with a lot of fast quick projects that have to be layered over large infrastructure projects. My PM tools of choice are wikis and issuetracker tools. While not a PM tool at all, having wikis that others can edit and access from anywhere, goes a long way to solving the tracking and communications issues with distributed teams. MSProject doesn’t handle well the coordination with other teams and the “just in time planning and development” inherent in engineering a marketing vehicle. I would be interested in how Clarizen could enhance the web engineering process.
Hi,
I am here in Slovenia (EU) working on my app but my entire dev team is in dhaka, bangladesh. I would use this subscription to communicate better with the team. And I am sure our team will learn some skills from using Clarizen
Thanks
Check out http://www.celoxis.com
I have tried a few PM tools including RPM and MSP. I face a lot of accessibility challenges with these tools. I wonder how Clarizen is. If possible, I would like to try it out.
We have a business that caters to large luxury yachts. We act as a port agent here in San Diego , but also provide solutions worldwide. We are a small company with just a single point of contact for all clients. For our clients we are providing planning, security, shipyard project management, bunkering, voyage planning, pollution compliance, crew, provisions and more. I suppose that we are different from other companies that want to use your system as the others are probably all IT type businesses. By engaging with us, we can determine how your product works for a non IT type business.
When I evaluate a SaaS solution the first thing I check is extensibility. If the service is to become popular, will 3rd parties be able to extend its usability. Google Documents service is highly extesible. Basecamp is. Remember The Milk is. Zoho is.
I could find no evidence of that for Clarizen. May be it is a matter of time.
Michael,
Clarizen does support extensibility and provides a robust web services API through which the service can be extended/integrated to other services or apps you may be using. You can find more information at http://www.clar...Developers.aspx.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have.
Thanks,
Sharon Vardi
VP Managed Services
Clarizen
Cool. I’ll check it out.
I also recommend you to test Celoxis. It has a very easy to use but powerful and platform independent API. Check it out at:- http://asp1.cel...html/index.html
I am the leader of a global secret community of non project managers who gather to burn effigies of the under-performing basecamp. We are looking for a PMS worthy of our love and worship. Is Clarizen what we need? A free membership couldn’t hurt : )
I will suggest you to try Celoxis. It is the best solution for Non project managers. Please go through http://www.celoxis.com.