Project management software comes and goes. But once you find one you really like you stick with it. And Basecamp, by 37Signals, was our go-to management platform. But times change, and we grew antsy to discover something fresh and more like how we work today. We’ve found such a jewel and although it’s a bit rough still, we know that with a little polish and determination it will be a huge asset to many small businesses- including our own.
Preface
It’s been a year since we switched from a hosted Exchange environment to Google Apps. Reliability is very important to us. We live and die by email. But as we grew a shared calendar and file system became as important to productivity as reliable email. Enter Google Apps to the show.
Although email and shared calendaring was adopted quickly, it took us a long time to get into cloud hosted files. We just did not see the need for it. We were creating documents in InDesign and Pages locally and that was just fine. But as soon as we committed to writing a blog post a week we realized that we needed some sort of collaborative, document creation functionality- enter Google Docs.
The collaboration and management of documents was awesome! Add to that the ability to pop into a GTalk chat session (text, audio, or video) and you’ve got a fantastic work environment. Needless to say we’ve gone all in on Google Apps and it has cut costs and increased productivity.
Dare we touch our coveted Basecamp? It’s been with us for so long, how do you tell an old friend you are looking elsewhere for satisfaction?
Goodbye Basecamp
Let me start off by saying that we’ve been using Basecamp for six years. We watched it mature from a dead simple, great looking, hosted solution to a dead simple, great looking, hosted solution. No, that’s not a copy/paste error. What I’m saying is, the platform really hasn’t changed much and that’s because they nailed it the first time around.
Yes, the design has been refined, improved formatting of messages, and integration with some third party, hosted solutions via their API but in its essence it has not evolved. And you know, I’m sure 37Signals would agree. They wanted to keep things simple, manageable, and elegant. And they’ve done a remarkable job doing so.
But the nature of web apps and cloud hosted systems has changed tremendously over the past half decade and so have we.
Hello Manymoon
Google announced some time ago the creation of the Google Marketplace- a web-based store in which Apps subscribers could test and buy complimentary apps, gadgets, etc. We discovered Manymoon early and frankly it was severely lacking. The design was really weak, the usability was low, and it felt cobbled together. Although it integrated with Google Apps it was just a shell built around Google. We let it go after a couple of days.
About three or four months later we started picking up mentions of Manymoon throughout our Twitter stream and RSS feeds. With so much positive feedback I thought I would revisit the platform and see what improvements they made.
Manymoon Evolves Quickly
After adding the app to our domain again we noticed big changes. The usability had improved and the design was less cluttered. Bare in mind, it is not Basecamp. Basecamp has got Manymoon beat in the UI department but it was greatly improved. Their project management approach was intriguing to me- it is more like LinkedIn and Facebook- an approach of streaming in updates as they happen.
So I said, I’ll give the platform 30 days to see if it was a viable replacement to Basecamp. We moved two clients over with four projects. And at first the transition was bumpy. Clients weren’t sure how to sign up, the invite email felt like SPAM with its Manymoon advertising, and it just wasn’t Basecamp. For instance, Basecamp-speak is regular people speak- files equals files and messages equals messages. However in Manymoon-speak, you don’t have messages, you have a Bulletin which captures comments. The Bulletin is a laundry list of activities- quick updates, comments, documents, etc. all on one screen. Sounds like a mess- it kinda is.
Some of the transition issues were user issues- namely mine. I didn’t read all of the documentation. If I had, I wouldn’t have asked their support team for a calendar. They have one. It’s just not easy to find. And that’s one its issues- you have to read the documentation and watch the demo videos. Once you do, it’s quick to pick up all of the great functionality. Lots of things are simply hidden.
But after three weeks of working with the platform, creating tasks, milestones, uploading files from our cloud, and keeping track of deliverable dates via our corporate calendar, it was quite easy to work within. Clients were getting used to the emails and several began replying back with feedback.
The Bulletin was cleaned up (more whitespace), a gadget was added so I could create a task or project right from an email, and it looks like search is on its way. So they are innovating quickly. And seeking feedback just as quickly.
Which brings me to a very important point. Several weeks ago I wrote a post about Manymoon- my initial thoughts. Within half a day I was contacted by one of Manymoon’s founders who requested a quick meeting to go over my feedback. The meeting was genuine and I saw at least one of my recommendations within a few weeks of using the system.
That interaction tells me: they are interested in their users, they want to make a great product, and they do what they say they’re going to do. That’s something I can subscribe to. And although this may sound like an endorsement of Manymoon I was not paid to do so. This post is about how we made a switch from one project management platform to another which catered more to our needs and how we work in this cloud-based environment. So don’t say I’ve got some paid bias. 
Making the Switch
So this week we sent an email to our clients still on Basecamp alerting them to the fact that we were transitioning to a new project management suite. We outlined Manymoon’s benefits and wrote it up like a “Dear John” letter.
Yesterday, we moved everyone over and no issues yet. We’ve purchased the Team Edition for the year and are anxiously anticipating watching Manymoon maturing just as we saw Basecamp growing. If Basecamp’s success is any model to follow I think Manymoon has great potential.
I foresee UI enhancements, a better Bulletin, revealed functionality, continued integration with Google Apps, and hopefully an Android or iPhone app. I’m interested to hear other people’s experience with Manymoon and particularly sharing tips and tricks for getting the most out of it. So feel free to comment below. We’ll be listening!
