Competitor Analysis

AutoDesk Envision: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=3353001

User Testing resources

http://www.infodesign.com.au/usabilityresources/indexofresources.asp

http://adaptivepath.com/events/training/complete/files.php

1.One day usability

Usability Toolkit (saved on desktop on user testing2.Usability Professionals Assoc

3.Information Architecture: What is it:
- http://jaundicedeye.com/stuck/archive/050897/article.html
-The term "information architect" was coined in 1976 by Richard Saul Wurman (architect and author of the best-selling Information Anxiety), and championed by experts such as Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville during the 1990s.
-Info Architecture Institute

Project terms

http://www.pmforum.org/library/glossary/PMG_P13.htm

Project Schedules

Timelines for the project in one or more of the following forms: milestone, deliverables, activity, Gantt.

Milestone

A point in time representing a key or important intermediate event in the life of a project. A milestone should be capable of validation by meeting all of the items prescribed in a defining checklist as agreed with the stakeholders. [D01022]


A clearly identifiable point in a project or set of activities that commonly denotes a reporting requirement or completion of a key component of a project. [D01015]


A key or important intermediate goal in the network. A major milestone typically requires senior management approval before proceeding further. [D01016]


A major event in a project, typically one requiring the customer or upper management to approve further work. [D01017]


A significant event in the project (Key Item or Key event.) [D01018]


A significant event in the project, usually completion of a major deliverable. [D01019]


A significant event that marks progress in a project, such as completion of a phase. [D01020]


An important project event, often the end of a major project phase. [D01021]

An activity with zero duration (usually marking the end of a period). [D03600]


Deliverables

The physical items to be delivered for a project. This may include organization attributes, reports and plans, as well as physical products or objects. [D00506]


Physical items or measurable outputs that are identified as part of the project’s product or objectives. Deliverables include intermediate products or services that are necessary for achieving the project’s final results. Deliverables are always measurable because they can be counted or observed in some way. [D00505]


End products of a project or the measurable results of intermediate activities within the project organization
Note: Deliverables may be in the form of hardware, software, services, processes, documents or any combination thereof. [D04577]

Activity

A task or set of tasks that are carried out in order to create a deliverable
Editor's Note: It should be noted that the term 'activity' is used as a collection of tasks, synonymous with task or as a subset of a task. It is recommended that a 'task' should be thought of as a subset of 'activity'. [D02187]

A single task within a project. [D00024]


A specific project task that requires resources and time to complete. [D00025]



An element of work performed during the course of a project. An activity normally has an expected duration, an expected cost, and expected resource requirements. Activities are often subdivided into tasks. [D00027]


Motion toward a clearly targeted result, something one does as distinct from something one gets done (result). [D00028]

Subtask within a project. [D00029]


The smallest self-contained unit of work used to define the logic of a project. In general, activities share the following characteristics: a definite duration, logic relationships to other activities in a project, use resources such as people, materials or facilities, and have an associated cost. [D00030]



(And Activities) A series of tasks performed over a period of time. [D00047]



A task or series of tasks (activities) that is (are) performed over a period of time. [D00026]


An activity is an individual task needed for the completion of a project. It is the smallest discrete block of time and resources typically handled by PM software. It is a single task which needs to be done in a project. Multiple activities are related to each other by identifying their immediate predecessors. Solitary activities, which have no predecessors or successors, are allowed. Most PM software packages are precedence-based systems which analyze schedules based on the activity relationships that are specified. Activities can also be called work packages, tasks, or deliverables.
Editor's Note: An Activity represents work being done whereas a Product is the result of work done. [D01854]



An item of work in support of the work scope. An Activity consumes time. [D02258]


An effort that occurs over a time period and generally consumes resources, sometimes also called a "task." [D04610]

User response Paul s

scenarios/member/dashboard.htm

(Numbering is intentional: Items 1-3 are mandatory but Items 4-5 are necessary on a regular basis during the project planning and construction phases).

1. As a team-member on a project, what are the 5 most important pieces of information you seek regularly from any project management software.
4. Latest task item still outstanding that I'm responsible for completing - along with days overdue.
5. Newest document postings - with name of person posting the document along with timestamp.
1. Project Team contacts
2. Project meeting calendar
3. Project schedule


2. The same question again, but from the perspective of a project manager: What is the crucial information you would keep track of regularly.
4. Latest task items still outstanding
5. Document list - with name of person posting the document along with timestamp.
1. Project Team contacts
2. Project meeting calendar
3. Project schedule

User Testing: Search options

Hi, thanks for making the time to do this user testing.

I am an interaction designer & am working on the design of a web-based collaborative tool for project management. The key concept I am developing here is data visualization, i.e the user sees the data in the form of visuals as against seeing row after row of text data that most current applications produce.

I'd like your feedback about what you think of this, do you think it is a change for the better, what more would you like to see.

Please visit www.artbrush.net/search1.htm, & come back here to leave comments about what you think. Please be as explicit & detailed as you wish.

Thanks & enjoy!!