[dancingbrook]

Seems like a no briainer. Managing multiple projects at once, and sharing resources is needed even if just for a single individual.

I wonder if OmniFocus will manage this. That would be ironic.

Please add me to the list as well. I really need this feature :-)

Ditto! Ditto!

[Lizard]

Originally Posted by Detlef Bloch

Well, while the multi project PM functionality is not - yet - around, is there at least a feature to create one or more "dummy" project-templates with defined numbers of tasks, sub-task, dependecies and - this is crucial - resource allocations such that I can copy the whole lot from one project-plan into the next?

Set up a project the way you want it (tasks, dependencies, resources, styles, etc.), then choose "Save as Template..." from the File menu. Later when you want to use that template as your starting point for a new project, choose "New from Template.." (also in the File menu) and there it is.

[lpj]

I'm not misunderstanding. I realize that you can open several windows at once. But without the ability to cross reference and share resources ( to see where there are overlaps or gaps), its use is limited.

Also, I'm wondering if the files can be copied from computer to computer so different people can access and update them.

Originally Posted by Lizard

lpj -- I think there may be a bit of a misunderstanding here. You can create multiple projects, save each as a separate file, and open each in a separate window at the same time. The only real limit there is your computer's memory.

On the other hand, OmniPlan cannot yet share resources across projects. If you must have a separate file for each project and a person is working on two projects, you should set their available units in each project to 50% (or the appropriate balance) so that they aren't assigned a full work load in each project. The other approach would be to delete their work hours from the calendar in one project when they're scheduled to work on tasks for the other project.

I need to track 8 designers and developers. For our situation, tracking their time on multiple projects is more important than tracking a project since a large project for us may involve many other teams that really don't impact my team at all, or we may have many tiny projects (like re-design a button) that I would like to assign to one person over the course of a day or two.

I just need to know WHO can work on WHAT PROJECT, WHEN.

Seems like a great, easy to use product otherwise - we already purchased a bunch of copies. Thanks.

db

[skwirl]

We have a feature request for a pool of resources that can be used and tracked for multiple projects.

Sounds like it would work for your situation dbuchter. I'll add a vote to it for you. :)

[aeiou11235]

Hello.

I just wanted to say that I definetly also am looking for a project management application that can handle several projects running at the same time. I am a freelance photographer and most of the time I am working alone on 3 to 6 projects at the same time, sometimes including other "resources" (people like assistants, labs, locationscouts,...).

The Omni applications are the best applications on the market because they are simple and logical and not as ugly as most of the stuff one can get. It's cool to work with them. Also Omniplan is a great application, and it's the only application that comes near to my imagination of a good application, but it's not yet there.

Anyway I want to describe what I was looking for, so maybe this helps someone (maybe the programmers / developers , who knows).

On the basis of Omniplan I would like to be able to completely plan and schedule my tasks and dates, that are connected with several projects. I would like to set up my general working time, then do project-outlines, set milestones and deadlines and time-estimates for them and have Omniplan do a proposal for me, how to plan my week without getting too bored. I get very fast bored, that means: I love to work on two, three (or more) projects a day, one after another. Instead of working on one task of one project on 2 days for 10 hours each I like to mix my projects and work on - let s say - three projects, each 3 to 4 hours a day.

I would like to see Omniplan make a schedule for me, with blocks for the amount of time in iCal (instead of 24-hour-columns, as it is right now), for several projects a day. For example: 10am to 1pm is project a, 2pm to 5pm is project b, 5pm to 8pm is project c. If I am not confident with "the mixture" of my daily plan, I can still re-arrange those blocks in iCal, that wouldn't be a function that Omniplan would have to do, but Omniplan should - in my digital dreams - be able to give me a proposal how I can structure my calendar. That would be ideal.

I don't know if that makes sense for someone else, but for me this sounds good.

One could even think one step further and develop OP so far, that it really gets GTD-orientated. For example if I have 5 jobs running and one of the tasks in every job is connected to "laboratory" then it would be ideal, if OP would just try to schedule all those five lab-walks to the same day. But maybe that's illusionary...

Anyway, the problems for me at the moment are, that OP:

a) makes 24hour blocks in my iCal file and I also don't like to have long allday-event-rows in my calendar

b) if I put my own "resource" availability to 30% then my estimated time, that I need for work, triples; this doesn't make sense (I don't need to work 3 times longer because I'm not on 30% "power" but because I only want to use 30% of my time for this task); my working time stays the same, it just takes longer, that's a significant difference

c) if I put more than one project into OP, then OP exports all the projects into one iCal calendar (with one colour/label), so it gets impossible to differentiate what task belongs to which project. (it would be great to get an option to assign project-titles in front of the tasks/dates anyway...if one task of my project "xyz advertisement" is "send out final pictures" and I import the task into iCal, then "send out final pictures" could belong to three other projects... it would be great to have an option to add the title of the project to every task (like "xyz ad - send out final pictures")

...that s about it.

Anyway: I don't see too much usability for me right now, because OP can not handle more than one project, but I am very sure that I will try it for several biggger projects, thought it's sad that it has not yet the functionality that I would need to make my planning-efforts a little more simple...

Thanks,


aeiou11235

PS: apologies for my odd schoolbook-english.
PPS: Does anyone know an alternative to OP until it's "ripe"?

Please add my request to share resources across projects and add a view with all projects (like Merlin 2 does). We are web agency with our resources stretched across many projects.

I would also like to see some views / reports that run from multiple projects - it would be a useful feature, but the proposed work around will of course work.

Also - I have a team of designers (5) who work 10 hour days. I may assign them 10 tasks, and I need them completed in 2 days - I don't care what order they are completed in, but I do have a final deadline. Is there any way to visually represent this - is this something that has been considered - or should I just deal with assinging times to tasks and have a personal understanding that the time may not be completely accurate? Just a question I had, that I am sure you guys have already asked.

Overall, I love the program - I have been working on the demo version, but I have recommended that we purchase copies for all of our project managers.

Kudos.