[Ken Case]

Originally Posted by thom

I noticed that OmniPlan just had its 2.1 (and 2.1.1) release recently, and wondered if you wouldn't mind giving us a brief synopsis of how this impacts the integration?

OmniPlan has been ready to integrate with OmniFocus since OmniPlan v2.0; the work that remains to be done is now on the OmniFocus side. (To get a sense of how this will work from the OmniPlan side, you can sync OmniPlan with CalDAV calendars.)

Right now, our top priority for OmniFocus is updating the Mac app to add a Forecast view and to refresh the user experience (so it won't seem so out-of-date compared to its iOS editions); once that work is finished (perhaps early 2013?) we plan to work on integration between OmniFocus and OmniPlan.

My apologies for the long wait! We hope to have a more bandwidth available soon, since we're finally very close to shipping the last of our "iPad or Bust!" apps: OmniPlan for iPad.

[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by Ken Case

Right now, our top priority for OmniFocus is updating the Mac app to add a Forecast view and to refresh the user experience (so it won't seem so out-of-date compared to its iOS editions); once that work is finished (perhaps early 2013?) we plan to work on integration between OmniFocus and OmniPlan.

Here's a different point of view: OmniFocus for Mac works right now. Yes, it doesn't look like the iPad version, but it works. Is refreshing the user experience going to bring appreciable new functionality in the way that getting OmniPlan and OmniFocus linked together will? I use Forecast view all the time on iPad, and I'm sure I'll use it on the Mac when it arrives, but OP-OF integration is a much bigger deal. Two perspectives and the calendar app get me the same data the Forecast view provides, and have since OmniFocus emerged from the primordial ooze. There's some mild inconvenience, but nothing compared to that involved in trying to keep a complicated project in sync between OP and OF right now. If the company tagline ("we're passionate about productivity") is more than just empty words, projects which build functionality and boost productivity ought to have priority over those which are more cosmetic in nature. If having a stunning look is now all-important, why didn't OmniPlan 2 get such treatment?

I also view "refreshing the user experience...compared to its iOS editions" with some trepidation because the very things(*) that make the Mac version most useful to me are missing from the iOS editions, and the slow pace at which such features have been added to the iPad app (admittedly, some are not feasible) does nothing to quiet the voices whispering "you know, they just don't think this is important, it would be here by now if they did..." A glorious new user experience that doesn't happen to include a number of important features from the old one would be most unfortunate.

(*) A few examples:
Creating perspectives
Focus on folders
Project mode perspectives
Visibility of all project/action metadata
Duplicating projects/templates

OmniFocus could certainly use some functional work as well.

If there are any sacred cows I've somehow missed goring, I can swing by again at no extra charge :-)

[psidnell]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

If there are any sacred cows I've somehow missed goring, I can swing by again at no extra charge :-)

Well, you didn't unleash a thread derailing reference to tags :-)

[Skipper]

I will support whpalmer4's message, and urge OmniGroup to get this integration between OP and OF in place soon, better now than later :-)

[psidnell]

Originally Posted by Ken Case

Right now, our top priority for OmniFocus is updating the Mac app to add a Forecast view and to refresh the user experience

Much as I too would like to see integration, updating OF probably does have to be their top priority.

Do they:

A) Invest effort into doing something that benefits all users of OF (one of their largest sources of revenue) and probably brings in many new customers.

B) Invest effort into adding a feature to OF that only benefits purchasers of both OF and OP who and actually want to integrate the two products.

Whether you measure it by revenue earned by Omni or contribution to gross human happiness, A >> B.

"logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few"
Spock
The Wrath of Khan

[Hileotech]

Originally Posted by Ken Case

... CUT ... Right now, our top priority for OmniFocus is updating the Mac app [OMISSIS] ; once that work is finished (perhaps early 2013?) we plan to work on integration between OmniFocus and OmniPlan.
...FINAL_CUT...

So, if I don't get this wrong, we might see some kind of integration in some 18 months or more... Let's say 1Q 2013 for "new" OF, and let's give the OmniTeam at least six months for focusing on OF+OP... this makes 4Q 2013 / 1Q 2014 or even more... This sounds like "never"... Will we still have iPads for that time? ;-)

NB: don't mean to be rude, nor to undervalue the work "behind the scenes"... As I really appreciate OmniTeam, I don't really understand why they're planning to take so long.

[pjb]

OP integration might also be a means for sharing OF tasks between OF users, which would benefit many OF-only users. I would much rather see that than an updated interface.

[c.nick]

Searching the web for OF-OP integration I just stumbled upon Ken's mouthwatering OP and OF 2 roadmap outlook, estimating OF 2 with OP-integration for later in the year - meaning 2011.

Ok - I'm a product manager myself, so I know that priorities sometimes just have to change and things happen... Hence I turned to the forum to see what I missed.

We have an interface problem??

Ah - Yes the OF interface is not the prettiest in town indeed...
But - I use OF for productivity - not so much as my screen saver ;-) really.

Folks, we love you for your great attention to detail, but - - OF-OP integration not to be *started* on OF side before 2013? Delay an industry-wide killer USP just for prioritising prettiness on a work horse?

Not really. Please reconsider...

[Rodiesfan]

I am not aware of this fact..

[amorya]

Originally Posted by c.nick

We have an interface problem??

Ah - Yes the OF interface is not the prettiest in town indeed...
But - I use OF for productivity - not so much as my screen saver ;-) really.

User interface is not about pretty-ness. That's the graphic design side of things. User interface is about how usable the app is, how quickly you can use it to accomplish what you need to do, how much it confuses new users, how much it balances freedom to do complicated tasks versus confusion of an open-ended interface when all you want to do is something simple. The current OmniFocus definitely has the power available, but I've personally known a few people who are turned off because they want a UI that tells them how to manage their tasks, not one where you tell the software how you want to manage your tasks. Getting the balance between the software being in the lead (great for anyone who isn't already organised) or the user being in the lead (great for someone who has a system they like already) has got to be really tricky.

That said, I'm also eagerly awaiting OF-OP integration :)

Amy