Basecamp vs. GanttPRO

Basecamp is a wonderful tool for teams of varying degrees of technical knowledge, teams managing lots of different types of "agifall" and waterfall projects, and teams that are remotely distributed. It's probably less useful for more strictly agile-focused development teams, compared to other more flexible software applications like Jira and Asana.

Incentivized

Projects are a lot easier to set up with GanttPRO than most tools that support a WBS, so although I've used GanttPRO for very simple projects, it's great for projects with complex WBS' and/or dynamic backlogs (using Agile methodologies). I've used it for long-running projects with multiple phases, where I needed to set up high-level plans for downstream phases (for budgeting) that got updated and modified based on outcomes from upstream phases.

• Task management - It is very easy to add, organize and discuss tasks within Basecamp's interface.
• The "Campfire" function is great for communicating when you just have a quick question for someone on the team.
• Notifications - Basecamp lets you decide how often and about what you'd like to be notified. The ability to respond to messages in Basecamp directly via email saves a lot of time.

Incentivized

• Ability to add sub-tasks and change the colour coding to help organise work that needs to be done
• The option to link different tasks together (task dependencies) which helps visualise what else needs to be done along side the current task
• Viewing the duration it may take and the progress chart to help quantify and visualise your progress

Incentivized

• High Learning Curve. It's true that it can be easy to use, but to use well and effectively takes some time to learn. It's recommended to have an agreed-upon system in your team of what tools to use and when.
• Notification Overload. If people aren't careful they could send a notification to everyone when only a couple people were meant to be prompted. And since emails are sent by default, you could have your mailbox overloaded with unnecessary updates. This is where it takes a bit of training in your team to have an agreed-upon system.
• Lack of organization with Archived Projects. I will often need to reference an archived project to make a new one, but there is only a list of archived projects in alphabetical order, with no way to organize by archive date, or even search.

Incentivized

• GanttPRO doesn't allow to add a subtask to the subtask taking away customization and flexibility for different use cases
• GanttPRO extends the tasks to the date of the subtask, so if the task as a whole takes longer than the subtask then you need to state it as such
• GanttPRO doesn't let you assign the materials to the tasks

Incentivized

When I bring new people onto a project, it's immediately obvious how to use Basecamp. I don't have to worry about teaching them the features or walking them through it, it's just incredibly user-friendly. For this reason, I'll continue to renew my subscription even as new people are brought onto production jobs or the client changes.

It is easy to use, even for clients who have no experience with the platform. It can only get a little cumbersome to ensure that a client can't see certain documents you might want to keep in the Docs & Files folders. And sometimes, getting a client to actually use an unfamiliar platform can be a challenge.

Incentivized

Intuitive interface, clean, and nice design. As an online app, the data can be viewed on Windows PCs, Macs, and tablets. It saves the data very quickly (depending on the Internet speed) as if it is a locally installed application. Training is minimal, plus there is an extensive range of learning videos and topics in the GanttPRO learning center.

Incentivized

I've never experienced downtime while using Basecamp, or been unable to access it when I needed it. That's not to say they've never had downtime, but I've been lucky enough not to encounter any, and I work odd hours, including late nights when maintenance is often undertaken.

Incentivized

For the many reasons I've given, Basecamp is a very strong program. There are a few features I can imagine that might make it even better, but I don't have a basis for comparison to be able to say that there is definitely a better one out there. I've noticed that Basecamp has evolved a bit from the time I started using it until now, so that makes me think that the producer of this program values it and believes in continuous improvement. If you could use the features offered by Basecamp, I would think you could use it with confidence.

Incentivized

The support for GanttPro is very good. I have no troubles reaching out for their customer support whenever I have questions, they respond almost instantly. I just hope that they will have live chat support for a real-time support experience on the user-end and can answer the questions in real-time.

Decide the process before implementation - i.e. when it's due 8/9 does that mean 8am, noon, 5pm, 11:59pm? Check your to-do list frequently Set-up templates - just not with the dates (they can be funky)

Pretty good, but [Basecamp] has its drawbacks. Honestly I find the interface non-intuitive and sometimes have trouble figuring out how to change the status of a task. Perhaps it has something to do with the way it was originally set up by the admin, but I'm not sure. I liked Jira's drag and drop obvious functionality, but the project management side of the software was lacking. Smartsheet has excellent project management functionality, but the task management isn't as good.

Incentivized

GanttPRO is easy to use and just works. If you need to do something quickly or do a small project then GanttPro is a great tool to use. If you are managing a large project then I would consider using Microsoft Project even though it is a more substantial investment overtime.

Incentivized

• It has saved me time when having to get the same message out to multiple restaurants
• It has helped us make smarter operational decisions because we can all collaborate on an answer in a shorter amount of time (instead of calling a meeting!!!)
• The calendar function allows us to plot out our marketing agenda for the month and add/change it together as needed. The chef will post his recipe, the managers will cost it out, the social media manager will post pictures on it, and ultimately we will get that information out on an info sheet to the staff by printing the page.

Incentivized

• For class purposes, I would say that my project is running smoothly and I am able to keep my team on task.
• I like that you can blow up the Gantt chart and show everyone exactly where you are at with each task.

Incentivized