Here at the RUBRIC project we need to keep a close eye on our project. The way that we do that is using the Trac project management system. It allows us to keep an eye on things such as:

1. Tasks that we are currently undertaking, plan to undertake, and have completed via “tickets”
2. It allows us to see each others tickets, and if necessary adjust our timelines according
3. Provide an overview of project timelines, and progress towards those deadlines
4. Issues that our project partners have alerted us to, and we need to investigate
5. It provides us with the wiki environment that I’ve posted about before

We recently opened up the access to our Trac website and have allowed the project managers at our partner institutions to put tickets into the system. The technical manager can then assign them to us and we can add the amount of time we think it will take, and adjust our work schedules accordingly. We’ve found this works really well and is a good supplement to the existing communication we have with the project partners via email, the wiki, teleconferences, and the website.

Systematically managing the project is, in my opinion, a requirement for a successful project. It doesn’t really matter if the way you manage the project is via Trac, or other software such as a Microsoft Project, or via a whiteboard in the office. The important thing is that everyone involved in the project is aware of the direction of the project, what they need to do, and when they need to do it by.

Something as simple as a to-do list written on a piece of paper, or a list of tasks in Microsoft Outlook, can also be seen as ways of managing projects, especially if you’re the only one on the project. Very small projects can benefit from some form of project management, and in a distributed team environment like we have at the RUBRIC project effective project management is a must.