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Microsoft Planner
- Dwolb 10y agoMicrosoft is trying to deliver the entire white collar productivity experience and I have to say I appreciate the vision but I hope a closed platform and single value chain doesn't win this battle. There's little bits of Trello (the main Planner functionality), Google Drive (MSFT competitor Office365), and Slack (auto notifications). I want the diverse value chain to thrive to increase innovation and extensibility on each link in the space.
- Analemma_ 10y agoI'm not sure what you want Microsoft to do in that case. When a new product (Trello, Slack) appears and it turns out tons of workers and enterprises like it, Microsoft has 3 options: 1. Ignore it, and hope it turns out to be a fad. 2. Buy them and rebrand it 3. Try to launch their own competitor version 1 isn't really an option, and between 2 and 3, I'd rather Microsoft did 3, so we can have more competition. The fact that it's a closed platform and tied in to all their services is just kind of unavoidable; it would be kind of silly of them to launch a new product and not tie it in to O365.
- cwyers 10y agoThere is a fourth choice, not mutually exclusive with 3: offer integration between their services and the other tools. They're doing this with Dropbox to an extent, for instance, while still competing with Dropbox.
- hguant 10y agoThe problem is that enterprise doesn't want 10 different services/apps that innovate and increase extensibility. Innovation means change. Far simpler to have one vendor with a reliable time table of updates, one product suite that can be installed and administered remotely. Why go through the trouble of having X different vendors with X different support chains, when you can have one help desk that's always there and will never change, with a massive legal and contracts team that speaks business the way you do? Aesthetically and morally I agree with you. It's ugly and bad to have one company holding all the links of the chain. However, I don't think it's likely the open innovative ecosystem you're talking about will come into being because all the selling points are for the benefit of the software user, not the entity employing those users.
- cableshaft 10y agoThe "board" screenshot looks suspiciously similar to Trello. I wonder how much they aped its design for this?
- galistoca 10y agoit is true but both trello and this app is based on Kanban, which tons of other productivity tools like Jira implement so I guess it can't be blamed too much
- jewel 10y agoYou're right. For example, here is a screenshot from July of 2011 from some other software, two months before trello was released: https://ketiljensen.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/kanbanboard.jpg https://ketiljensen.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/kanbanboard....
- jldugger 10y agoThere's 'cards in columns' and then there's cards with images, owners, checklists and due dates on them.
- alttab 10y agoYa .... its Trello.
- wingerlang 10y agoNo, it's literally every kanban software - ever.
- bdcravens 10y agoI've been using ZenHub. Ditto. (along with many other similar tools)
- galistoca 10y agoyup, that's what jira does.
- jakubp 10y agoBased on the video on the page, looks like Microsoft Trello with Office 365 file sharing integration. More tools for basic project tracking... and I just can't wait to meet clients who will use this instead of (heavier) TFS/Visual Studio Online for the same purpose, complicating work of our teams even more (I work at an offshore software house). Duh.
- pat_space 10y agoSomeone who feels my pain! Nothing like going into a client meeting and being called old-school (I'm 26!) for using Redmine and pushed to use Trello. I work at an offshore/onshore shop as well, and getting our dev teams set up in client systems (that usually have user limits because the client uses the free version) is a huge pain in the arse.
- dexterous 10y agoWelcome to market fragmentation; the price we pay for... competition, I guess! :P
- whatever_dude 10y agoYeah, this. Creating a tool and adding "Office!" to its name makes me want to stay away from it.
- nanch 10y agoLooks like they remade Trello. It also seems to have a certain "sterileness" to it, or perhaps classiness; I can't tell. The colors look good though and product brand looks good. I hope they have some cool new features that inspire competition and improvements from Trello. Competition is always good if it makes Trello better! But since I don't like where Microsoft is going with their privacy and advertising policies, I probably won't use this.
- peternicky 10y agoCare to elaborate on which specific policies you are referring to?
- THE_PUN_STOPS 10y agoSkype is one good historic example of the shift that OP is referring to. Leaks have shown that, since purchase, Microsoft has been unusually cooperative with the NSA with regards to Skype. [1] They also removed the P2P aspect of Skype infrastructure and replaced it with a traditional server model, coincidentally around the same time that NSA docs describe intercepting skype messages with PRISM... [2] [1]: https://www.eff.org/files/2015/01/28/20141228-spiegel-guide_for_analysts_on_how_to_use_the_prism_skype_collection.pdf https://www.eff.org/files/2015/01/28/20141228-spiegel-guide_... (August 2012) [2]: http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/05/skype-replaces-p2p-supernodes-with-linux-boxes-hosted-by-microsoft/ http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/05/skype-replaces-p2p-s... (May 2012)
- dewiz 10y agoThe move from P2P to a client-server model, is a sensible change, considering the fight to stay relevant on mobile devices, for instance considering the impact that Skype used to have on battery consumption. http://markmail.org/message/exc3srjkx3uu66bz http://markmail.org/message/exc3srjkx3uu66bz http://blogs.skype.com/2013/10/04/skype-architecture-update/ http://blogs.skype.com/2013/10/04/skype-architecture-update/
- mathattack 10y ago
- rocky1138 10y agoWhy?
