[UPHPU] Software Development Scheduling advice

[Brandon Stout]

David Boucha wrote:
> I'm having to put together a software development schedule here at
> work. I'm working on version 2.0 of an app and now my boss wants a
> schedule. I'm having a hard time estimating how long tasks will take.
>
> I'm looking for techniques and advice on how to set this up. Any ideas?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dave
Someone may have already said something like this, but there are so many
responses, it'll take me a while to get through them all, and I'm in a
rush.  You're talking about project management here.  I believe we've
had some inquiries about open source project management software, but I
may be imagining it since it's something I've thought about asking a few
times.  SugarCRM may do what you want, though it may be overkill since
it has so many other features.  Many consider Microsoft Project the
industry standard, and it is easy to use, and can easily help you plan
any project.  If the software project is large enough, you'll want
something that considers task dependancies, staffing, time, and maybe
something that can generate gantt charts.  If it's small, maybe
something as simple as Mozilla Sunbird, or Thunderbird with the
Lightning plugin (I've already mentioned one Microsoft product here -
dare I mention the other one used for email?)

So, I've listed a few products that may do the job:

 * SugarCRM
 * Project
 * Sunbird
 * Thunderbird (with Lightning plugin - this adds Sunbird features to
Thunderbird)

And I've mentioned some meta info to consider for project planning in
general:

 * Consider the size of the project, and potential future projects - get
software to match
 * Consider the size again, and make sure the software sports the
features you need

Brandon Stout
http://mscis.org