September 11, 2006

goPlan

goPlan
As I've told you previously, I'm a beta-tester of goPlan, a collaboration webapp made by WeBreakStuff. I really like this application, already use it for one of my projects, and when I get the time to manage my own stuff I'll start using it for more projects. So, what is goPlan? According to WeBreakStuff's site,
GoPlan is web-based project management and collaboration software. The application's main objective is to enhance communication between members of a project - whatever its scope might be.
But I'll say more: goPlan is a good tool even for those projects you have by yourself.
goPlan screenshot
So, goPlan private beta started, and I have five invites to give out, so, if you want some, just post a comment here and I'll give'em to you. This also means that now I feel there's already no problem in reviewing goPlan. But, while I could do my usual review on this webapp I don't really feel like doing it: mainly because I'm using it already for quite a while now, so the review wouldn't really have that "first impact factor" that reviews usually have, and because people of WeBreakStuff did the fine thing of letting beta-testers (or at least me) to add the goPlan project to their list of projects - which means that every time I find a bug or a flaw on the system I just open a ticket to them and they fix it as they feel like (according to their oppinions/decisions/priorities). Which is really a nice thing - I think that they might be able to create a sense of community there.

Goplan provides features like Notes, Blog, Calendar, Tickets, Tasks, Files, and Chat, and let me enphatize the chat - a really nice to have (specially because you may have hundreds per project) that you never saw in other applications like this up today: it's great to be able to chat with your project mates about your projects without having to add them in your IM rooster and be linked to them in any kind of situation - this is preety cool since you'll probably try to not mix your friend-chats with your work-chats with your projectx-chats...

Startup Sqad's review on goPlan alerts on some of the issues I hope the WeBreakStuff team will address soon: stuff like the lack of fuctionalities on calendar (which I know they're planning to do something about) and the lack of user-friendliness of textile (at least as the only option).

All in all, goPlan still has a lot to evolve, but it inspires confidence - a feeling of trust that tells me that they'll keep improoving it. It might not be the best sollution for all of those scenarios they want it to be - but - at least while I'm not paying for it - it is the nest sollution for some cases - and they promise to make it better and better.

11 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:21 PM

    olá,

    will you gimme an invitation please? :)

    olá 2,

    tenho seguido o goplan do pessoal da webreakstuff mas n assiduamente o suficiente pra me ter metido na fila para os convites, (bem...e tirando o facto de ter tentado falar com o fred por mail acerca de uns projectos e ele n me ter respondido - porra - até o guy kawasaki responde aos meus mails :P ) acho q eles estiveram mais do q ocupados com barcamp e isso é optimo!

    adiante... realmente seria optimo q pudesse usufruir de uma webapp portuguesa, e logo uma q me dará tanto jeito.

    olá 3,

    está(s) envolvido em algum projecto deste tipo?


    thanx in advance,

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  2. hello
    i am trying to find some webapp to manage a project with people from History area.
    I saw some screenshots and with your positive opinion it seems to me that this can help my work with history teachers.
    Would you be so kind to give me an invite (if you have it by now)?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi there...

    I have no more invitations left at the moment, so sorry cararino and sofia, but you'll have to wait until I get some more. Of course that if you want to try for yourself, you can ask some invitations on goPlan's blog...

    Catarino: it's strange from Fred to not answer to his e-mails (unless you sent them when he was in the US...) - you're sure you sent them to the right e-mail address? And, yes, I guess that the BarCamp organization gave him some work, but AFAIK the real time-consuming thing has been goPlan, nothing else. Still, I think you shouldn't think about goPlan as a "Portuguese WebApp" - that old-school concept may apply when you talk about new things created that are directed to the Portuguese public (like the new Palco Principal), but goPlan is one of those apps that are directed to anyone - not only the Portuguese market. I see it as a "web app", not as a "Portuguese web app". Finaly, yes and no. I'm not involved in any kind of startup you might know, but I have a project with a number of people that will probably reach the point of turning itself as an web-app: but it's too soon to talk about that yet.

    Sofia: yes, from your quick description goPlan seems nice for your intents, but have in mind that every user of that project also needs an invitation...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Got some more invites.

    Catarino: please tell me your e-mail address so I can invite you.

    Sofia: Invitation sent.

    ReplyDelete
  5. first, a big thanks from Turku, Finland :)

    yes, I know i have to have invites. i was searching in the site how to get them. maybe is it the amount of activity that i have in my own projects? do you know?

    i was testing http://www.zohoplanner.com
    but there is this thing that i do not like that is you have to create pages for your projects and in the same page ypou have notes, appointments, todo's, notes attachments so the page grows and grows and if you start to create several pages for the same project it will be a mess!

    and this goplan has blog and chat and the design seems easy and appealing and i have to think in all those things since i want history teachers (this is, users that are not used to managing projects through this kind of software/app) to use it :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. IMHO zohoplanner is a completely different kind of application than goPlan - and while I understand that there must be people finding it useful, it would be of no value for me, for instance.

    Regarding to the goPlan invites, you have to wait until WeBreakStuff folks decide that they want more people in, and then you'll be given 5 invites.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous4:59 PM

    hi marcos,

    thanx for your answers.

    i think i didn't explain myself as was intended to be. My point was "proudly use a portuguese-made (but) world web app", sorry for the "meaning typo". :)

    One of the things i really regret in the "web 2.0 clone wars" is the fact that most of the "app localizations" are just that, trying to clone some web 2.0 app idea in to some localized market to know if it works (a expressão portuguesa "ver se pega...", é excelente para isto mas não consigo traduzi-la de maneira eficaz)without having some prior effort in researching the market to know if its worth the rip-off. I could go on and on but by what i've read in your blog, i think you'll agree with me.

    Now, "and for something completelly different" as the python pack used to say, we have projects like webreakstuff in portugal who happen to have, what i think is the right approach to this web 2.0 "not-so-bubble-thing" going on, that is "think global and act accordingly to that thought".

    I think it's the right path.

    to put an end in this post that could go on and on, i'll leave you my e-mail, i thougth the "your web page" field could accept e-mails but i guess it doesn't 'cause it didn't worked on my last comment so heres it is gcatarino+mindBN@gmail.com.

    the "+mindBN" on the email it's a little gmail hack that i'm testing to track "spam" on gmail. try that and the full email without the "+mindBN"

    thanx for the invitation and cheers for your insight on the tech world.

    catarino

    ReplyDelete
  8. The invitation is sent, please tell me if you got it.

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  9. Anonymous2:43 AM

    i've got it working thanx!

    i've sent you an e-mail.

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous4:18 AM

    I'd love an invite if you have any left?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nowadays you don't need invites anymore, just go to http://goplan.org/account/signup and sign up!

    ReplyDelete