Priority Matrix vs. Project Insight

If you're overwhelmed with too many things to do, and need help deciding which tasks to focus on, Priority Matrix is for you. Priority Matrix uses the classic Eisenhower matrix methodology which has been shown to be really effective for this purpose. Now you can use an app for that, instead of a piece of paper or Excel.

My rating would vary depending on the types of projects that need to be managed. Since I am in software, I don't think it was an excellent fit to manage software projects unless they are small projects with only a few tasks. On the other hand, if you are needing to manage a wide range of departments that are working on a single project with many moving pieces, then I would think that PI might be a better fit. Think of it as a jack of all trades, but master of none.

Incentivized

• Focus on high-impact work
• Reach inbox zero
• Reduce internal email messages

• History tracking for any changes made to data.
• Tracks all milestones and retains records for lifetime of account.
• Easy extracting for reporting purposes.

Incentivized

• It works better if you're familiar with the Eisenhower matrix

• Not a good fit for all types of projects
• Very Complex

Incentivized

I found Project Insight somewhat opaque overall. I thought the training was sparse and answers to questions few and far in between. There was a lot of power there for the dedicated user/administrator. For me, who was a casual user and administrator, I found support lacking. I didn't administer Project Insight much, just some work on integrations with other tools.

Incentivized

The focus of Priority Matrix is on prioritization. Other apps exist that do a fine job with task and project management, but none of them equal Priority Matrix in terms of focusing your attention on the right task. The 80/20 principle that people often talk about (80% of the results come from 20% of the inputs) is clearly visible when you use PM.

• When I got to the company where I used Project Insight, we had our own custom tool that fit the tasks that it was designed for but wouldn't grow with the company unless resources were put onto expanding capabilities. We needed something more.
• We replaced that tool with Redmine. It worked well and was easy to use, but it looked pretty dated when we got it, and since we didn't have many resources for managing, it looked dated after a few years without receiving upgrades. It was a decent tool for small teams that were focused on similar tasks. Redmine was much more straightforward than Project Insight and felt more reliable since we never had an issue with our internal servers. On the other hand, Redmine felt dated and didn't fit as many of the tasks that were needed. Redmine's price was right if you installed it locally and was probably still cheaper if you used their SAAS version.
• Jira, on the other hand, felt like an excellent tool for software teams. Jira had a great project and task management and felt right for a software team. Jira also had useful integrations, even with Project Insight. Jira seemed pretty unreliable, worse than Project Insight. Our team would have preferred Jira, but I think it didn't work for other teams.

Incentivized

• Less context switching due to having all the Microsoft integrations
• Having everyone work on the right task without need for frequent sync meetings
• Reaching inbox zero with peace of mind

• Reduction in costs on materials (i.e. - paper documentation)
• Improved efficiency given that our field members need to report back on an hourly basis
• Web based platform allows anyone access to the same information

Incentivized