- zxcvcxz 10y agoYeah I wish they would focus on making a good OS. I guess since people have to use Windows for compatibility reasons MS doesn't care. They see the desktop market as dwindling so they're trying to get into new markets. I just wish if they were giving up on the desktop they would at least open source their closed source software to allow it to run on other platforms so people aren't forced to use a neglected OS.
- galistoca 10y agoMaybe you didn't get the memo but MS is not an OS company anymore (at least their top priority isn't). Everyone knows desktop platform has been commoditized by the Web--you can do pretty much anything through the web interface, and increasingly so as the computer processing powers go up. They've been pretty clear about this new direction if you read the articles, MS is a productivity company. That's why they're building all these productivity apps on iOS and android.
- technofiend 10y agoMicrosoft used to create compelling new upgrades: consumers wanted the new features. Now users are compelled to upgrade because they failed to or were unable to opt out. Same word, different meaning.
- pbarnes_1 10y agoThousands of engineers sitting around doing nothing, basically. This is a valid question.
- kondro 10y agoBecause Trello wouldn't sell to them.
- spencerhakim 10y agoNot entirely related, but I'm getting an ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID on Chrome for Android but not Chrome or Firefox on Windows. Same SHA256 reported in all three browsers. The certificate was issued on May 4th, did Microsoft recently change their SSL certificate chain?
- mimsee 10y agoHere getting that same issue on Android as well.
- Happpy 10y ago+1
- hackuser 10y agoI saw the problem on Firefox on Windows.
- noir_lord 10y agoFirefox on Linux as well (Xubuntu).
- satbyy 10y agoCertificate issuer "Microsoft IT SSL SHA2" is via Baltimore CyberTrust Root [1], which exists in Firefox's CA store, as well as /etc/ssl/certs. It also exists in Android (Settings -> Security -> Trusted Credentials). So, I'm not sure where Chrome-on-Android looks for certs. [1] https://ssl-tools.net/subjects/26102266b387fb8b911bc6d37b35bcd0081c0074 https://ssl-tools.net/subjects/26102266b387fb8b911bc6d37b35b... Indeed SSL checker[2] says that "this certificate is not trusted by all browsers". Intermediate cert probably missing. [2] https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-checker.html#hostname=blogs.office.com https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-checker.html#hostname=blogs.o...
- iso-8859-1 10y agoIntermediate cert definitely missing: https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=blogs.office.com https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=blogs.office....
- yardie 10y agoIs anyone using gantt[1] charts? I've been using them for product planning for years. I know the kanban style planners are all the rage but I like the proceduralness of having the entire project laid out in front of me. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart
- UK-AL 10y agoGnantt charts force you to plan the entire thing up front. That's at odds with the more agile way people develop software today. Plus they almost never match up to reality. Good for planning the sequence of things, but don't expect them to be accurate over the long term.
- monk_e_boy 10y agoGantt charts are great for showing task dependencies, but I agree that they rarely predict task length correctly.
- exclusiv 10y agoAgreed although we typically ensure we have plenty of tasks in parallel so one missed item doesn't throw off the whole schedule. Our Gantt charts are therefore ugly. :)
- 1123581321 10y agoSome of my coworkers use them. They aren't helpful tools for actual planning, but they look organized and that appearance helps sell projects to internal and external customers.
- tacos 10y agoGantt charts are tools for planning and scheduling. It got Hoover Dam done two years ahead of schedule. It'll probably be useful for your Rails app, too.
- 1123581321 10y ago
- mgiannopoulos 10y agoThe video shows planning, execution and monitoring/reporting of a project, yet the application is called "Planner"? :)
- adontz 10y agoProbably, because name Project was already taken by someone
- coldtea 10y agoPlanning is not just the design stage -- you keep planing things till the end of execution...
- mgiannopoulos 10y agoTrue, but the term is "project management" , not "planning management" :)
- zxcvcxz 10y agoI can't find a link to the source. Anyone have a link to the github for this project?
- brunorsini 10y agoOne thing that caught my attention on the video is that people are expected to curate each of their teams. Sounds a lot like G+ circles, it's a lot to ask of users
- astdb 10y agoDid anybody else get the certificate error for blogs.microsoft.com?
- tzm 10y agoIf you're looking for something similar, look at Troop[1] (Slack + Trello). Seriously good workflow and execution. [1] https://troop.space https://troop.space
- squiggy22 10y agoExecution on a mac safari is completely foobarred.
