Collaborative timelines & timing plans - discussion

[Sirlimpalot]

Dear members,

I'm currently designing the conceptual spec of a new feature for my time planning and time logging software application -  collaborative authoring and editing of a common time project.
I'm interest in any real world 'Wants and Needs' people may have for this type of application.

Here's a couple of examples to give you an idea of how the feature could work.

Project manager of a large construction project maybe a hospital wing.
As the overall project manager you will have a number of timing plans (MS Project format) for each sub contractor, groundwork, builders, plumbers, electrical etc.
These separate plans are imported into a common file. This allows the whole project to be summarise with a simple hi level summary, maybe all milestones and critical path.  The individual plans can also be viewed in detailed in individual Views.

As a Historian I want to make a timeline of the major events in the second world war.
This topic is too big for one author so I want to break the topic into a number of chunks, War in Europe, War in Far East, War in Middle East, Nautical war etc.
Each author researches and creates a timeline of their subject. These are then imported into a common file, and can again be summarised in one View with drill down detail for the individual sectors.

Any thoughts and ideas on this style of collaborative authoring?

Thanks

[steeladept]

Interesting idea, but I can't really help.  I have no need I can think of right now for this type of application and you seem to cover the basics for any conceptual needs I could think of.

[J-Mac]

Hello there Mr. Sirlimpalot!

I remember you from when you first posted about your program. At the time I asked you about using it for a family history research project - and that is still what I would use it for. At the time IIRC you said about some users using it for that but then you went on about how big a subject time itself is, etc. and I got the feeling that you didn't really want to discuss such usage. Might have been wrong about that though.

I did recently visit your website and I couldn't find a price for the software anywhere on the site. I though that was kind of strange.

Anyway, welcome back!

Jim

[Sirlimpalot]

Hi, thanks for your response,

Ah yes, the old …time, it is a big subject.
And oddly enough that is one of the major headaches we have had to deal with when developing a generic time mapping application – how to ensure it works well over potential huge time periods and well as just a few days or even a couple of hours.
This is also a marketing problem too, how to market a generic application, without making it seem a ‘jack of all trades and a master of none’.

This is the main reason for not being overly enthusiastic about family history is there are many seemingly good bespoke applications in this sector. Will a generic product ever ‘cut the mustard’ against bespoke products?

In terms of marketing we are trying to find our niche, one which plays to our strengths…but this quest may not be helped by difficulty in finding pricing detail…D’oh