Top 10: Project tracking software

2018. Jira Cloud gets Trello-inspired redesign


Atlassian unveiled the next generation of its hosted Jira Software project tracking tool earlier this year. With this launch, Atlassian is now essentially splitting the hosted version of Jira (which is hosted on AWS) from the self-hosted server version and prioritizing different features for both. The new version of Jira has a new, Trello-inspired look and provides new functionality that allows for a more flexible workflow that’s less dependent on admins and gives more autonomy to teams. One feature the team seems to be especially proud of is roadmaps. That’s a new feature in Jira that makes it easier for teams to see the big picture. Like with boards, it’s easy enough to change the roadmap by just dragging the different larger chunks of work (or “epics,” in Agile parlance) to a new date.


2017. MindView 7 features Office 2016 interface



MatchWare announced the new version 7 of its mind mapping solution MindView. It features more than 25 improvements, enhancements and upgrades that vividly illuminate ideas like never before Key added features in MindView 7 include: a new high-resolution Office 2016 interface, integrated support for OneDrive and Google Drive, enhanced Office integration for Excel, Word and PowerPoint, new map design styles, images and icons, a suite of assistive features, such as Office 2016 “Tell Me” functionality, the option to make maps private or public, a new calculation module that is more aligned with Excel, several high-end new project management features, including baselining, agile project tracking, filters, reports, an improved spell-checker with updated dictionary.

2006. SmartSheet makes project tracking easy, and now it's free.



SmartSheet is a tool for tracking group jobs and tasks. It apes the user interface that many people use to track projects - the spreadsheet - but it's got features more like a work flow application. SmartSheet was far too expensive when it launched; $75 a month for five users was too much for small businesses to experiment with, and even too much for some middle managers on expense accounts at large companies. Today SmartSheet releases a free version. It will allow unlimited users into each sheet (project), but only 10 projects per user. In addition, it won"t allow attachments. Paid versions, starting at $25 a month, will allow more projects per user, as well as some attachments. Higher-priced plans will support more storage and even corporate branding. The system will also let users save projects as "templates" that can be reused by co-workers and made available to other SmartSheet users.