- wiggity 10y agoWe've been using the preview for a few weeks, and while it's nice to have an in-built option for lightweight planning, Planner still pretty rough around the edges. It's missing features one might expect from something tied into 365 (of course subjective): 1. Weak outlook integration (e.g., can't send a card as a task, email, or calendar invite) 2. Weak sharepoint integration (e.g., can't browse for links to attachments). It supports onedrive, but just for the logged in user. 3. Limited (read: one) reporting or charting options. Maybe Gantts are a bridge too far, but there are many useful visualizations beyond who has outstanding tasks. 4. Can't move cards to new boards (just new buckets) 5. Can't clone/copy cards And it's just plain buggy: 1. Many links aren't actually links, but rather click handlers on divs, breaking common UI like "right-click, open in new tab". 2. Icons and previews have busted caching behavior, whereby "correct" icons show for a while (sometimes seconds) before being replaced with old versions 3. Cards will duplicate or disappear while editing, usually fixed with a refresh 4. and cetera. There's potential for new features leveraging the 365 ecosystem, but its as yet unrealized, and it has a long way to go before matching its most obvious competitors in polish (UI and code quality, not necessarily style).
- mgiannopoulos 10y agoBy the way, how strange is it to use the term "bucket" every day? All Kanban-inspired applications use the term "board" I thought
- zippergz 10y agoPardon my ignorance, but is this Windows-only, or what? I have an Office 365 subscription at work for Mac Office, but I barely ever use it. I can't figure out how to access this, so I'm assuming it's not available on Mac? It wasn't clear to me if there was a web component, or what...
- cbsmith 10y agoFrom the people who brought you Microsoft Project...
- threepipeproblm 10y ago“With Planner, we improved collaboration by about 20 percent..." The units aren't mentioned, so I'm assuming it's the just standard units (collabotrons)
- dankohn1 10y agoMan, that quote jumped out at me instead. You'd think they could apply some rigor and add a few decimal places rather than saying "about". Or that perhaps the marketing manager who wrote the release would realize how stupid that quote sounds.
- tonyedgecombe 10y agoPrecision isn't the same as accuracy.
- Yhippa 10y agoThey can be sold and traded in units of microcollabotrons.
- jbigelow76 10y agoThe new cryptocurrency du juor.
- Fej 10y agoLooks cool. ...too bad a ton of people are going to completely write this off because of the recent goodwill-burning Microsoft has been participating in. I wonder how their internal departments feel about this?
- wikibob 10y agohttp://tasks.office.com http://tasks.office.com
- Corrado 10y agoInterestingly enough, we are using Office365 at work but "Planner" didn't show up by default; I'm guessing that someone in our organization has to opt-in to it. However, going to this link allows me to work with the new application as if it were installed in my Office365 portal. Now to check to see if I can collaborate with other people in my organization. :)
- blackoil 10y agoWe use Trello business account. It is highly opinionated. It gives only one view of cards. If I want activities sorted by time, there is no filter. Cards by user view can also be improved. Graphs/Charts are also good tools for understanding and presenting the projects.
- dgudkov 10y agoDifferent task grouping (e.g. by users) -- that's smart. I wish Trello could do this. Filtering via charts -- another smart feature. I like the product concept.
- mikemajzoub 10y agoIf anyone on the Microsoft Planner team is reading this: I haven't used it yet, but did watch the video on the landing page. I'm impressed how you made solutions that will work well with both touch and nontouch screens, along with the ways users can filter and visualize their team's progress. These aren't easy challenges to overcome so effectively, and I really enjoyed seeing your solutions. Congratulations on your launch!
- justinjlynn 10y agoImmediately, I noticed the usage of doughnut charts to display project status. Suboptimal visualisations significantly impede the adoption/market differentiation of task and project management solutions and hamper their usability, once adopted. I thought about what I might want in such an 'at a glance' widget. TL;DR: https://i.imgur.com/hFpftp7.png https://i.imgur.com/hFpftp7.png I suggest a vertical stream chart with a top legend (keeping the legend to one line, abbreviating the status labels to save horizontal space if needed but expanding them on mouse-over). In order to emphasise the present status, a stacked horizontal bar chart placed immediately before the stream chart but after the legend emphasises the current state. The inclusion of a stream graph along with a stacked horizontal chart maintains the square overall shape of the widget and the design's present temporal focus. Colour variations can use the second dimension to represent changes in velocity on a per category basis further increasing the information economy of the design, without cluttering its appearance. However, usage of space in the suggested design is much improved. In using the same quantity of space as the presented widget, the presented design communicates the current state, as well as, a large chunk of the projects history with an emphasis on the near past. Increasing the interactivity of the visualisation is a natural thought. Such additions might include a contextual (mouse over or fade discover) highlight on the chart (milestones/releases, key dates). Perhaps a forecast feature allowing you to mouse over the chart and using the (mouse wheel nudge or touch drag) into the future. If you (pinch zoom or mousewheel) a past area the graph could rescale to emphasise that point in time. In short, a bit more attention to the visualisation design would yield a much more substantial and powerful widget without increasing cognitive load and complexity on the user's part of the interaction. I think that, with a bit of focus, a well designed information retrieval and processing platform for project planning and management could easily differentiate itself in the marketplace even in the presence of gratis competition.
- mgiannopoulos 10y agoNot sure why they couldn't just create these functionalities inside Microsoft Project. (Probably because it might be harder to implement on an older code base?)
- xaqfox 10y agoBecause having Project installed is an early step in being forced to use Project.