The PlanMinder

The PlanMinder, developed by Auspicia AB, is a project planning software solution aimed at streamlining project management processes. According to the vendor, it is suitable for businesses of various sizes, from small enterprises to large corporations. The PlanMinder caters to professionals in project management, business analysis, team leadership, as well as industries such as engineering, construction, IT, and software development.

Key Features

Automatic Scheduling: According to the vendor, the PlanMinder ensures that project plans are kept up to date by automatically reflecting changes in scope, priorities, or availability. It provides early warnings to avoid last-minute crunch time or missed deadlines, and allows for coordination of multidisciplinary teams, cost prediction, and delivery date estimation.

Plan Smarter - Save Time: The PlanMinder separates the plan from the schedule, capturing the core of the project and calculating when it will be done. As team members report work, update time estimates, or change availability, the schedule is automatically updated while the core plan remains unchanged. According to the vendor, it provides an up-to-date answer to the question, "When will it be done?", and reduces micromanagement by planning with larger activities rather than small tasks.

Embrace Uncertainty: The PlanMinder includes uncertainty calculations in time estimates using Monte Carlo simulation. According to the vendor, it calculates how uncertainty accumulates across all scheduled projects for every milestone, including calendar dates and budgeted costs. This feature is said to help users make informed decisions on risks and prepare contingency plans, while monitoring how probabilities change as work progresses to provide early warnings.

Be Agile with Predictive Planning: The PlanMinder allows for easy changes in the plan without penalties. Users can create scenarios to evaluate different alternatives and drag and drop to change priorities. According to the vendor, it supports Agile Software Development principles by embracing change and allowing for flexible planning, making it suitable for various disciplines and industries.

Empower your Team: The PlanMinder does not enforce the plan but allows team members to report the work they do in the project. If the work done does not match the schedule, the schedule is automatically updated. According to the vendor, it provides all team members with information about priorities and dependencies to make informed decisions, reducing micromanagement and giving experts more freedom to solve problems.

Learn from your History: The PlanMinder creates a detailed history of project activities as team members report work and update estimates. It allows for searching and referencing the project history for better time and risk estimation, providing more accurate records than human memory and promoting better decision-making. According to the vendor, this feature ensures that records are available when needed.

Resource Management: The PlanMinder includes resource management capabilities, allowing users to efficiently allocate and manage resources for their projects. According to the vendor, this feature helps optimize resource utilization and ensures that the right resources are assigned to the right tasks at the right time.

Deadline Management: The PlanMinder helps users effectively manage project deadlines by providing clear visibility into project timelines and milestones. It allows for setting and tracking deadlines, sending reminders, and taking proactive measures to meet project delivery dates.

Activity Tracking: With the PlanMinder, users can track the progress of project activities and tasks in real-time. According to the vendor, this feature provides visibility into the status of each activity, allowing for better monitoring and control of project progress.

Budget Management: The PlanMinder includes budget management capabilities, enabling users to track and manage project costs. It allows for budget estimation, tracking actual expenses, and comparing them to the allocated budget, ensuring that projects stay within financial constraints.