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Time tracking. Like, the physical act of figuring out how much time was spent on X task for Y client and then logging that in. And no, cheesy little desktop app

Time tracking. Like, the physical act of figuring out how much time was spent on X task for Y client and then logging that in. And no, cheesy little desktop apps that provide a UI and timers for this are not the answer I'm looking for.

nikolaj 10y ago
The challenge we faced and still face is more making it clear on how to classify time to the rank and file team (I work in a digital agency). We are pretty much ~90% now.. ..some lessons learned: 1. Just have people track rough time per day (a couple hours here, a couple hours there), but make sure it is done daily. The resolution will hold up when you analyze it. What seems rough each day, ends up being quite accurate over weeks/months. 2. Don't be strict about budgets AND ask for perfect accuracy in time tracking. You are offloading the responsibility of good estimates to the team, and boxing them in.. screwing your long term job costing. 3. Build a dashboard that summarizes project / account status and is as useful and obvious for Project Managers & Leadership, and they will become advocates in promoting good time tracking hygiene. (I guess this is a basic truism in general.. build systems where the best way to use it is the easiest way.. )
jwho82 10y ago
I built my own SaaS tool to track my hours I worked when I used to do freelancing. I can create various tasks under the client's project and then log my hours. I can then create reports to see how much time I spent on each task for each of my clients. Or even better, I can take those hours and create an invoice out of all my uninvoiced hours and email it right to my clients.
33W 10y ago
I don't have to get that specific with time, just hours worked, but I use IFTTT to track the hours I am physically at the office. Beyond that I'm pretty good about remembering work done offiste or at home.

nikolaj 10y ago

The challenge we faced and still face is more making it clear on how to classify time to the rank and file team (I work in a digital agency). We are pretty much ~90% now.. ..some lessons learned: 1. Just have people track rough time per day (a couple hours here, a couple hours there), but make sure it is done daily. The resolution will hold up when you analyze it. What seems rough each day, ends up being quite accurate over weeks/months. 2. Don't be strict about budgets AND ask for perfect accuracy in time tracking. You are offloading the responsibility of good estimates to the team, and boxing them in.. screwing your long term job costing. 3. Build a dashboard that summarizes project / account status and is as useful and obvious for Project Managers & Leadership, and they will become advocates in promoting good time tracking hygiene. (I guess this is a basic truism in general.. build systems where the best way to use it is the easiest way.. )

jwho82 10y ago

I built my own SaaS tool to track my hours I worked when I used to do freelancing. I can create various tasks under the client's project and then log my hours. I can then create reports to see how much time I spent on each task for each of my clients. Or even better, I can take those hours and create an invoice out of all my uninvoiced hours and email it right to my clients.

33W 10y ago

I don't have to get that specific with time, just hours worked, but I use IFTTT to track the hours I am physically at the office. Beyond that I'm pretty good about remembering work done offiste or at home.