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COMMENTS
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daimon: I hear the 37Signals is working on a major overhaul…
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Allen Fuller: We've been back and forth on this issue a lot,…
COMMENTS (24)
DAVE CHEUNG
Great review! I’ve been a Google Apps user for years, but only needed a Project management solution recently. Tried Basecamp for a couple weeks but really dislike their lack of polish on tasks. You’re spot on: I think MM has much potential. Let’s hope they get to where we want them to be …. fast Thanks for taking the time!
DAIMON
Yea, Basecamp’s UI is really clean. But Manymoon’s focus on Google Apps integration and the pace of their updates will make them a really great product. Enjoy using MM and feel free to share some tips. We’re still learning how to make it better for us and our clients!
BENJAMIN JACKSON
We’ve recently just done the same switch, with Apps integration as the major selling point. In our company we have almost 100 staff, many of whom do not take change very well so it’s been a bit of a painful process. Basecamp is so simple and well thought out, we’re currently struggling to get our users comfortable with ManyMoon. I’m trusting that mm will keep developing and particularly work on the UI to be a little more intuitive.
DAIMON
I agree. There is a reason why we stuck with Basecamp for so long. But I think if they go through a thorough review of the user experience and start making changing they will gain similar adoption. The biggest thing we’ve been having trouble with is getting people signed up. Clients get email with MM all over it and think they are signing up for MM and not for project access. So we send out an email before we do any invitations that include a who is MM, a link to the MM tour of features, and a link to the sign up process. Good luck with your adoption. I’ve found MM to be very responsive to feature requests, usability concerns, etc.
RENEE SHUPE
What got me to adopt to many fully was the integration and the ability to create a task or project right withing your email. Absolutely love this feature as well as the Google gadget available for my Google Home page. I’m a virtual assistant and online business manager so my focus is support a few clients at any give time. Manymoon has provided the integration, and smooth transition that works for me and my clients. I do something similar with my client in my welcome kit to let them know that they will be receiving an email from Manymoon up for the task and project management system. Good luck with your adoption and keep up the interesting blog posts….
DAIMON
Thanks Renee for your comment. The Google email gadget is awesome! I had another client mention today that if Manymoon cleaned up the design and worked on user management they would switch over from their PM system. I do believe Manymoon will get there. They are still growing! Good luck with the VA biz. I’m sure it is challenging yet rewarding.
BEN GIORDANO
Great post, found this when I was thinking of making the switch to manymoon. It has been a great resource and made me feel good about my switch over. Very excited to see manymoon evolve and keep our small shop organized.
DAIMON
I’m glad that you found it helpful. Don’t forget to share your feedback or requests with ManyMoon. They were very responsive when I was shooting over ways to improve the product.
JOE P
I appreciate the comments posted. We have begun our migration to mm. Our biggest frustration with Google apps has been sharing contacts with all company users. Has anybody had any success in this area?
DAIMON
It is a challenge for us as well. Frankly we’ve removed some contacts and put them into personal contacts to separate them out.
NAREN
I have been wondering how manymoom would interface with a service such as freshbooks that provides invoicing and time tracking services. they are both productivity tools, but unfortunately the overlapping feature sets create a lot of redundancies. Simply put – i want to be able to create a project in one application and not two, and i want both applications to speak to each other. It can be done, It should be easy, but i don’t even know if these companies realize the power of project integration.
DAIMON
Naren- great observation. Take a look at rule.fm. They have a consolidated feature set that includes project mgmt, CRM, and soon to come invoicing. It’s in beta now so try to get an account.
TONY MOBILY
Hi, I suggest you have a look at Apollo too: http://www.apollohq.com It integrates 100% project management and CRM with cases&deals, calendars, timers… and more. It’s a very zippy, single page application — so, no page reloads. Have fun! Merc. P.S. My comment is biased but heartfelt!
SIMON WAITE
Great post! Manymoon is there first one we have tried and as you said above, at first it’s a bit of a mess. But as time passes and staff teams get to grips is fantastic. The ability to comment on tasks via email means you can be more productive. Then everyday there is an overview to look through. Recently I invited an external web developer to a project. He’s not based in our office – but he might as well be now!
DAIMON
Glad you found that it is working well for you. The ability to “loop in” external contributors is awesome!
VINCENT D
It’s great there are so many project collaboration tools now available. My only problem with Basecamp, Manymoon and so many others is the constant page refreshes to get things done. What year is this? As of late I’ve been using http://taskion.com, it’s still in beta but is leaps ahead of much of the competition. They definitely followed the “keep it simple” model and provided a quick responsive ajax application that mostly stays out of my way and allows me to focus on getting things done.
BENGAMIN CHESTERFIELD
Hello, good article with good description, however i would recommend Workforcetrack since it offers Project Management, CRM , HRMS and lots of other good stuff at affordable price and without any serious problems. http://workforcetrack.com
DAIMON
Thanks Begamin for the recommendation. I’ll post so others can check it out as well.
DAIMON
Sorry for the delay in posting your comment Vincent. After taking a look at the intro video I have to say… “wow!”. I love the Ajax usage- clean, simple UI. Definitely worth looking into further. Thanks for letting us all know about Taskion!
PKJR
Still see link on your site to ‘ powered by basecomphq’?
PABLO
Are you familiar with Teambox, as well?
DAIMON
Why yes I am. Are you a fan of it? Let us know your experience with it.
DAIMON
More to come on that topic…
DAIMON
Take a look at our latest Final Battle post between Basecamp and Manymoon. You’ll notice why the footer on our site says “powered by Basecamp”… http://modalinc.com/blog/2011/07/basecamp-vs-manymoon-the-final-battle/